Gates & comps at the lower end

Rob Spence

Rob Spence

Senior
Jan 11, 2011
897
4
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Boston Metro North West
www.lynxaudioservices.com
What gates and/or comps would you suggest for drums for a guy with a limited (read low) budget?



Generally only needed for bass drum and snare. Two channels is ok though four channels would be better so I had some spares. He has a 4ch Be*%#&ger set up for the vocals and for this gig it seems to do ok.



He has a broken Alisis 3036 (I think that was the number) and since I do a briefcase gig for him I would like some working gear
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Once we come up with suggestions I will post an add in the Marketplace.



Thanks guys

 
Re: Gates & comps at the lower end

Rob Spence wrote on Sun said:
What gates and/or comps would you suggest for drums for a guy with a limited (read low) budget?



Generally only needed for bass drum and snare. Two channels is ok though four channels would be better so I had some spares. He has a 4ch Be*%#&ger set up for the vocals and for this gig it seems to do ok.



He has a broken Alesis 3036 (I think that was the number) and since I do a briefcase gig for him I would like some working gear
icon_smile.gif




Once we come up with suggestions I will post an add in the Marketplace.



Thanks guys
Click to expand...



Define ''low'' - how much $$ per channel of insert is he looking to spend?



For comps, look at the 1066/1046 and go down from there (266XL, 166XL/A, etc.) There's also Symetrix, although they're a little less common. If B******r is ok, might just want to look into more of that. You can sometimes find the old German made units go for pretty cheap (~$50) on fleabay.



For gates, I've also seen Drawmer DS201's go for cheap (<$200). For less than that, the old Valley Gatex, or...well, back to the B******r. Kinda depends on what he wants to spend.



For $100-150/channel range, you can actually get some pretty nice stuff if you look around a bit. If the budget is lower than $100/channel, the above options should fit nicely.



And the old Alesis - that'd be 3630, or ''Dirty-six Dirty''.
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Re: Gates & comps at the lower end

You have a nice rig listed. I would not add Behringer to the rack. DBX would be a wise choice.



Steve
 
Re: Gates & comps at the lower end

Steve Tarak wrote on Mon said:
You have a nice rig listed. I would not add Behringer to the rack. DBX would be a wise choice.



Steve
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Yes, I have a nice rig but these are not for me. They are for a dance provider who hires me to mix on his rig. I am trying to help him fix/upgrade his rig a little.



Not much money available... I would say $50-75 per channel for gates and or comps.

 
Re: Gates & comps at the lower end

Then Behringer would be a budget choice. Older Composer pro's are inexpensive for two channels. I've owned and used them ten years ago and have one I've never used in new condition if your friend is interested.
 
Re: Gates & comps at the lower end

Brian Bolly wrote on Mon said:
For gates, I've also seen Drawmer DS201's go for cheap (<$200).
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+1



I woud strongly recommend staying away from gates that don't have a key filter as well as attack/release controls. You will be sorely disappointed otherwise as generic gates like the ones built into a lot of compressors don't perform very well as far as triggering goes. You need to be able to zero in on what the trigger frequency is and how long it takes for the gate to open and close. Don't bother gating snare drum either. For me at least, the number one use of gates is on ringing toms that can't be fixed with board EQ. Second is kick drum. Another excellent gate besides the Drawmer DS is the Aphex 622 or the older 612. You can get these at bargain prices as audio houses blow out their analog inventories in favor of digital consoles. 2 ch. gates that used to sell for $1000+ can be had for a couple hundred bucks. Don't cheap out and get crappy gates. You won't use them.



Greg
 
Re: Gates & comps at the lower end

For comps, the TC Electronic C400XL. Inexpensive, sounds great, and the presets are actually useful especially if your sound dude doesn't know much about comps. The dbx 266XL sounds ugly to me, and the gate section is useless. Used dbx 1046 might be price competitive, density is a plus, sounds reasonably good, and doesn't offer ''too much'' control for the newbie.



Gates are a lot tougher. There's not really a cheap gate I like. Used Drawmer DS201 would be my preference.
 
Re: Gates & comps at the lower end

The Berhinger gate really isn't that bad. I used to have one. It worked pretty well. Just hated having it in the rack.



It finally went out and I replaced it with the dbx 1074. To me the 1074 is about the best semi-pro gate for the money. A Drawmer would obviously be better, but it's a lot more.



I've tried a dbx 1066 before and didn't like the gates.
 
Re: Gates & comps at the lower end

Older Aphex 105 gates are pretty nice for what they go for. I see them on eBay sometimes for $100. It is a four channel gate that works well. I used 2 of them in my rack for years without issue or complaint.
 
Re: Gates & comps at the lower end

I had to check. This IS the JV section, right?



The behringer multicom is a functional unit. I used to have 2, now down to one. Probably won't be changing it out due to lack of rack space and added cost right now. Used, they are $100 and under.



I really like my TC Electronics C300 2 channel comps. Easy to use. Check them out in the original LAB product review section. Used, about $100 each. I THINK they were superceded by the C350 model, unless that's what Bennett referred to as a C400XL?



Had a Behringer multigate unit, didn't use it enough to keep the rack space occupied ;>(



Mike McNany
 
Re: Gates & comps at the lower end

Mike McNany wrote on Tue said:
I really like my TC Electronics C300 2 channel comps. Easy to use. Check them out in the original LAB product review section. Used, about $100 each. I THINK they were superceded by the C350 model, unless that's what Bennett referred to as a C400XL?
Click to expand...

I know they went through a few changes in hardware and model name, I believe C400XL is the latest but C300 is the one I first got my hands on. Like the M300 (now the M350?) a really great product.
 
Re: Gates & comps at the lower end

Bennett Prescott wrote on Tue said:
Mike McNany wrote on Tue said:
I really like my TC Electronics C300 2 channel comps. Easy to use. Check them out in the original LAB product review section. Used, about $100 each. I THINK they were superceded by the C350 model, unless that's what Bennett referred to as a C400XL?
Click to expand...

I know they went through a few changes in hardware and model name, I believe C400XL is the latest but C300 is the one I first got my hands on. Like the M300 (now the M350?) a really great product.
Click to expand...



-1



My M300 was dead after about 2 years. It would power on but the knobs had no effect on the audio. Always racked, never dropped.
 
Re: Gates & comps at the lower end

Ryan Lantzy wrote on Tue said:
Bennett Prescott wrote on Tue said:
Mike McNany wrote on Tue said:
I really like my TC Electronics C300 2 channel comps. Easy to use. Check them out in the original LAB product review section. Used, about $100 each. I THINK they were superceded by the C350 model, unless that's what Bennett referred to as a C400XL?
Click to expand...

I know they went through a few changes in hardware and model name, I believe C400XL is the latest but C300 is the one I first got my hands on. Like the M300 (now the M350?) a really great product.
Click to expand...



-1



My M300 was dead after about 2 years. It would power on but the knobs had no effect on the audio. Always racked, never dropped.
Click to expand...





I generally love the performance of TCE gear. BUT....



I get the feeling that they've put out some less than durable equipment. They dropped the C300 and the TripleC for whatever reasons. But the TripleC is not at all robust and the C300 seems to have garnered a reputation for failures. Both are (were) great pieces. Too bad about the ''early death syndrome''.
 
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