Re: klark teknik square one dynamics SQ1D ???
The 1046 is a compromise to get 4 in a single rack space. No attack and release control and I am not fond of their particular fixed settings on anything. My critical listening experience has been in the studio on very high resolution Westlake Audio monitors. The 1066 was the only VCA compressor in the under $650 class that I liked at all for a general tool. I still prefer FET and Optical units as a general rule but a UREI 1176 or LA-2A or better is extreme overkill for live sound and several rack spaces for 1 channel. I have not used the Drawmer and BSS stuff so I am curious as to how they sound. I have used the upper line Klark 500 units live and liked them alot but never tried the Square One series. When I started mixing digitally in the studio my Aphex gates and DBX 160xt's and 1066's found their way into my PA racks and have all worked very well.
All of the other VCA units I have used seemed to dull the sound or get grainy when they went into any gain reduction at all. I can actually hear it happening on my Mackie Fussion rig which suprised me that it was even detectable in a live sound situation. In all honesty I doubt many people would ever notice in a live situation, even most engineers. In the studio however you hear it. I could make the 1066 be transparent or sound like a 160xt or almost any other sound a VCA unit would do. Inserted across the stereo outs of a PA at a 2:1- 3:1 ratio, you can hit the contour button and let a little more kik come through without triggering compression and then back down the attack and release times a little and really smooth out a mix. Very natural sounding, smooth vocals on top without killing anybody if the singer screams.
If you have a recording of some unprocessed individual tracks try listening to each of your units through a decent set of headphones. Play with the settings and learn what it actually does to the sound. Can you get what you are listening for on any given unit? Compression is an art form in itself. Drums get boxy fast and can go from a cannon to a thud quickly with too fast of an attack time or too high of a ratio. Bass and accoustic guitars get dull and lifeless quickly as well. When you slow the attack you let more of the transients through and get the articulation and feel of the performance rather than just saving headroom and protecting drivers. The release times play a big part on how "natural" or "effecty" the processing sounds as well. Fixed settings are somebody's general compromise between headroom and musicality. One size does not fit all and the "auto" settings that follow the envelope are a compromise as well.
I know I go into way more detail than just the simple question you asked but you bought a console that will allow you to hear these subtle and not so subtle details as you go along. Even more so as the quality of your loudspeakers goes up. Because you could spend thousands less and get more features than you have on the APB I have to assume you purchased it for the sonic quality. If that is the case you are going to find that you are going to hear very noticeable differences in things like different brands of compressors, gates, and even direct boxes.
As a final note, I have to warn you to not get so anal about very subtle things and take the fun out of the craft but rather appreciate and enjoy the significant sonic improvements your purchases have made. It is about the music rather than specs after all.
