From sevush@rcn.com Sat Mar 01 16:15:19 2003
Subject:RE: Alesis 3630 Behringer MDX2200 Art sc2

I have to agree on the dbx 166 - it's the best without getting all high-end
crazy (>$1500)

But I have to ask what the need for the compressor is. It makes some sense
for certain aplications on voice, guitar and bass but I find if anything, I
want *more* dynamic range from my keyboard, not less. It's not like we're
playing an acoustic guitar where some strings can overpower others so
smoothing is needed.

[sound of two cyber pennies hitting virtual countertop]

> I use a dbx 166XL in my keyboard rig. I first got it when I
> was using the
> KORG G4 as my sim; both it and the M.S. R3-147 that followed
> it are kind of
> noisy and I mainly used it as a noise gate. The Leslie sim
> in my CX-3 is
> much quieter, but I still continue to use the dbx for just a touch of
> limiting and as a noise gate, but now to a lesser degree. I
> think that for
> the money the 166XL is about the best comp/limiter/noise gate
> you can get,
> providing you don't want to spend 'real money' on high end
> recording gear;
> we use three more of them in our P.A. rack. The 166XL can be
> found on eBay
> these days for a pretty reasonable price.
> I'd stay away from the Alesis 3630; they tend to add more
> noise than they
> remove. I don't know anything about the other two units.