ART Pro VLA II

[ElvisNixon]

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Nothing fancy, older 266's, haha.

Man, I don’t think i’ve ever met a DBX compressor that I didn’t like (although I’m not as big a fan of the 160XT). I have a 161 (unbalanced version of a 160) that I had converted to a Jensen transformer balanced 160. A half dozen 160X’s and Audioscape’s 2 channel 160’s with a couple twists in true Audioscape fashion.

The 266 has the over easy setting and true RMS detectors and the 266 has a sidechain capability. it has a rudimentary gate feature if memory serves. Basically a greatest hits of DBX’s unique capabilities and sound. I’m sure I’m preaching to the Pope since you own one and I don’t but that’s the cool thing about them, they have been so successful because they have unique circuit designs that they have included on just about every compressor/limiter. I also love that the DBX’s are VCA style comps and that you can set up the compression and limiter sections differently and simultaneously.

They will complement your new pair of K-T 1176’s extremely well. Set a very tight compression ratio in over easy and set the limiter to catch transients and the smooth over easy selected into an 1176 with a variation on the all buttons in setting is such a great signal chain that can be very powerful and versatile.

A couple of other good “sleepers” mainly for guitars are the Symetrix 501 compressor and the blue face Ashly SC50 compressor. If you’re patient, you can snag either one for $200 or so. Google both the Symetrix (Formerly known as Valley People) 501 and the blue face Ashly SC-50 on recording forum like gearslutz/gearspace.com

 

[PelliX]

The 266 has the over easy setting and true RMS detectors and the 266 has a sidechain capability. it has a rudimentary gate feature if memory serves. Basically a greatest hits of DBX’s unique capabilities and sound. I’m sure I’m preaching to the Pope since you own one and I don’t but that’s the cool thing about them, they have been so successful because they have unique circuit designs that they have included on just about every compressor/limiter. I also love that the DBX’s are VCA style comps and that you can set up the compression and limiter sections differently and simultaneously.

Haha, yeah, they work well for me. Not bad units, sidechain and all. Did you know that they incidentally have an extremely high top shelf? I had the oscillation of a transistor in a piece of gear leak into an audio bus because a couple of caps were knackered (yeah, happens to all of us) and it took me a while to track down the fault because I wasn't hearing or seeing anything on the spectrum analyzer either. I narrowed it down to the device and hooked up a scope to see what what was going on; that lead me to the transistor causing the oscillation which was weeell out of the audible spectrum. Thanks DBX for bringing that one to my attention...

They will complement your new pair of K-T 1176’s extremely well. Set a very tight compression ratio in over easy and set the limiter to catch transients and the smooth over easy selected into an 1176 with a variation on the all buttons in setting is such a great signal chain that can be very powerful and versatile.

That does sound like a killer chain, but I still have mixed emotions on the Over Easy, haha!

 

[ElvisNixon]

Haha, yeah, they work well for me. Not bad units, sidechain and all. Did you know that they incidentally have an extremely high top shelf? I had the oscillation of a transistor in a piece of gear leak into an audio bus because a couple of caps were knackered (yeah, happens to all of us) and it took me a while to track down the fault because I wasn't hearing or seeing anything on the spectrum analyzer either. I narrowed it down to the device and hooked up a scope to see what what was going on; that lead me to the transistor causing the oscillation which was weeell out of the audible spectrum. Thanks DBX for bringing that one to my attention...



That does sound like a killer chain, but I still have mixed emotions on the Over Easy, haha!

Man, I’d NEVER have been able to troubleshoot that oscillating transistor. I’ve learned what I know and when to call a tech such as yourself.

I’m with you on the over easy as it’s not as precise as setting the attack and release yourself, but I think you’ll be surprised when you hear it with the 1176. It is of course against all best practices to run one compressor into another. But hey, if Jimmy Page could run his guitar through 2 consecutive 1176’s on “Black Dog”, the rules sometimes go out the window. Also be sure to try the Jimmy Page trick since you’ll have 2 1176 circuits.

 

[PelliX]

Man, I’d NEVER have been able to troubleshoot that oscillating transistor. I’ve learned what I know and when to call a tech such as yourself.

Thanks, but it was a really a bog standard 'cap job' repair. Eventually the problem would have manifested itself otherwise, too, but the gate on those compressors was an early warning. It's nice to know that it's capable of dealing with ... a dog's sound spectrum.

But hey, if Jimmy Page could run his guitar through 2 consecutive 1176’s on “Black Dog”, the rules sometimes go out the window. Also be sure to try the Jimmy Page trick since you’ll have 2 1176 circuits.

Lol! My drummer is going to kill me when I suggest we re-record that one!

 

[ElvisNixon]

Thanks, but it was a really a bog standard 'cap job' repair. Eventually the problem would have manifested itself otherwise, too, but the gate on those compressors was an early warning. It's nice to know that it's capable of dealing with ... a dog's sound spectrum.



Lol! My drummer is going to kill me when I suggest we re-record that one!

Well..Seeing that drummers hit things with sticks for a living, you should use reverse psychology.

“Hey man, I don’t think we should ever play “Black Dog” again. I don’t think you could properly play it again anyway…”

No offense to drummers.

 

[What?]

No first hand experience. I always read good things about the VLA II and mixed reviews about the Klark Tehnic stuff with criticisms usually being that they don't have the same sort of response curves as what they are copying and arguments for them being that they can be useful anyway. You could always give them a good whirl and sell if they don't bring anything interesting.

 

[PelliX]

No first hand experience. I always read good things about the VLA II

You know, I'm still curious. The seller and myself didn't come to an agreement, let it suffice to say. @Trelwheen 's description had tipped me in favor of giving it a shot, but communication was slow and I started looking around. Then @ElvisNixon confirmed what I'd actually already been thinking about the 76's, pretty much and the deal fell apart for the VLA II. At those sort of prices I might have room for a VLA in the future, honestly.

and mixed reviews about the Klark Tehnic stuff with criticisms usually being that they don't have the same sort of response curves as what they are copying and arguments for them being that they can be useful anyway. You could always give them a good whirl and sell if they don't bring anything interesting.

Setting aside the usual commentary on such products my key takeaways were;

* there's a chance of a noise floor. I can deal with that in circuit if need be.
* it doesn't "colour the sound" like the [xyx-76]. That's alright. FEM (Funky Equipment Mojo) is always welcome but never a requirement.
* that's 2 flippin' U's for mono channel, ffs. Yeah, agree.

Obviously there's a lot of butthurt among the usual crowd about the lack of sidechaining, USB, VST support, firmware upgrades, bypass switching, dimmable lighting, digital readouts and an integrated espresso machine. Needless to say, this same crowd would suffer equal butthurt if any of these were included because then it would no longer match the original...