Kniferide wrote: Thu Feb 08, 2024 8:09 pm
I got a deal on a FMR RNC 1773 racked up with the RNC RNLA7239. I was already familiar with the RNC but have never used anything else they make and I'm a little confused at why the RNLA doesn't get the props that the RNC gets. The RNC does a great job of being a really light handed compressor and does it's thing almost invisible, but the RNLA
sounds really good. The "Log" Release button (seems to kinda soften the opening of the compressor a little, slowing it down without slowing it down) is sweet as fuck and I kinda which every comp had that switch. Not positive of what it is doing but I like it a lot. Weirdly overlooked piece of budget gear and I wish I had bought one forever ago when they came out. I wish FMR made a half rack stereo 3 band a la a the Trident 3 Band cause I would love to build a RNC Chain with their Preamp, one of these comps. It would probably be the best quality channel strip on the market for the price. I'm just going to park them on 2 of my console busses for parallel comping. They are really nice.
Yeah I really do love that thing. I have another RNC that doesn’t get used nearly as much, but the RNLA and PBC6A I use on pretty much everything that needs compression on every song. I have thought about getting another RNLA but there’s always something else to buy. On some sources, where the RNC isn’t as transparent as it’s supposed to be, the RNLA always works. And whenever I try the RNLA on something, I rarely ever take it off.
It’s cousin, the PBC6A, has more character and is supposed to be similar-ish to the Distressor, but my favorite use is for those blooming, thonky 60s and 70s direct sounds where the bass is it’s own center of gravity, kind of like you’d hear on that era Bob Dylan record or something. Where the playing is sparse, but upfront and kind of heavy. That and basic Pultec style low end cleanup and a cool bass sounds like a record.
Both work great, and I pretty much never compress more than a few db unless there’s a problem area somewhere in the song, and at that point I might try to poke it down a little with automation anyways. I know there’s character in both of those boxes, probably more so w/ the PBC6A, but I don’t use them for dirt or blown out sounds. They just sound good.