So I used a Neve vr60 yesterday and I was wondering what any of you thought about the inline compressor/limiter? I used it lightly on kick and snare.


Jeremy

I never liked the VR series. I had a horrible experience with the one at the Village recorder once. As I remember I didn't care for the compressors.

I never felt comfortable with comps built into things. I feel like maybe they didn't spend as much money or attention because it's a small part of a very big system.

But that's just me and I only used it a few times.

It's a utilitarian thing, not something you'd use by choice. They were put into the V series to offset the utility advantage the multipurpose VCA gave the SSL desks, with which they were directly competing.

The V-series were capable of sounding nice, provided you didn't use any of the optional circuits on the channel or the stereo buses -- mic or line amp to bus output is fine, but everything you switch into the path degrades the audio noticeably.

I remember thinking the topography of the channel strip controls was excessively crowded and hard to get around.

steve wrote:
The V-series were capable of sounding nice, provided you didn't use any of the optional circuits on the channel or the stereo buses -- mic or line amp to bus output is fine, but everything you switch into the path degrades the audio noticeably.

I noticed this actually. Fortunately I've had no reason to use any EQ or other selectable circuitry (besides the bus to tape) yet so the degradation is minimal. The limiters themselves were actually less agressive than I expected (in a good way).
usually, when I've used a Neve console, everything about it is so aggressive, once I turn an EQ on, everything goes to shit.

mic preamps sounded fine.

Also, John Storyk is overrated.


Jeremy

otisroom wrote:I never felt comfortable with comps built into things. I feel like maybe they didn't spend as much money or attention because it's a small part of a very big system.

But that's just me and I only used it a few times.

I remember thinking the topography of the channel strip controls was excessively crowded and hard to get around.

I probably won't use the inline compressors on something like vocals but for a slight limit on a kick drum, they do fine.

The channels are very crowded. This console was built right about halfway into the quadraphonic era of mixing. This is all over the console in as many ways as possible, along with a bunch of other nonsense options one would never use.

I can't complain too much. The room has a very transparent sound. I'm tracking to an a827. the band is good.

Yeah you could do alot worse.

Jeremy wrote:

steve wrote:
The V-series were capable of sounding nice, provided you didn't use any of the optional circuits on the channel or the stereo buses -- mic or line amp to bus output is fine, but everything you switch into the path degrades the audio noticeably.

I noticed this actually. Fortunately I've had no reason to use any EQ or other selectable circuitry (besides the bus to tape) yet so the degradation is minimal. The limiters themselves were actually less agressive than I expected (in a good way).
usually, when I've used a Neve console, everything about it is so aggressive, once I turn an EQ on, everything goes to shit.


Jeremy

cf. Dirty Three album "Cinder". Mixed on a VR with no EQ. Some of it had to be mixed on an SSL E series, same method. The Neve was markedly better sounding.