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Discussions about the products / To pre or not to pre, that is the question

« on: February 10, 2024, 08:59:04 AM »

So I´ve completed my first API box with a nice collection of stereo compressors, ie 5176, 502, 554 and 4500. And I have to admit I´m totally hooked. So what´s next?

- I don´t do any microphone work, no vocals, no acoustic instruments (for now)
- Electronic music 99% with attention to sound and timbre
- I like to color my signals and normally record first, then send signals through the compressors, often with a touch of saturation.

I wonder if preamps make context in that sense. Or if their color originates mainly from the transformers, which I already have in the compressors. How close is running line signals through a comp (not doing much compression) to what I would get from running them through one of the pres?

I assume (no clue synth guy here) that dialing in saturation may be somewhat easier and better controllable on a pre? Finer level control? Can only compare to an elysia skulpter through which I played a synth once: it seemed that from "clean" to "fat saturation" could be dialed in over a much wider path of the pot. Would that be similar with 528, 512 etc?

And could you order the different models by "intensity of color"? Can´t build all of them at once, so I´m looking for the more obvious ones to go first and save the subtle ones for later. From a video I´d put the TS more into the subtle category in comparison.

Or should I go for some of the EQs and push them?

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CP554 Diode bridge compressor / Setup - no 0dB

« on: January 06, 2023, 06:08:41 PM »

So on my 2nd instance, the assembly worked a lot easier already

However, it seems I can´t get the 0dB trimming (setup step 7) done: Output won´t get below 1.2x VAC on an input of 1.0 VAC.

Best I can get is 1.0005 VAC bypassed to 1.1224 VAC active

Yes, Gain is at 0dB and I can identify different outputs as per gain stage. However, maximum output is lower than expected, ie 6.480 VAC @20dB and 6.707 @22dB compared to the 12.5 to 13 VAC given in the setup docs.

What are the things to look at?

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CP554 Diode bridge compressor / Output transformer geometry - is this normal?

« on: October 31, 2022, 08:05:33 PM »

Aesthetics aside, my concern it that the metal may connect to a neighbor module if that one is also "boxed". But as I didn´t finish final assemply, I can´t tell yet.

4

Discussions about the products / CP554, I need some guidance

« on: October 16, 2022, 08:44:08 PM »

Hi to all!

So I´ve built my CP4500 a few weeks ago, was happy with the build process and am even happier with the results. Now there´s an appetite for more, hence this thread. My background is more in synths and modular, I´m not very experienced in the mixing and outboard processing world. That´s why choosing compressors is not the easiest for me and I´d like to ask the swarm intelligence a few things about the CP554. Apologies for referring to a second vendor, I´m trying to get the differences between the diode bridge compressors I find. 

0. What else is in my rack and what do I use that for?
dbx 560A
elysia mpressor 500
elysia xpressor 19"
100% electronic music, no mics, no vocals, no acoustic guitars. 80% material of the unts unts unts variety, techno, acid, sometimes house and the rest is soundscapes and ambient. Don´t look down on me for that, I played classic piano in my earlier life .

1. CP554 is a mono unit, so I´d need two for any bus application. That´s totally fine with me, as the ability to use it on two separate mono signals, probably earlier in the mixing process, is a welcome option. Money wise, 2x CP554 gets me close to the Heritage Successor, which brings stereo only -> it´s less flexible. However, there are some nice features like SC options and parallel compression. If only it was clear whether I´m looking for a channel or a bus compressor... but I mainly want to learn about bridge diode (BD) characteristics, try them out and apply them where they best fit. Thoughts about that?

2. There are some differences in timing and compression, and this leads to questions:
SS: Attack 0.5/1/2/4/8/16ms -- Release 100/400/800/1500ms/A1/A2 -- Compression 1.5/2/3/4/6/12:1
HA: Attack 0.05/0.2/0.5/2/5/20ms -- Release 25/50/100/400ms/A1/A2 -- Compression 1.5/2/3/4/6:1 + limiter


I wonder if these ranges lead to certain applications or types of signals. Probably not very black and white, more nuances (maybe big nuances), but I´m lost here. One can say that SS has benefits if longer release times are needed, whereas HA is super fast for attack and release. But I just can´t translate that into the use cases. Is it correct to say that the HA appears to be aimed at the master bus and that´s why they designed the timing in the way they did? And what does that say about the "best fit" for the CP554? Or is that maybe less related to the "where" of the signal chain, but more to the "what" as in "kind of material" (percussion heavy, transient rich, etc) or "how" the material is effected?

If I could, I´d just get both and experiment. But there aren´t any CP554 demo options and even if there were any: I already sold one of my kidneys for the eurorack modular . Reviews or demo videos are between rare and non-existent and most likely not for the genres I cover. And "just get both" isn´t the answer ^^. Same with plugins: the differences between those and their hardware counterparts are not exactly leading me to play with a DB compressor plugin to answer the questions above.

So maybe you can help me out?