I agree that it can sound bad at the majority of settings. I think the OT compressor is misunderstood though. It’s somewhat atypical, with super exaggerated features, so it’s easy to dial in bad-sounding settings. It’s really powerful though.
The compression ratio parameter goes from 1:1 and 1:255! That’s… a lot of gain reduction. And then the makeup gain is crazy and adds a ton of gain (don’t know in db, but it’s like a dangerous amount).
The attack time goes from 0.5ms to 100ms and the release time from 50ms all the way to 5s, but we don’t get to see these values on the screen. I’m sure most people are accustomed to compressors with values in milliseconds.
We need to really use our ears for this thing to sound good. We can’t just dial the knobs to 9 'o clock or noon and expect it to be good enough. Sometimes my ratio, gain, and release settings have really low values, like 3 or 4 – and I chose those values by really listening.
I also like using these exaggerated features creatively. I love generating distortion with the OT compressor, but that’s kind of off topic here.
Personally I’ve used a hardware compressor after the OT, but after rearranging things recently I forgot to set up the hardware compressor and went with the OT compressor on a master track and was actually very happy with it.
I’ve been using the OT compressor on the master track all the time and have to say that is the best one for live performance. I have tested many options but OT compressor does the job without any extra stuff you have to carry around.
I’ve done a few live noise gigs lately. The need for a limiter for this sort of thing is both obvious and essential.
I’m pretty firmly in the camp of using compressors in my mix to add distortion, character and gain, but I’ve tried doing the master limiting myself and leaving it to the engineer.
I’ve been happy with the results every time, but I was definitely happiest when I let rip from my end and let the engineer deal with it. The main caveat I guess is that this particular engineer is pretty familiar with and quite a fan of the sort of music I was doing, as well as being a really fucking decent engineer. So they could do my act more justice than even I could hope for, given their higher level of expertise and knowledge. A lot of it comes down to both the engineer being decent and you and them figuring out what works best on the night.
Also, I was a pretty big fan of the OT’s compressor, even on the master.
I was playing with this chain recently: OT -> FMR RNC -> Analog Heat -> Alesis Micro Limiter. A few times I swapped the Heat and RNC, but preferred the Heat after.
In this case on some OT tracks I used the compressor, but the master track had another FX loaded (no comp). I really really liked the results, even though the Alesis isn’t really a mastering quality limiter (a bit noisy). I think it’s fair to say it would be a pain in the ass to lug all that shit to a gig, and if the house had another limiter after that, it might be totally overkill.
Most important thing: Talk to the people from the venue before. If they know their shit they’ll tell you what they need or what they can do for you.
If you play shows without professional sound then just play a few of these with and without limiter and see for yourself.
Generally it comes down to your own experience and your sound. I heard and played great livesets with limiters and great ones without. And what works for other people might not work for your sound.
Of course there are guidelines when it comes to mixing liveshows but it’s also important to experiment. Remember when people turned up their amp to the max and turned the guitar towards it to get crazy feedback sounds?
Nowadays we know too much from the internet and don’t try out enough for ourselves. Just go out there and rock the crowd with your sound. Limiter or no limiter doesn’t matter too much in the beginning. But i’d say play raw first and if it’s not good enough then add a comp or limiter next time.
Totally. It might have already been mentioned, but in the grand scheme of things the mix is probably more important than the master chain. If the mix sucks, no magic limiter or end of chain processing is gonna fix that – except maybe the Analog Heat I’m only half joking, because it makes things sound really good and I’m trying to turn it off while writing, because it’s so good it gives me bad habits!
But I’d say, if you’e using a limiter for its intended prpose leave it up to the house engineer, since they know their sound system and they’ll be the ones setting the actual level of your mix. If you’re using it as a creative effect then something like an Alesis Microlimiter, Nanocompressor or 3630 might give you better results than something “good.”
None of those are as cheap as they were before the pandemic but they’re still not too bad. Pedals can work well, too, if you can find a stereo one. People seem to like the Electro-Harmonix Platform.
I’m only half joking, because it makes things sound really good and I’m trying to turn it off while writing, because it’s so good it gives me bad habits!