Old 10-29-2009, 12:21 PM   #1
Bubbagump
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Default How use 1176?

I have been often perplexed by the 1176. I have UAD with the bundled 1176, my bud just picked up a hardware 1176 that I pretty much have unfettered access to, and there are 100 similar plug ins (Rocket, Bomb Factory)... However, I never seem to get sounds out of these I like. I am trying to determine am I just using it wrong, or do I simply not like the sound of that sort of compressor? Is there any one with experience that can comment? How and when do you use it? Everyone is always so pants gooey over the 1176, I figure I am missing something here.
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Old 10-29-2009, 12:58 PM   #2
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Never touched the real thing... If that's a dealbreaker (ladies), stop reading here...

I've used an 1176 emu for parallel compression on recorded drums. It has a touch of a flattering character for this, nice weight and punch without sounding too squished.

Gooey in the pants good, though? Meh. I wonder if the "name" that the 1176 has has more to do with the fact that there weren't 100 similar compressors around that sounded pretty darn close to it at the time it came out... It was a unique processor in its time, not unlike the LA-2A. Therefore it became legend.
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Old 10-29-2009, 01:30 PM   #3
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i had a HW (2-)1176, i really liked it. never used it above 4:1 ratio, but pushed fairly hard at 4:1. drums were _punchy_ w/it, bass was nice, vocals were in-the-face.

i compared the HW 1176 w/the UAD 1176, and they were quite the same at the UAD's default position. but above that, the real stuff was much more attractive, imHo.

then i sold it, and bought a Distressor. that has 3:1 and 2:1 ratios, and a HPF filter in the detector circuit. fits my tracking needs better than the 1176
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Old 10-30-2009, 08:13 PM   #4
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...Everyone is always so pants gooey over the 1176, I figure I am missing something here.
Get over it, seriously.

Not that there is anything wrong with an 1176, but good sound is good sound, and that is a subjective user-to-user experience. A death-metal player who inherited a vintage 50's telecaster would probably be better off sticking with his $300 Epiphone.

Use what works for you, to get the sounds you want to get. The very fact that you are able to *not* get all pants-gooey about a piece of gear just for the name proves that you have the judgement and hearing discernment to make decisions for yourself.

This stuff turns into Strat vs. Les Paul or whatever. The 1176 *is* a very highly-regarded compressor, but honestly, in well-equipped studios that have one, it doesn't necessarily get any more use than older dbx compressors, or whatever is in the console channel strips, or any of a hundred capable plugins.

It's a tool, nothing more or less. In time, you might find some very useful applications for it, or not. But don't waste time trying to find a way to force into your signal chain just because it's fancy.
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Old 11-01-2009, 05:17 PM   #5
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I figured as much. I was just curious as if there is some way that folks are using it that they like, I wouldn't mind trying it if I haven't already. I am way beyond using things due to the name on the front. I am not trying to shoe horn myself into loving it.
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Old 11-01-2009, 08:38 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by yep View Post
Get over it, seriously.

Not that there is anything wrong with an 1176, but good sound is good sound, and that is a subjective user-to-user experience. A death-metal player who inherited a vintage 50's telecaster would probably be better off sticking with his $300 Epiphone.

Use what works for you, to get the sounds you want to get. The very fact that you are able to *not* get all pants-gooey about a piece of gear just for the name proves that you have the judgement and hearing discernment to make decisions for yourself.

This stuff turns into Strat vs. Les Paul or whatever. The 1176 *is* a very highly-regarded compressor, but honestly, in well-equipped studios that have one, it doesn't necessarily get any more use than older dbx compressors, or whatever is in the console channel strips, or any of a hundred capable plugins.

It's a tool, nothing more or less. In time, you might find some very useful applications for it, or not. But don't waste time trying to find a way to force into your signal chain just because it's fancy.
Oh, yeah I'm sure a "death metal" player can hear the difference...sometimes yep, just do your job...
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Old 11-01-2009, 09:08 PM   #7
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Oh, yeah I'm sure a "death metal" player can hear the difference...sometimes yep, just do your job...
???

What is "my job"?

Is your thesis that a death metal player could not hear the difference between a tele and a Les Paul...? I would disagree with that in the strongest possible terms-- there is no way to get a proper nu metal sound without fairly heavy-body guitars and extremely hot humbucking pickups.

Maybe you don't like extreme metal as a genre (I generally don't), but that does not mean that the players are incompetent or insensitive to tone. On the contrary, they typically have very exacting and demanding ideas of what they want in terms of sound, and a great many of them are extraordinarily capable players by any technical measure of skill.

To whatever degree "the job" is as a recording engineer, the job is to achieve what the client wants. A contractor who is engaged to build a striking contemporary open-floor house of concrete and glass but who instead builds a quaint and charming cape (which I would prefer to live in) has not done his job.

Just because someone has different, or even bad taste does not mean that they have no taste. In fact, people with the worst taste are often the most particular and finicky (exhibit A: car accessories).
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Old 11-02-2009, 08:30 AM   #8
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I figured as much. I was just curious as if there is some way that folks are using it that they like, I wouldn't mind trying it if I haven't already. I am way beyond using things due to the name on the front. I am not trying to shoe horn myself into loving it.
On the other hand, though, having access to real HW is kind of a nice opportunity... Maybe give it 15 mins every now and then, try some different stuff on it, see if anything catches your ear. I just remembered a SOS article on a survey of name producers and classic compressors, 1176/1178 gets a lot of play:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep0...ompressors.htm

The vibe I get from the article, though, is in line with yep -- people use whatever tool they are familiar with or what worked for them when experimenting. Multitudes of methods for defurring a feline.
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Old 11-02-2009, 08:47 AM   #9
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I use the UAD version also...never tried the HW in person.

I used it up until 2 weeks ago as my primary compressor on vocals. I just got the CL1B vst comp and it is taking over but still occasionally use the 1176 for some edge on vocals. I also use the 1176 for parallel compression on drums. I slam the hell out of it and mix in a little with the original. It always sounds like absolute shit on its own, but you mix a little in and it makes the drums sound a bit more exciting. You have to watch how much of the cymbals you mix in on the track though, usually I send a bit less of the cymbals (or LP filter) than the rest because they always seem to be accented heavily. Sometimes on electric guitars too...It adds a touch of ooomph to already compressed electric guitars.
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Old 11-02-2009, 08:52 AM   #10
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???

What is "my job"?
Are you a bass player or drummer ? Then stand in the back and be quiet. Hell, I am a drummer. People never even know I am in the band most of the time.

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Old 11-02-2009, 10:14 AM   #11
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???

What is "my job"?






You don't what your job is Yep? Must be confusing when you arrive for work

Mind you I have days like that too.
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Old 04-22-2012, 07:54 AM   #12
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I was doing a search for pretty much this very topic, but I see this thread never really got off the ground.

Yeah, I cant make the 1176 plugs do anything I 'really' like. I hate the word 'punchy'. Everyone says the 1176 makes your drums punchy, but the absolute slowest attack time on it is about 1 ms which to me means it's eating all your transients for breakfast. The fast attack times are into the microseconds. Everytime I put it in I hear 'muted' with some low end loss, 'pillowy' and with the fast release, 'pumpy'.

What's with all these super-fast compressors? If the initial transient doesnt get through the sound is certainly not going to 'punch'. I cant find a way to use 1176 style comps to my liking right now as well...
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Old 04-22-2012, 08:10 AM   #13
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I think some of this is that most 1176-ish plugs don't really nail the sweet spot of the 1176. With the right settings dialed in you can get a real growl out of it that is perfect for a lot of vocal and drum sounds (a huge percentage of your favorite snare drums were probably processed with 1176s).

That said, I have used plugins that could get to that point; but a major difference between hw and sw here is that it's fiddly with plugins, you have to gently and meticulously turn and return those knobs. The hardware units make it much more...let's say ergonomic. With a good 1176 revision in good condition it can make finding that sweet spot fast and easy, part of the reason it is so abundantly loved as a unit. I've yet to use a plugin, even the good ones that can finally nail most of that sound, which made that process easy. But once you find it, there's no going back.
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Old 04-22-2012, 07:28 PM   #14
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edit: Source material issue. Nothing to see here...
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Old 04-23-2012, 02:10 AM   #15
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I recently got the Black76 from IK with the tracks3 group buy.

The first few times i went to use it i loaded it into the track, messed with the settings and thought this isn't working and took it straight of again.

I,ve been mixing a 14 track album the last couple of weeks and i keep trying it on all sorts of sounds and i'm liking it more and more. The last mix i used it on the parallel comp for the drums, the Bass guitar & on the lead vocal track followed by the White 2A, and i'm really happy with all these tracks.

It seems to me that getting the attack and most importantly the release right seems to be the trick.

I just squashed the sound hard and then adjust the attack / release until it starts to sound like what i need then back it off to get the gain reduction i want and then maybe some fine tuning of the attack / release.

I found its quick attack worked well on this particular vocal, i used it to grab the loud spikey bits, only ever 2 > 3 db then the LA2A after to bring it right under control.

I guess thats fairly typical of how most people use compressors and i'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination but i think i'll find a fair amount of use for the Black76 in my projects.


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Old 04-27-2012, 12:02 PM   #16
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Quote:
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How and when do you use it? Everyone is always so pants gooey over the 1176, I figure I am missing something here.
for that typical emo voices... it's pops like crazy and can be easily tamed to sound from tennis balls to balin shots.

An emo singer screaming 3m far from a large capsule
Pick an uncolored mic preamp
1176: input high, output low, push all ratio buttons, very fast attack, fast release (clock-wise).

Same sound can be archieved with other tools, but the 1176 is a one trick pony that fits the bill perfectly in many scenarios.
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