Recording - August 2013 - 31

In use
You would think that having such little physical control over the various compression parameters would
be limiting (pun intended), but the Comp 500 is quite
versatile in its simplicity. It’s also quite transparent and
forgiving, as I found in tests with a variety of sources.

On vocals you can dig in with 7–10 dB of compression, a Slow attack and Auto release for smooth
and leveled vocals that still sound natural. Or you can
use Fast release to make the voice pop a bit more.
This is one of the few compressors that I have used
that is natural enough for acoustic guitar. (The other is
also a VCA model.) With a Slow attack and the
Compression set to taste, the effect is similar to how the
unit reacts on vocals. Slow strumming benefits nicely
from the Auto release, while fast strumming and a Fast
release adds a nice animated motion to the sound.

On electric guitars it will not give you the vibe and grit of a Universal Audio
1176LN or an Empirical Labs EL-8 Distressor, but it is still fast and firm enough
for most electric guitar use and can pin it in the mix nicely; again, Auto release
yields a nice compressed electric guitar tone that does not sound overdone.
On snare it’s better suited to controlling fat backbeats and solidifying overly
dynamic grooves than punching you in the face like some of the FET models mentioned above, and as such it works better in smoother jazz, R&B and even country styles rather than indie rock and metal for my tastes.
On the 2-bus or drum bus in stereo, it offers a nice clean lift when used SSLstyle, just tickling the meters with a Fast attack and Auto release, or you can
really gel things together by digging in a bit deeper with a Slow attack and
Auto release that is quite opto-esque.
Rock bass was perhaps the only instance where the Comp 500 was not to my
usual liking. It just did not yield the right feel for me. But again, on smoother R&B
and funk bass it gave a nice controlled boost, especially with popping bass lines.
I don’t do much limiting, but as I mentioned above, the Comp 500 will hold
down the fort (so to speak) on the 2-bus or in other appropriate applications
with no problems at all.
Conclusions
The Comp 500 is a one of those versatile beasts that does its job well and
then stays out of the way. What goes in comes out nicely controlled or quickly
pumped and animated, with little to no added coloration of the source sound.
Geoff Daking designed it as a compressor that’s easy to set up and easy to use
for great results, and I found it truly is “just that simple”. You need to work much
harder to screw it up than to get a good sound out of it, and therein lies the beauty of this piece. If you’re looking for a high-quality gain control device that’s easy
to afford, easy to learn, and easy to help your tracks sound the best, Daking’s
done it again with a unit that’s a worthy companion to his mic preamp.
Price: $725
More from: Daking Audio, www.daking.com; dist. by TransAudio Group,
www.transaudiogroup.com

http://www.daking.com http://www.transaudiogroup.com http://www.cloudmicrophones.com http://www.cloudmicrophones.com

Recording - August 2013

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