Better Gear - Modded Alesis 3630 VS Mastering Engineer
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ก.ย. 2024
- In this episode of Better Gear, the show about making Bad Gear better, we are going to mod the living hell out of a humble Alesis 3630 RMS/PEAK Dual Channel Compressor Limiter with Gate. Will it actually sound good? Can it hold up with the high-end signal chain of a pro mastering engineer?
❤Thanks to Raimund for the soldering work❤
Follow him on Insta: moltzenberg
❤Thanks to Men Constructed Boys for the music❤
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Full Tracks, Extended Jams, Sample Packs:
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Support the channel regardless of what your G.A.S. tells you to buy:
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Don't forget to check out the original 3630 episode
th-cam.com/video/Nsc2wNlvZMw/w-d-xo.html
Find the results in this episode
th-cam.com/video/LdygQzn2wbA/w-d-xo.html
The unmodded one is one of those aesthetic choices of compressor.
I'd say to get a normal compressor but keep the unmodded alesis as the more characteristic sound
Yeah, I'm using it a lot less since it has been modded
@@AudioPilz yeah, as "bad" as it is, it's that "bad" sound that made the alesis special, turning it into a normal compressor, which means, why would you use the modded alesis over a normal one
On A, the higher frequences are masked by the lower frequencies, making it sound muddy and unclear. B is much better, the low frequencies are just as present but the high frequencies can still peak through. MUCH better compression.
Good ear!!!
I got three of them. Knobs sitting so hard in fact, I managed to damage 2 pots during cleaning I was forced to do after years of dust collection. The axles simply came out with knobs. 36dirty likes dirt and protest if you want to make it missing it. You've been warned.
👍👍👍
I’m guessing A is the Alesis as the B master is a little wider.
Thänks 4 voting
The A master sounds much more boomy and muddy in my studio monitors, like the compression is smashing the high frequencies.
I prefer Master B, it has more separation in the transients and sounds less processed...Master B sounds a bit congested and over compressed/limited...it could be more of a settings preference tho...
Thanks for voting
The sound in "B" has much better high end, allowing the "crunchy" guitar to shine through. Much better tone quality. Before it sounded a little lifeless. Decent low end, but no crispness in comparison to the second take.
Good ear!
Hmm, it's hard to tell which one is which but I do hear a slight difference!
First of all, both masters sound great. But I prefer the sound of 'Master B' personally.
I think it's 'Master A' where the 3630 is being used. 'Master B' sounds cleaner and not as muddy.
But actually, even though I prefer 'B', 'A' sounds very good for this type of music imo! So who knows!
Can't wait to see how wrong I am next week :).
Thanks for taking a guess
You certainly have "been there and done that". It looks like my old 3630 is going to see the light again. No not that light, I mean daylight because it's under the stairs somewhere. I thought the difference would be bigger, but then again this is what i was told. Another great video.
Thanks! Still not sure about the mod
3630 is great for making real drums sound like a drum machine on the cheap, only ever used it for that, the crunchiness is "charming."
That's a nice description!
awesome vids man! I like B the most, seems more airy, kicks sound awesome and vocals are clearer. sometimes on the A the kick sounds shortened a bit, and muddier overall. thanks!
Great ears, you picked the pro master
There's a pretty clear difference to me in that A is more bass heavy and muddied while B is clear and more balanced. I won't guess which is done by which because I don't know what kind of preferences the band had when it was getting mastered so either could be done by the engineer imo (though I do personally prefer B)
Good ear!
I bought a 3630 in 1994-96? What a turd!!!! but glad to see you can screw with it to make it (slightly) better
My desert island affordable compressor is the RNC1178. But why does it start in "On" mode not "Bypass". UGH... minor annoyance.. but kinda major, too
RNC are tight. The issue might be caused by the relais system in the unit
@@AudioPilz it's a design flaw (in my opinion). it powers up "on" not on "bypass" since brand new.
I suppose you could argue either way which idea is better..... but I like to leave it patched to my mix inserts, but don't want it running every time I power up.
progress done 👌
hmm, 3630 or dbx 166/266?
I think I was in a band in the 90s in Baltimore with the Mastering Engineer. Then again all of those places look the same to me.
Yeah, I still prefer those studios that didn't go full-on iStore
Vote for A, slightly better sound for my opinion. Thanks for videos, that's a lot of work!
THX &THX for voting
Both sounded great, but B had much better clarity imo. I also love the music! On another note, how are you liking the RMC? I've been looking for a compressor and that seems to be great for the price.
Thanks! RNC is highly recommended! Clean and fast!
Great videos, keep it up! Greetings from Chile!
THX!
Great video! Really nice presentation and editing.
Thanks!!!
It's really difficult to say which is which, both versions sound well balanced to my ears with A being a little more compact, which could be the intention, even though I prefer B for my personal taste. B is not as "powerful" but a little more dynamic, so I say A - original master, B - the 3630.
Thanks for voting!
I like version C best.
You just won a price
I think A is the Alesis and B is the pro chain. B has a little more space. Some people might prefer A as an aesthetic choice.
Thanks for voting
you said you could hardly hear it working "is this thing on?"
Perhaps you were not actually getting much of a change in dynamics because you GR meters are showing not much movement until the outro. You're only getting a couple of DB movement, which won't make a huge difference to the feel. Glue at best. Try speeding up the release and slowing the attack slightly. Anyway this video is old so thanks for making me aware of the mod.
True, I should have pushed it a little further
Turn input all the way up and instant Skrillex
Great technique. I have to try that!
Master B sounds better to me, it seems to have more dynamics and clarity, maybe a dropbox folder with .flac or .wav files excerpts will be better for this kind of analysis as youtube compression is affecting the result
Thanks for voting. Yeah, will try to provide proper files
Really needed a optical compressor maybe stereo linked la2a’s for the master it’s pretty harsh
👍
TH-cam's audio algorithm having done its evil work notwithstanding, Master B certainly treats that snare drum with a lot more respect.
👍
Just guessing, but I think A is the professional master. The vocals don't sound as muddled in the mix to me. I listened at very low volumes in my mid-ranged cans. The vocals were what popped out at me as very much different in both mixes and A sounded cleaner. However, I'm pretty old and my ears are crap. I never had an hear for this kind of thing! I just like making noise, not making noise sound good!
Thanks! You just voted for the 3630/Audiopilz - combo ;)
@@AudioPilz Well, it did come with a disclaimer that I'm not a mastering/engineer guy and my old ears are worthless! :P So take that vote how you will! lol
I'll still take it as a compliment. Thanks for participating
A is the Alesis, the drums and vocals are much more defined on master B, good song that.
Thanks! Good guess!
B seems to be the better version to me, so the modded one. A sound seems to be reaching a roof where bass and middles merge and I have more difficulty telling things appart (I'm not trained to audiphile quality but this is what I feel :) )
Edit : It would be nice to see the blueprints for this mod.
Good instincts, then!
@@AudioPilz Thank you :)
Master B just sounds better, cleaner. I can make out what's actually going on. Master A sounds muddy in comparison, seems like a the compressor robbed it of sonic detail. Im listening from my TV (to make this recklessly fun lol). I could immediately hear a difference...
Not bad! TVs can be so brutal!
Another great video!
Thanks!
Now I may mod my 3630, but I don't want to lose the authenticity of sound... Hmm, I guess I could use Leaky Caps VST or CrapCompressor Pro 2.0. Maybe I'll leave mine with the dirt falling off.
They're still pretty cheap. Why not get another one?
I think B sounds better. Great vid!
Thanks for voting
I don't know much about much but I kinda made out more of the music in master b. Master a seemed kinda muddled together and the different parts just kinda less distinct from each other?
Good ear! There are reasons for hiring a pro mastering engineer with top notch gear
id say id get both a Modded 3630 and a Unmodded 3630
id say a TR-505 with TR-909 sounds and a unmodded 3630 would be ultra dirty
That's the way to do it;)
See you at 10k subs!
THX. I'll fix you a drink...
OMG Dinner for One.
You have taste my friend
my guess is B is the engineer
...as every year
Did i just watch Raimung build and Mac Gyver dismantle a bomb in 1 video!? (I´m not sure about Mr. Gyver, but I def. saw Mr. MCB!).
Hurt Locker, my dear, Hurt Locker...
@@AudioPilz I guess I see Mac everywhere... :)
hard to tell which one sounds better. the vocal mix/recording is bad in both versions. if you would add a de-esser the vocal would be wiped out. i just hear spitting sounds here
Thank you for the feedback
I'm late, but I haven't seen the answer yet. On the first pass... Master A Hmmm... I hear some aliasing and artifacts, and whoah mud. Master B... This sounds a bit better, hmm aliasing and artifacts here too. Dammit! I was listening to the video at 720p. Okay, full res (? can we ever tell with youtube? Links to WAV files?)... ahhh that's better. Now, Master B has got to be the pro engineer. There is actually some separation in all the different parts during the loud sections. Master A has got to be the 3630. It does sound much better than it was unmodded. But it's like Master A is like someone coloring the edge details of a picture with a crayon. With some applied skill you can do some fine work with a crayon, but the edges are always gonna be a little fuzzy, and there aren't any dynamic changes to the color, even when varying the pressure on the crayon. Master B is like the same artist doing the same edge color detail, but with a fine razor brush and quality watercolor pigments. There's control all along the edge detail, and much more variations in the color richness. The artist's control of the brush clearly comes through.
I bet I'm wrong... Yeah, I'm probably wrong.
Good ear ;) th-cam.com/video/LdygQzn2wbA/w-d-xo.html
Would you be able to modify a dsl with a yamaha sound chip to increase the potential of their synth programs
Most probably not without professional help😉
@@AudioPilz drat. Would love to see it/get it done. Its really s great little synth
I liked A more.
Thanks for voting!
Bad Gear 37 K views Better Gear 9.6K views . About 80 % of people don't want better gear.
TBH that one was special interest ;)
@@AudioPilz haha I know, but still
I feel like A is the alesis but i only listened thru laptop speakers. the voice is kinda lost in A
Good ears!
i also preffer B since it feels much wider. have the results come out yet?
Good ear ;) th-cam.com/video/LdygQzn2wbA/w-d-xo.html
@@AudioPilz good channel mate. Cheers to you
What program are you using to make the fractals?
FCPX
@@AudioPilz your gonna make me emulate mac os you know that.
Trying to get into visual synthesis and Lumen looks like a pretty cool program for macs too.
I don't wanna learn Max and Jitter but it looks like I might have to or emulate macos.... decisions~ decisions
p.s. I know sound like a heckler and I am but I appreciate the videos the engagement. Your content is pretty spot on with humor to boot.
B is audio engineer , A alesis ... but my instict says it's opossite ...
Did you just say that I am not an audio engineer?😭😂😂😂😂😂
@@AudioPilz hahahaha, anyway both sounds good, been triggerrd now for mt2 and rat pedals,also awesome er1 mod still regrets that i sold mine...
that thing's got knobs and buttons on it. USE THEM!!!! I DON'T WATCH THIS FOR THE SOFTCORE. FULL PENETRATION U I MANIPULATION!!!
watch your volumes or I will have to turn on the brick wall!
Thanks for the feedback!
im really confused what people are hearing, it just sounds like shitty utube compressed audio... Taetro gets good video audio, I wonder if its because he linked his utube music channel to his main channel
Yeah, YT doesn't make it that easy...
I think A is the main master and B is the modded 3630.
Just released the results. Thanks for voting ;)
@@AudioPilz Awesome! I must be blind, but I can't find the results???
Here it is: th-cam.com/video/LdygQzn2wbA/w-d-xo.html
@@AudioPilz thank you! I didn't realize it was going to be a separate video, I thought you were just going to comment on this one.
B's human, A's not.
👍
Ich würde echt gerne mal wieder einen erfrischenden Spannenden Mix/Recording hören.
Irgendwie ist es so.... ehm... Langweilig? halt oft gehört und mag den bis in die Unendlichkeit herauspolierten Sound nicht
Ja, Mixes haben sich verändert...
B huffs and pumps ,
In a good way? th-cam.com/video/LdygQzn2wbA/w-d-xo.html
My 10 year old MacBook speakers say "Master B sounds better".
Good ear
If you are going to MOD a compressor that much = why not ADD a BALANCE I/O
You mean by adding a transformer?
Wait normal airpods sound better than knock offs? I thought both sounded like shit.
Someone's actually using the real ones?
Lol that's not a 3630 anymore!
Yeah, it changed...🥺
Fucking phone daw can't tell the difference even with audiophile headphones
Phone converters are not up to the job in many cases
3630 is not bad at all ....😂
wary of dust,? BEWARE OF FISHY SAMPLER SLIME!!!