New Joemeek Compresser vs Older Models - Recording Vocals

[Reid Mason]

It's been brought to our attention here at PMI HQ that some users who are intimately familiar with the older Meek compressors are having a hard time understanding the way the new models function - especially when recording vocals.

Below is a statement made by Alan, specifically regarding the issue of how to get a great vocal sound from the new Meeks:

"The new Joemeek unit is ten times faster attack then the old one.
If you use the attack of the new unit like you use the old unit, you will see
these problems you are having. A fast attack is very percussive and colored. The slowest
attack time on the new Joemeek threeQ is the same speed as the fastest attack time of the
old Joemeek unit.

Here is where I suggest you start.

Set your attack time to the slowest point at 100 msec and set the release to its mid point
or at 0.3sec. Set the compression control to half way or less.

This is a good starting point. From there, simply start turning the attack time counter
clockwise. The more you turn it, the more percussive it will be. You can hear snare drums
become tighter and more aggressive. So a fast time for drums is good. A slower time
for vocals is better, say about 75msec.

From there make your adjustments as you need them and for less compression, turn the compression down."

We hope this information is helpful to those of you who have purchased new units or upgraded from older models.

[Alan Hyatt]

We designed the fast attack time to get more versatility out of the Meek compressor. It is great on drums and provides those "whack" sounds with great transient peaks.

Fast attack on vocals can be weird, but you never how something will turn out. So this is why slowing up the attack time at first will get the old Meek sound...

[earlwgreen]

Great info. I needed this. I just received the threeQ and had trouble using it. I'll be tracking some more vocals tomorrow (or later tonight) and will give these setting a try.

Thanks again!

[Nik Keefe]

Great info. I needed this. I just received the threeQ and had trouble using it. I'll be tracking some more vocals tomorrow (or later tonight) and will give these setting a try.

Thanks again!
It definitely takes a little while to get used to the comp on the threeQ what with the lack of controls - the sounds are in there but you need to work a little to coax them out. ;)

[earlwgreen]

It's been brought to our attention here at PMI HQ that some users who are intimately familiar with the older Meek compressors are having a hard time understanding the way the new models function - especially when recording vocals.

Below is a statement made by Alan, specifically regarding the issue of how to get a great vocal sound from the new Meeks:

"The new Joemeek unit is ten times faster attack then the old one.
If you use the attack of the new unit like you use the old unit, you will see
these problems you are having. A fast attack is very percussive and colored. The slowest
attack time on the new Joemeek threeQ is the same speed as the fastest attack time of the
old Joemeek unit.

Here is where I suggest you start.

Set your attack time to the slowest point at 100 msec and set the release to its mid point
or at 0.3sec. Set the compression control to half way or less.

This is a good starting point. From there, simply start turning the attack time counter
clockwise. The more you turn it, the more percussive it will be. You can hear snare drums
become tighter and more aggressive. So a fast time for drums is good. A slower time
for vocals is better, say about 75msec.

From there make your adjustments as you need them and for less compression, turn the compression down."

We hope this information is helpful to those of you who have purchased new units or upgraded from older models.


Hey guys,

I'm soooo confused! I've been trying out different settings for the compressor and after reading the above post, I compared it with the manual.

The manual says:

"'ATTACK; sets how quickly the compressor reacts to peaks above threshold......For vocals the Attack needs to be around 1msec for a natural sounding result."

That seems opposite to what the post above says. Am I crazy? Missing something?:confused:

Thanks for any help.

[earlwgreen]

Anyone out there?:)

[Ausrock]

Earl,

I think Alan (and maybe others) have been away recently so you may have to wait a bit for them to see this. In the meantime, I'd suggest you keep playing with the unit and try both the manual's recommended settings as well as Alan's and anything in between and beyond, listen to the differences and see what you like.

ChrisO :cool:

[earlwgreen]

Thanks. I thought maybe because it was an old thread, they may have missed it.

I've tried it both ways and it appears that the manual way is correct, but, I'm so new to using hardware compressors I just wanted to be sure that was not causing more problems than solving them.

Thanks again for the head-up.

[Alan Hyatt]

I am still out of town, and on my way to Germany, but the fact is the new compressor is bit different. It can sound like the old one, but the new one is more flexible.

What works for me, may not work for you. I set my attack to about 50 to 75 ms for vocals, and set my release to 0.2 to 0.3. This is my starting point... From there I adjust to how I like it.

There is no set way to do this, you need to do what works best to your taste. The threeQ like everything else is liked more than the older gear by many, and not by others...but we expect that. What you can't take away fro the new gear is that is is much quieter, has more headroom, more features, and built better by a ton...not to mention that it looks great. Of course, that is my opinion.

Getting it to work for you is finding its sweet spots, but at a fast attack, the new threeQ is great for a lot of cool percussive effects, but fast attack does not work well for vocals.

[earlwgreen]

Thanks for the reply!

I'm so new to using compressors I wasn't sure about it. After reading the manual again, I got more confused.

Thanks again for the reply.