1k compressor

EZ all,

Just curious as to the capabilities of the compressor on the 1k, as ive only jus started gettin in to compression and wondered who uses the onboard compressor as i can't realy afford to get an external compressor.

I know it is going to take alot of experimentin to get the results im after.

Me personally only use it when I'm messing around. When its time to track I turn it off and use plug ins.

Probably one of the most slept on MPC effects.

i know i sleep on it...

it's not great... but if you don't have anything else it can work.

it's not really ideal to learn on if you don't have much experience with comps.


but as you said -- experiment... use the tools you have to try and shape the sounds
you want.

i used to use it alot when re-sampling one-shot drum hits. add a little of the reverb,
compress the bejesus out of it... see how it sounds.

if it's awful... scrap it and start again!

i'm a bit of a hack though and i'm sure someone with a more pro attitude would tell you
'it's junk forget about it' etc.

don't listen to em just have a crack... if it sounds good, it is good.

t_bias wrote:just have a crack... if it sounds good, it is good.

word. make it work for you.

Really and truly u have to experiment and form your own opinions, I use it quite a bit to track samples. It is only applied at the stereo outs though. sometimes I'll solo a snare track, dial up the bit grunger in the effects to where it's just nasty and then use the comp to squish the hell out it. Crazy effect.
So, compared to a UA, 610, 1176 or something, yeah u can call it junk but I found a few uses for it so I call it a tool. For some insight on compressors check out tweakheadzlab.com this site is a gem for me.

how much are effects part of ya'lls creative process?
everything is 99% dry with me until DAW

how much do you feel your use of fx while composing steers the direction the song takes?

I just use the fx on plain/boring sounds to spice them up a bit. The direction of the song depends on what mood I'm in, but the do change the feel of it.

jumped in last night and got some good results, another late night later!!!

cheers for the input

Nym wrote:how much are effects part of ya'lls creative process?
everything is 99% dry with me until DAW

how much do you feel your use of fx while composing steers the direction the song takes?

I think it can be a bit 'dangerous' tinkering with fx because for me at least it can lead me down the path of trying to perfect them as opposed to working on the underlying sounds. So I might add some reverb to a crash to try to extend it or bring it out a bit more in the mix, and then if I'm not careful I'll be tweaking that reverb sound instead of finishing the rest of the beat. So it's much better for me if I stay the hell away from fx until the beat or loop is finished, but it's not always so easy, you get curious, you decide to just apply a little delay to see if it helps and the next thing you know you wake up the next morning and you've joined the army and married three hookers. Yeah, good luck finishing that beat now, sucker.

Nym wrote:how much are effects part of ya'lls creative process?
everything is 99% dry with me until DAW

how much do you feel your use of fx while composing steers the direction the song takes?

I'm about 80% dry until DAW save for light compression, light reverb on drums, samples and hi-hats.


I mainly use the 1k's effects for synth-like modeling of my drums. Adjust the attack and decay, LFO, filtering until I get just the right sonics. Kind of like tightening a drum head to get the right punch.

I use the 1k's onboard effects and leave them in the final version. I like the sound.

I like it too. Sounds way better than the Alesis 3630, for example.

^ theres no way i would ever choose the MPC's compressor over the 3630.