compression hiss

[georgeeboy]

I`ve just recently bought a neve 2264A LB 500 series comp.
Sounds great..only one issue..when the compressor is engaged there seems to be a lot of hiss. i`ve tried everything i can think of to get the snare to sit in the mix at a reasonable volume without noise.
All my other comps are fine...is this a fault or is this a common thing with neve.
Any help is greatly appreciated,
cheers,
George.

[Hugh Robjohns]

It's a vintage design and far from the quietest compressor on the planet, at least according to the specs (although I've not tested this unit personally).

Noise will always be worse with greater amounts of make-up gain dialled in, so that may be something you should look at, as is the overall gain structure of the compressor within the rest of your system.

H

[Mixedup]

Yes, as Hugh says, a little noise is inherent in this classic design. If you're then sending the snare into a drum bus compressor, and a mix bus compressor, and applying any limiting to make the track loud... then it can get a bit much, particularly if you're hitting the compressor hard, and if you've not recorded close to the sort of sound or performance you want in the first place. Might be that you're using the wrong tool for the job? If not, just pay careful attention to the gain structure.

[Studio Support Gnome]

use a pair of carefully set up gates, one before and one after the compressor…. to optimise what's going in and what's coming out….

(or just the one after…. or just the one before….. depending on the actual noise source. )

when applying a fair bit of compression and make up gain, any noise in the original recording will be amplified, in addition to any noise the compressor itself makes…..

if you're not sure which is the issue, then set up a gate before the compressor, and set it to let only the main body of the snare hits thru….. if you still have the same massive hiss , then it's the compressor adding the hiss, for whatever reason…. (usually inappropriate make up gain settings…. (too much) and input levels (not enough) )

if the hiss has gone, then the source is the original recording…. being massively amplified by the make up gain…. which is active ALL the time, not just during the periods where the compressor is squashing bits…

if after identifying the source …. and deriving the solution from the clues above, you still need a fuller explanation of what to do to solve it…… you probably should't be allowed a compressor .