-=> Quoting T Owen to Lee Jackson <=-
 TO> It's the 1066; it replaced the 166, and it is one of my favorite toys,
 TO> or at least I use it constantly.
I'd like to get one, but I don't think I'd be able to talk our company into
it.  We have laid down some serious bucks over the past few months:  a
Mackie 1604-VLZ, a new Omnirax rack, a couple of patch bays, and a copy of
Sound Forge with all of the plugins (plus the Waves L1 plugin) have been
added into the mix.  We still have other more pressing priorities as well,
so the 1066 waits.  Sigh. 
 TO> The Aphex "tubessence" compressor is nice, but it isn't the same thing
 TO> as a true tube compressor; it sounds "tubey", but it also sounds
 TO> like solid state. It's a good compromise between transistors and
 TO> tubes, but if you want something to fatten up digital recordings it
 TO> isn't the  best for the application.
Interesting - thanks for the advice.  Read on, since I have a question
about the digital fattening.
 TO> The Midiverb 4 is a decent unit, with some good programs, used to have
 TO> one myself, and I liked it just fine.
I haven't had the chance to put it to full use on music yet, but I'm dying
to.  It's being used for special voice effects for our games (Apogee/3D
Realms - Duke Nukem 3D's "Fat Commander" is an altered preset with my voice
behind it).
 TO> I do have preferences. For solid state units, in a mid price range, it
 TO> would be the Drawmer DL241. For no compromise units, it would be the
 TO> Focusrite Blue 330 (beautiful unit).
I've heard of the Focusrite name, but I don't know anything about it.  Sort
of shows how green to this field I still am.  Do they or any of the others
you mention have web sites, or other resources I can get info from?
 TO> Most of what I do is live mixing, so I don't use the really expensive
 TO> toys that often...
This is exactly the opposite of what I do.  I do music and sound effects
for our games, working mostly with MIDI files on the music end and with
either CD sfx libraries (heavily mixed and processed) or live microphone
recordings to HD (SAW Plus) of someone's voice.  Occasionally, I'll do a
Red Book CD-Audio track of one of our MIDI files, using a Roland SC-88
Super Canvas as the only sound source (for now, at least).  When I do this,
I get to play with the MidiVerb IV and the 3630.
We've just ordered a Tascam DA-P1 DAT for sfx sampling and other uses.  I'm
anxious to get it and determine the best way to fit it into the mix.
 TO> to compensate for the HF loss of the squashing. For mixing down from a
 TO> multi-track deck to 2 track (both analog) I use the 330; god, I love
 TO> that thing, but the price is not for the faint of heart.
With what I've said earlier in mind, what would you recommend as a good
compressor for our uses?  Do I have what I need, or should I put an upgrade
or trade-in on the "to do" list?
 TO> ... There is no such thing as too much "clean" when it's audio!
You have said a mouthful.  Call me crazy, but I've just spent about a day's
worth of work cleaning a batch of new cables for the rack.  The ones in
place were, as you can guess, also inherited.  None of them matched, and
some were downright funky.  Price restraints forced us to go with Hosa,
since we needed almost 100 different cables.  Fortunately, Dan Russell at
Mission Recording and Audio (www.missionrec.com) gave us a good deal.  This
is *not* an ad or endorsement - I just like dealing with him. ;-)
    -Lee
... Without chemicals, he points.
--- Blue Wave/Max v2.30
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