Is the C-800/ 1073/ CL1B Chain Overhyped? | Cian Riordan + Matt Rad

[@Jjf109nine]

I think this guy does not understand the Cl1b. Michael Jackson made it mandatory to tour with the Cl1b exclusively. In 1999, John Peterson had to ship a Cl1b via fast express to a concert in Paris because one tube broke. The Cl1b is the only compressor that has the magic quality to not affect the high end when using 20+ db of gain reduction. That‘s what modern engineers do today and the Cl1b is THE SOUND.

[@livewithmattradclips3164]

Hey Allan thank you for the comment! We've both used the CL 1B a bunch and it's great! I think you're essentially saying the same thing as Cian. The CL 1B won't drastically affect the sound with high amounts of gain reduction (you mentioned high end, he used the word "benign"). Whereas swapping out the C800 for something like the Michael Jackson/ Bruce Swedein favorite SM7B will be a DRASTIC change in sound. Much love!

[@Jjf109nine]

@@livewithmattradclips3164 Actually I have spoken to Klaus Heyne and he told me that Bruce used the SM7 only on a few passages. The rest was recorded with a Klaus Heyne C12. Just to make that clear. I was having long comversations on Bruce‘s technique as he never used compression

[@livewithmattradclips3164]

@@Jjf109nine Nice! Klaus mics are great! I've had him work on a few of mine over the years and they're always spectacular sounding! Also love that Bruce used so little compression. He was such a master. All the gear conversation aside, having Michael Jackson as a singer really helps make the engineering easy too!

[@Jjf109nine]

@@livewithmattradclips3164 Agreed💪

[@Johnwilkinsonofficial]

interesting, my experience with the ua plugin version of the Cl1b is that it is very easy to overdo it and the dials are super sensitive past a few db.

[@Johnwilkinsonofficial]

the impression i got was that every Chris Brown recording we have heard going back a long was is 251-Neve1073-Cl1B and that has influenced everybody haha i agree with the guest that a 1073 is more aggressive and warm than transparent and i usually prefer the clarity of something like the 737 so far. always use your ears and think for yourself!

[@livewithmattradclips3164]

Yeah lots of people use that combo and it sounds great! We're definitely talking SUBTLE difference at a really high level. I tend to like a very neutral preamp for vocals like the Undertone Audio preamp. But truthfully the thing that matters most in the chain is the mic!

[@rtdrec]

I prefer a 1176LN or a dbx160vu as tracking comp for rap vocals. When it's more a singing type voice then i go with the cl1b. I already had some of the "big" mics. Nothing had ever impressed me as much as the Sony C800 G. I have the least work in the mix with this microphone. I prefer the "almost finished" sound, in order to have to correct the sibalance at most and that's it. I'm a fan of taking things away instead of artificially adding them.

[@livewithmattradclips3164]

TBH I agree with you. I have a rev F 1176 that I use for all my vocal tracking. The speed of it is great. To me, the best compressor chain is an 1176 first and then a slower tube compressor like a CL1b or LA2A doing a teeny bit of compression after.

[@joshberrios3604]

How u like the attack and release on 76 while tracking? Thanks for all that u guys are doing with this❤

[@Jafithagreat]

question im having a hard time with a choosing the upton 251 or the ga 8000 c800 clone ) which would you say for hip hop/rap?

[@livewithmattradclips3164]

I don't really know about clones unfortunately :/ The only way I would make a decision is by listening side by side and deciding what I like better.

[@garbygarb31]

Why is the cl1b so widely used? If it's benign and in the background how come a 5000 dollar compressor is the industry standard right now? Teezio says he only uses it for 2 maybe 3 dB of compression.

[@livewithmattradclips3164]

It's a great update of the classic LA-2A compressor, which was one of the standard tube compressors starting in the late 1960s. The CL1B is like a feature-packed LA-2A, so when it came out in like 1988 it pretty quickly became an industry standard. There's nothing wrong with using a CL1B, they work great! As Cian said and as you mentioned from Teezio, it's adds a little tube warmth as it lightly levels out a vocal. If you have unlimited money, it's a great piece of gear to have to add a little sauce to your vocal. But with plugin technology these days, adding bits of saturation with something like Spectre give you much more flexibility with adding harmonics. And it's not $5000

[@RealHomeRecording]

I don't know but you can try it out on your own mixes now thanks to Access Analog. No need to spend $4,000 plus shipping you can rent it relatively cheaply "in the cloud" and with great quality converters!