Extensive compressor reviews and FAQ

Furman LC-3: This is a mono rackmount unit from the mid '80s, able to work at either line or instrument level (as long as your instrument has a fairly hot output). It has a nice warm full tone, with no rolloff of highs or lows. It is a bit noisy though, especially on the swell of sustain on the tail of your note. It also is very prone to a crackly sort of distortion, which can only be minimized by setting the release to maximum, as well as a clipping on the attack which can only be minimized by choosing a slow attack. All in all, the Furman reminds me very much of the RNLA! It even has similar-looking red knobs. I upgraded all of the opamps in this one, which did seem to improve the noise level a bit, but not enough, and it did not help with the clipping. The tone is so fat, and the knobs so cool-looking, that I wanted to like this unit... but its flaws are too obnoxious.
 

 
 
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