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dbx 286/Whatever ... ?
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GHull
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Joined: 19 Jan 2008
Posts: 25

PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 2:31 pm    Post subject: dbx 286/Whatever ... ? Reply with quote

Hello, fellow yappers. It's been a while since I've logged on/in; nice to be back.

I am seeing a lot of very happy users of both the Symetrix 528 series voice processor [both the gray 528 as well as the blue E] units -- and fans of the dbx 286 Project 1, A, and S versions as well.

There is that school of thought which says there is a definite difference between the "original" gray-front 528 and any of the blue-front 528Es -- so my question to all of you is ... does that hold true with the different variations of the dbx 286 -- be it the "original" Project 1 with its wall-wart power supply, the black-front 286A, and the modern-production 286S? Please consider build quality as well as sound quality.

One thing is for sure -- a brand-new 286S has a street price of under $200, which is far less than a new 528E. And I am now seeing a lot of excellent-condition 286As available for mere pittances -- especially considering the stellar "bang-for-buck" reviews this voice processor seems to consistently garner.

Please weigh in with your thoughts ... excessive verbosity always appreciated!
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Quicksilver
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Joined: 29 Oct 2012
Posts: 217

PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 4:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have used both the 528e and 286a.

Prefer the 528e because the downward expander is excellent. The 286 has a gate but it's difficult to dial in, or at least harder than the 528e.

Another nice feature about the 528 is you can patch and out of each effect, bypassing the circuitry of the pre and other effects modules and you have the ability to side chain. I have an outboard pre and really only use the 528 for the expander, so that's nice to be able to do.

Pre's are both fine. Solid state radio quality. Nothing fancy but absolutely no problem with either.

The DBX's compressor was designed by (Bob?) Orban. It's pretty highly regarded. The whole strip for $200 is really a bargain.

Both are solid boxes. Meant for broadcast more than tracking but certainly work great for either.

All in all I'd consider the 286a a steal (sorry, don't know about the other models) and the 528e a good piece of gear. Can't say I wold drop the $899 or whatever the 528's are going for though again though. Would probably get an Audient iD22 and a dynamics strip of some sort for that kind of money. But that's just me.

Let us know what you go with and good luck!

DC
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Jason Huggins
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Joined: 12 Aug 2011
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Location: In the souls of a million jeans

PostPosted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 6:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I use the 286a because the expander is really easily tunable, but I do wish I could bypass the pre...I'm not a huge fan of its overall tone...but it isn't bad. I have used it for the past year and haven't had a single complaint or even a question about what I'm using. So that means (to me) that is sounds 'average.' No one complains but no one really compliments. I use it with a 416.

Also, the compressor (if applied lightly) is pretty transparent, the de-esser works pretty well (if you take the time to tune it and want to risk having it done in hardware) and the high and low harmonic boosters do add something to your track (if you want to deal with your raw tracks being tweaked and trying to replicate settings for pickups).

All that said, I really don't use anything except the HPF, expander and pre and I have been seriously considering ditching it all together because I have an Audient iD22 and I like the tone of that pre better. The only issue I have with the iD22 is that the HPF is at 100Hz and cuts way too much out IMO.

I haven't tried the S version, but I've read that it isn't really much different.
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GHull
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Joined: 19 Jan 2008
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 9:46 am    Post subject: Thanks! Reply with quote

Thanks to both of you for your comments. I admit that this post was probably the result of a moderate case of G.A.S. -- for I have a nice arsenal of workhorse and boutique pres & microphones already. Your comments indicate that the 286 is "very OK" with the emphasis on OK ... and I have access to several different versions of "OK" already.
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Quicksilver
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 12:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Seems like a good call. I'm kind of doing the same, looking to sell some old gear and consolidate into one much better chain.

If you change your mind though, I have a 286a in great shape and a banged up 528e that could be yours!
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GHull
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 12:54 pm    Post subject: Thanks, Quicksilver! Reply with quote

Thanks for the offer, Quicksilver [LOL] ... as I look over my assortment of "various voice processor boxes" -- gray 528, blue 528E among others -- plus all of the marvelous mics in the closet -- I've reached the logical Mr. Spock conclusion that "I have enough." A 286A is not going to be some sort of "magical silver bullet."

The funny thing is ... right now, for the sake of "git-er-dunn" gristmill convenience, I've been knocking out "stuff" with a flat RE20 connected to a 17-year-old Mackie 1202-VLZ-Pro [so those are the "old, original" XDR pres, not even Onyx] ... running it all, flat into Cool Edit Pro via a Delta 44 card -- and this is what I get back from ... whomever:

"Hey, man, sounds great ... thanks!"

"Funny" or not, this tells me that whatever I have generated, flat, must be clean enough for the "producer-recipient" to take it and "mold & manipulate" it into whatever needs to be done to satisfy his/her client. Granted, I am still a "gristmill" VO participant -- which means my work is going to be mixed into music and SFX, so signal-to-noise ratios and noise floors are not as critical as it may be for some VO artists ...

... but for the time being, my money is going to be better spent getting a new aluminum extension ladder and pressure washer for the house. Wink


Last edited by GHull on Wed Apr 13, 2016 2:13 am; edited 1 time in total
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Quicksilver
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 12:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, it's that last 2% in sound quality that kills ya!
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georgethetech
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Joined: 18 Mar 2007
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 5:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Ghull:

I have clients who have earned a good VO living with a 416 plugged into a Mackie mixer or a 286a or an Mbox (or fill in the blank cheap interface) for many years. Would their earnings suddenly or any measurable way increase if they were to upgrade their signal path? I don't think so, unless the psychological effect of using high-end gear actually makes a difference to one's performance. If you REALLY want to know what gear you have sounds best, you can record yourself through your various possible signal chains and send me the audio for evaluation. Otherwise, keep on working!
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Jason Huggins
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 7:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Agreed! I can be counted as one who earns a living with a 286a...because it's what works for me.
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GHull
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 2:02 pm    Post subject: Thanks Again! Reply with quote

Thanks [and LOL] to all who took the time to respond. Suspicions confirmed:

Whatever gets you through the night -- it's all right, it's all right.
Your mileage/results may vary.

Peace and happy yapping to you all!
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Lance Blair
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Joined: 03 Jun 2007
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 4:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Recorded a video game at an Atlanta studio a few years back. The chain was a U87 into an Avalon VT-737sp.

We did the follow up sessions for extra lines at my house. The chain was
an SP CS5 straight into an M-Audio box.

It matched. The studio room was a little 'live' so I tweaked the acoustics accordingly.

I'm using an old Yamaha MG16/4 right now. I have an Onyx board and I love the preamps, but the HPF is 100 Hz. That's just too high, as was said earlier.
It's got to be 80 or 70 Hz, at least for my voice. Smile
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GHull
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 5:44 pm    Post subject: MACKIE Onyx? Reply with quote

Lance Blair wrote:
Recorded a video game at an Atlanta studio a few years back. The chain was a U87 into an Avalon VT-737sp.

We did the follow up sessions for extra lines at my house. The chain was
an SP CS5 straight into an M-Audio box.

It matched. The studio room was a little 'live' so I tweaked the acoustics accordingly.

I'm using an old Yamaha MG16/4 right now. I have an Onyx board and I love the preamps, but the HPF is 100 Hz. That's just too high, as was said earlier.
It's got to be 80 or 70 Hz, at least for my voice. Smile


LOL; This is almost becoming a geometric progression here. The microphone/preamp combination is becoming so vast, there will wind up being more combinations available to VO artists than there are VO artists! Kinda like there are more landline & cell phones in Washington DC than there are people.

Lance ... the Onyx board, as in Mackie Onyx? As in the two [2] Onyx pres you can get on the teeny 402-VLZ4 for $99? The Onyx pre has been out for a while without any "updates/upgrades" ... you can now almost call it "venerable." Thought they would've released an Onyx Toroidal-Steroidal Anniversary Edition when it turned five Wink .

Hmm -- you're right. The bass rolloff on the Onyx mixers I've looked at is set to 100 Hz -- on my old 1202-VLZ Pro, the low-cut frequency is printed on the actual channel as 75 Hz. May have to invoke the spirit of Admiral Farragut, had he been an audio engineer: "Damn the bass rolloff ... full spectrum ahead!" Laugh
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Lance Blair
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 6:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Smile

Yes, Mackie Onyx. I wouldn't have bought it if I knew they bumped up the HPF.

I think the VLZ3 and before mixers have a "wider" and "brighter" sound which I prefer for VO. But those VLZ4 Onyx mixers still sound great.

Might revist getting the new dbx 286s. The 286a was my first preamp and I really liked it. I sold it because I thought I was 'upgrading'. Not really!

For all my corporate and e-learning gigs tracking with a good expander and light compression would be a nice time-saver.
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Jason Huggins
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Joined: 12 Aug 2011
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Location: In the souls of a million jeans

PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2016 6:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well you can get a 286a on eBay all the time for less than $100. I've got two in case one dies Smile
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Ed Fisher
DC


Joined: 05 Sep 2012
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Location: East Coast, U.S.A.

PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2016 7:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have both the 286 and the 286a sitting beside me.

I am the original owner of the 286 and purchased the 286a used on ebay.

The reason I went with the 286a is primarily the fact that the 286a's knobs have (what shall I call it?) indents? clicks?

The point is...you can set up the 286a and record your settings for a particular project and if they are changed....you can duplicate them again if needed.

The 286 knobs are all "smooth" and there is no definite way of EXACTLY duplicating or recording your settings.

The DOWN side to the 286a (at least in my case) was the very fact that the power supply is built into the case. (And it could be only my unit.) But, with the very sound isolated environment of my studio, I could hear a definite buzz coming from its transformer. My solution was to open it up and isolate the transformer from the 286a case by removing the bolts supporting it and I have it sitting on a small piece of rubber that I salvaged from an old mouse pad.

Now it's totally silent. But it is also sitting there with it's top off and it's guts exposed. (kids don't try this at home)

And that's what I know about the 286 and 286a.

Do they sound any different?

Not that I can tell.

Hope this helps. Smile
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