Nils wrote:ignatius wrote:
API 2500 stereo compressor
modcan/cyndustries modular
Wow, and I thought I had a lot of gear 
Ignatius: What do you think of the API compressor? I'm looking for a serious compressor these days, can you recommend the API?
And the modular: I'd be interested to know the layout and how you're using it 
the API is amazing. anything put through it sounds better even w/o any compression going on. it's one of those kinds of boxes. I got it used from vintage king.. it's practically new though.. still had the tags on it!.. but yeah.. it can be very very transparent and it's easy to dial in a just a little compression and let the api op amp do it's thing (which is brilliant). it is great on any stereo source. i've used on a drum mix and i route the 2 mix through it after the dbox for summing. sounds really great. you can use it on mono sources as well but you can't do dual mono. it sounds great on acidy basses and everything really. it's quite versatile. you can really squash stuff and make things really colored if you that's what you're after. i highly recommend the API2500. you just cannot go wrong with it. i bought it on a recommendation from a friend who is a mastering engineer. i had never used on before.. i'd used some manley stuff and some 1176's and distressors all of which is great but this thing is just absolutely perfect.
modular: i use it for everything. some of the standard basic modules are just amazing. the phase/timbre mod module is one of my favs... best distortion ever for drums and really fattens up any synth sound w/o sounding gimmicky or crushed and you can dial in the amount of processing you like adn get CV control over it. i filter a lot of things through it and also route LFO's out to other things and also just jam w/it and record everything i do then edit and make sampler instruments in kontakt or live or logic or just general sample fodder or loops.
synthesis w/a modular is something everyone should experience at some point. the oscillators in the modcan are awesome and bruce is making digital VCO's w/lot's of different waveforms and he's also making looping multi lfo's and envelopes w/many waveshapes.
my system is pretty well balanced between synthesis and processing. i have a handful of oscilaltors and filters/envelopes/lfo's and a handful of processing modules like the analog flanger, sawtooth animator etc.
i use it a lot for fm type stuff because it just gets weird fast. it's great to make growling basses and unison type sounds and just all sorts of modulated mayhem.
Nils wrote:Wow, and I thought I had a lot of gear 
there's longer gear lists here which i'm glad of. i hate being the only total gearslut but i can honestly say that it all gets used to actually make music and most of it i've had for quite a while.
