Alesis 3630 Compressor/Limiter/Gate

This is my first real compressor, and I figured it out right away. I've been playing for about 15 years but still.

It makes my old weak quiet guitars roar like little lions, it does more than what I thought it would. I'm using it with a 1957 Framus hollowbody and a 1959 Fender Bassman.

I just got it so I have no idea...

I think that any guitar player or musician who really wants to sound like a professional needs to understand how valuable compressors are and also how often they're used on albums that they love, even the filthiest Misfits albums use them. They allow me to focus my tone to do exactly what I want it to do. It allows my Fender Blender to still sound completely out of control but not hurt my ears. I'm a vintage gear collector so it helps to give me an overall more consistent sound.

Its dark grey small letters on a black front make it loose some points here, apart from that it 'll be up and running in no time if you know what you're doing

Got this unit second hand. actually got two of them fo 100 Euro; that's practicly giving them away. I've used them mostly live and they are extremely good at keeping the dynamics within a certain range. I've even managed to go up to 5/1 ratio's on a laney wedge monitor without feedback although, this required a lot of tweaking with an EQ and the built in gate. (place the eq behind the compressor in the chain unless you're sidechaining) this alowed both whispered as well as shouted vocals to neatly sit in the mix. exactly what i was looking for. actually bought it for the gates to use on drums but I ended up using it on vocals. that just about says it all. If you're going to extremes with it you might experience squeeqs and clicks and feedback upon opening and closing of the gates (in live applications) and also when reducing dynamics you might also bring up the noise floor but you can't really blame this unit as it's just a consequence of pushing down peaks and bringing the average levels up to extreme. these extremes can't usualy be achieved with the more costly vintage compressors so I can't see it as as real flaw. Just don't exagerate (although it IS fun I must admit) Don 't forget that our hearing isn't at all that sensitive to changes in dynamics.

I got them second hand, but the storeowner still said i'd get my money back if they 'd fail me the first year. the ones i got seem to to have been used a lot; still they work is if they were new. since it 's an electronic unit without easily breakable parts (like valves or so) I don 't expect any problems. but since I have 2 I 'm not at all concerned about one breaking down.

Don't know if alesis still exists as a brand, as i've heard they're now in a third party's hands...

haven't contacted them yet, but they keep a nice website, and manuals and info are ready for download

Hope they discontinue this product... so that in a couple of years it 'll become one of those vintage thingies of it's own. OK it's not a tube or opto compressor, but it's got an inherent quality i like a lot. it also got sensible knobs, all with a function and it's verry tweakable (even more than most of the genuine vintage units) I'm happy with the unit as it is even if its not flawless.

really easy to use if you know how to use a compressor... i haven't read the manual. no click type pots - all smooth makes tweaking easy.

great sounding compressor... really warms up vocals and brings them to the front of the mix. the gate is very good - you can easily tell when it's open/closed.

i bought it off of ebay... no idea how old it is. works great.

great compressor with all the features you need for a great price. great for live anything - i haven't used it for recording. I'm definitely going to buy another 2 or 3 of these babies!

I use the 3630 live and agree with an earlier review in saying that the lettering is too dark, and due to the fact i havent got around to buying a rack light, makes it difficult for me to execute compression effectively enough, however other than this the 3630 is the best compressor in it's rang, no doubt.

Great sound quality, however, as i engineer metal bands 80% of the time, im dealing with alot of guitar signal, which, in my opinion the 3630 doesnt enjoy, so iv'e started using the old 300G rocktron for them.
No problem with anything else.
Impressive gates conisering the minimal controls aswell!

Geat reliability, i always keep the behringer on standby, but don't feel i'l ever need to use it.

Overall, a great tool to have in the live sound rack, if the gate had more control, this would possibly be the best comp ive used under ??1,500.
Dare i say its better than any drawmer or dbx i've used in the last 5 years.

Same as any other compressor but lettering on the face is way too dark and you can't see what you're doing in darker enviroment.

Not really made to record with. While it does sound much better than it's more expensive competitor DBX 266XL it does have serious issues with clicking when compression engages. This can be heard most with the bass guitar which in fact this unit can't handle at all as it also distorts the bass. Ok for vocals if always in red. Vorks well in live situation for PA or instruments which I guess is what it is made for. All this said, you can still get a decent studio recordings out of it if used carefully and for my money it is the best compressor in it's price range and still better than some more expensive ones.
If you're looking for serious studio work don't expect anything decent under $1000 and that's it. I had many below that price and none qualified eccept for some of the vintage ones.

No problems

No reply to my clicking queries.

Good compressor for the money. Adds a bit of 70's tone when used for track recordings which I like but you might not, does not have true bypass which makes it pain disconnecting it when I don't want it inline because it does alter sound to a degree in it's bypass mode and adds a little hiss too.

Basic compressor unit, no auto features. Easy to use if you know how to use compressors. Bad thisnk is that box is blac and function lettering is in dark grey - can't see where is what when room is dark. For this I give it lower rating because it shits me specially when in rack with bunch of other gear.

Sound quality is good if used for recording tracks. Has somewhat subtle 70's sound to it. I am happy with it "now". I bought it a year ego and thought I could do better so bought DBX266XL. For next six months I could figure out why my I can't get my mix and masters sounding right. It was the crappy 266XL, it brickwalls even at minimum settings and adds too much thin top. Alesis doesn't brick wall if you don't want it to, it's pretty gentle. So anyway I dumped the DBX and use this Alesis and music sounds good again. I can't buy much better for this money infact for less than $1000 so it's fine enough.

Stil works fine.

Good, answered all my questions ok.

Good basic very usable compressor for very good price.

This 3630 is fairly easy to use, you can get a great sound out of it in no time at all. Gating is especially easy once beginners figure it out.

I use the alesis 3630 when mixing vocals and guitars in my recording studio. Anyone who has said that the sound quality is lacking or it clicks has set it up wrong. (which is almost impossible to do if you know what you're doing) It gives great warmth and depth to anything especially vocals. With the right technique and a good ear you can easily have this making perfect sounding music.

I do not use this compressor for live applications so i do not know how rugged it may be on consisten moving and such, i usually keep it in my rack at all times for studio use. I have owned for a little over a year now and it is still going strong.

never had to deal with any

I record almost anything from rock to hip hop to metal and blues, this compressor does it all and makes it sound awesome. Bringing vocals to life, it pretty much keeps you from compressing tracks after the recording and using up your resources. For the price that you pay for it, it is definately worth buying! Get you a good preamp and mixer and a fast computer and you'll be making great sounding music in no time. The only thing i wish the compressor would have would be some kind of lighting on the face panel, although the leds are nice, the knobs are hard to see in low light, which is how i like to record.

If you would like to hear tracks i've used with this mixer, visit me at www.myspace.com/substance1 and check it out for yourselves!

For novice users a great machine, for me a little to much, lots of knobs, my beringer has less.

The compressors were used in a club and for recording my MD's.
For working in the club, these are not suitable, too much sounds, pops and clicks for this application.
For recording MD's they did do it well, but not superb, my behringer is so much better.
We tried to use them for a small radiostation, but they failed the test. Sound quality is not great but good enough for home use.

Have them for 6 years, stacked up in a rack and never had a faillure.

Never had to call or sending mail to them

A great piece for beginners, but for broadcasting, mixing or clubs too poor. There are better compressor/limiter/gates.

About a ssimple to use as any other compressor, only problem is it has the function descriptions in dark grey color on black background. Impossible to see at low light what knob I am at! Takes a litle while to get familiar and remember the knobs layout. When you have 20+ units in the rack it's not easy to rmember where each knob is.
Apart from the all controls are well responsive.

I guess athtis lower price range I can only compare it to DBX (266xl whuch by the still cost more). The DBX has much better sound quality, it's cleaner an crisper. But that's where it ends because of other problems it has which you can read reviews on other pages.
The 3630 sounds a bit flat, without dept to it, is slightly cut on top end and has some hiss to it if was I compare to the DBX 266xl which is much better in that respect. The clicking.....yes it has some but less than the DBX. Still a pain though! Controls response is better and also has better metering than the DBX. Gate is good. Sometimes I use other compressor but use this Alesis for gating only.

1 year, still works the same.

What I like about it that it is a decent compressor for the money and it is quiet usable for input recording but forget it for mastering. It'll just"brick wall" the music too much like the DBX 266xl. For mastering get a real vintage DBX or spend more at least a grand for something new because under that price the'll be always some damn compromise.
I don't like the clicking but it's not as bad and can be worked around. I wish it had a true bypass and also
wish it had more top end to it, that way one could cut the top down to lower the hiss.
Overall it is better than other units that cost even more. I do have better sounding compressosr, not particularly better functioning ones
but still use this one often. It's pretty much a general compressor that'll do it all ok without being crappy in some ways.
If I'd lost it I'll buy it again unless I want to spend a lot more money for something better.

Great device! Works almost with all kinds of music and instuments. Used it for guitar, bass, vocals and DJ mixer limiting, it does the job!!
Very easy to get the right setting in a few seconds.

For such a cheap comp it sounds great, don't expect BSS or TC quality though.
I use it with Midas Verona and Sound Projects FOH system. (www.soundprojects.com).
4 cabinets with 2" + 2x12" and 4 cabinets with 2x15", all self powered.
This is a great sounding system and for budget reasons I cut down on the compressors and effects.
The two 3630's are a addition to 4 DBX 1066 comps.
They sound better of course, but the 3630's come damn close.

Have them for 2 years now and use them twice a week. Had no problems yet.

No experience.

Great machines, perfect for live aplications with any source.