Alesis 3630 Compressor/Limiter/Gate

This is my first compressor, and I was getting good settings out of it within fifteen minutes. The manual is clear and helpful.

I am using this unit for mixdown from an adat, and have had none of the problems mentioned in other reviews. I always knew that compression was important before this; now I know just how crucial it really is. I wish I had a couple more of them.

Haven't had it long enough to comment.

Alesis' website has all of their manuals available for download. I got a good price on mine from a dealer because it was a returned unit that didn't have the manual - a quick download from Alesis (www.alesis.com) solved that problem. I wish all manufacturers would do the same. I haven't had to deal with them otherwise. The thoroughness of their website gets an "8" all by itself....

I was thinking of getting something cheap like Alesis' own NanoComp, but the 3630's dual mono/linked stereo operation and noise gates make the NanoComp seem like a silly little toy. Since I have no experience with other compressors, I probably don't know what I missing. What I do know is that the $150 I spent on this box was well worth it.

Plug it in, turn it on. Manual is decent...I used RMS (automatic attack/release) mode at first since I didn't know much about using compressors, and that worked fine. Have since experimented a little more and always found it straightforward.

Sounds good to me...I keep it subtle on recording so I don't expect to notice it and don't. I use it on everything, especially the noise gate.

No problems

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I think it's a spectacular unit for the price. My first compressor and a good one, for guitar or recording. Like I said I use it on everything. I'm not a recording expert and I'm sure there are better units out there but not for this price.

Very simple. I mostly use the soft knee/rms settings.

I had only heard about how much a compressor/limiter helped. It is all true. Great for keeping the levels down when recording.

I've had no trouble with it and it is a really solid unit. I wouldn't even cringe if I dropped it.

Haven't used it.

Great unit. Excellent for the money. And the fact that it can be separated into two channels means that, for my mono stuff, it is like having two completely seperate units. And don't forget the noise gate. It's really nice to get rid of that anoying, but very subtle hum from my pickups.

I use it for guitar. The controls are pretty straight forward and easy to use.

The noise gate takes a bit of time to get the setiings just right so it doesn't slam shut.

I've only had it for a couple of weeks. No problems yet.

I was able to increase the sustain on my guitar substantially while trimming back the saturation on my amp at the same time. In doing so, I was able to eliminate most of the "zzzzzzzzz" type of tone you get from overdriven amps.

My 3630 has a "click" problem that is easily demonstrated. Because I just read of another person noting the same problem I feel that the people at Alesis sold a flawed product. I just spent 1 hour going over the 3630 and here is what I noted.
When the compressor circuit is first activated, an audible click is heard. It is more prominent in RMS mode than in Peak mode.
If you plug a bass guitar signal and softly play notes on the E string it is easy to hear the click. If you play notes quickly together, only the first one clicks. If you pause between notes, they all click. Therefore, the release setting is related to the problem. It seems that while the Compressor circuit is triggerer (from initial start to end of release), the clicking is not produced. However, once a pause occures that is longer than the release time, the compressor circuit is reset and placed in click mode again.
The only way I could partially stop the clicks was to run the unit in peak mode with a long release (the release has no effect when in RMS mode)
For Bass guitar, I found that having all sttings at 12 oclock except the release at Max (3s) and operating the unit in peak hard knee helped a little. I am still angry with alesis. I will submit an email to them. I suggest that you all do the same too.
Philip Pilgrim
The Lab Audio Works 5 Evan's Drive Hammond's Plains Nova Scotia, Canada
+1.902.835.7844

Buy something else!!!

I have a suspicion that the units citcuit can get into a DC offset situation that causes a click. It has been hard to get the suspected bug to happen repeatedly, but it has happened enough times in enough different situations to make me very suspicious of using the unit in critical recording situations. If it weren't for this suspected problem it is a great unit for the money.

They absolutly refuse to send schematics! You have to send the unit to the factory for service. I wanted to see the schematic to determine how fast the unit really responds to transient peaks. These peaks are no problem with analog recording, but will clip hard with digital recording.

I wouldn't buy another one. I'm going to try the dbx 1066 for my next low end compressor.

Extremely easy to use. Just plug it in and you already hear the difference. The knobs are clearly marked and the manual explains everything in detail (including what "compression" and "limiting" are).

AMAZING!!! No extra noise (you would hope no noise would be generated by a noise gate...). You can bypass the unit to hear the wet and dry signals. Compression is tight and does wonders for putting guitars and vocals on tape. The gate is very accurate also. The best feature is that it's STEREO channels. You can run your guitar signal through one side, and vocals through the other (both with completely different settings)! You can also link the channels for real STEREO compression. I can't say enough about it.

No question... put it in your rack, and you are set.

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If you record regularly, this unit is indespensable. And for the money, you can't beat it!