FIELD TEST
Joemeek SC2 compressor
by Ken Kessie
 
I guess I'm now an official "Gear Slut"®. Not only is my basement filled to its sound absorptive ceiling with all kinds of audio equipment, I also spend every last dollar on the latest stuff I can afford-and now I'm even writing about gear. (You know that old Roger Nichols joke: "Don't tell my wife that I'm going to an audio convention-she thinks I'm having an affair!) This is my first product review, and I have to admit I'm not the type to analyze the impact of .0004% second-order distortion at 29 kHz. I'm a working mixer; the gear I love has to make my tracks sound great, fast, and this unit qualifies easily. (No, this is not one of those obsequious reviews bought by the manufacturer-I purchased a Joemeek six months ago,and it's been used on every mix I've done since then. If I had four I'd use them all-hint, hint!)
The Joemeek compressor is a two-rackspace, 2-in, 2-out box that rocks. Even before it's plugged in, the super-cool retro green finish elicits oohs and ahhs from the peanut gallery. Everybody notices it. And after it's inserted, the engineers start oohing too.

When I started out as an engineer, there was a running joke going around. Every console seemed to have a few extra, unused buttons, and invariably they were labeled Producer Eject, Funky and Balls. The Joemeek compressor, quite simply, has balls. Almost every sound run through it has more impact, gets more in your face and makes you wish you had more of them to use. In fact, Anne Kadrovich, operations manager of Larrabee North, tells me thateach morning she has to break up fights in the hall between engineers vying to get the Joemeeks that day.

OK, let's talk about the actual unit. On the back are sets of XLR and 1/4-inch ins and outs for flexibility, and a gain pot that goes to 11-a la Spinal Tap. The unit works either balanced or unbalanced, so it can interface easily in either pro or semi-pro installations. On the front panel are five knobs, a VU meter and an in/out switch. The SC-2 doesn't have the usual threshold or ratio knobs, instead having three pots labeled Input Gain, Slope and Compression. Input Gain simply adds "more"-a useful move for any box, while Slope is a four-position knob that is designed to emulate the feel of the famed Fairchild compressor. The Compression knob adds more compression by varying the threshold. The knobs all interact depending on what's going through, but its very easy to get a great sound. There are also attack and release knobs, and they function just as youwould expect. If all this sounds a little basic, it is. Just stick this box across almost any signal and prepare to be blown away.

I've used the Joemeek on drums, guitars, basses, vocals, even on stereo busses. Guitars and bass are great...in your face, detailed-controlled without feeling squished. The Joemeek has the ability to turn the wimpiest guitar into something powerful...perfect for any alternative rock band. Basses are really enhanced-this is one area where the Joemeek's lack of noise really shows. The unit is also fantastic on drum overheads-I've used it to tame sloppy cymbal tracks into perfectly grooving leveled masterpieces. (This is where the attack and release controls are really useful.) And the Joemeek can definitely help vocals to stay fat while fitting into their proper place in the track. On one song the Meek turned a useless bass drum into a piece of savage beauty, and on another I was able to remaster a thin stereo track into the leadoff cut for a CD using the Joemeek and a pair of Pultecs across the stereo bus. Retro heaven!!! Look, everybody who's bought one of these beauties loves it. Don't be the last on your block.

Ken Kessie