Description
I’ve revisited the Alesis 3630 and concentrated on modifications that make the most significant difference. This Rev D 3630 already has a THAT VCA chip. The internal power supply has been upgraded with larger reservoir caps & additional power supply decoupling
The compressor release time has been shortened allowing more brutal compression at low release settings. The audio circuitry has been revised with much larger bipolar caps in the audio path which has hugely improved the bass response
This 3630 has some case scratches & rack rash from rack mounting but, of course, this doesn’t affect performance in any way
“The infamous dual channel compressor and limiter that no-one likes and everyone wants”
The 3630 has become a bit of a legend due to its unsubtlety, alleged poor sound quality and its capacity to provide vicious pumping compression
Do they sound bad? No – they sound like pretty much any other VCA-based compressor when they’re not working hard. Do they sound good? That depends on your definition of good
I found they are difficult to set up and very critical of threshold and attack times. Once set correctly they are very effective, and once set to pump like crazy they produce a wonderful squashed sound which is fantastic added to the original sound (aka parallel compression)
The sidechain input means it’s easy to pump the compressors using an external key signal. Typically that’d be a short sample like a woodblock driven by a sequence in your DAW
In modified form the 3630 is like any other VCA compressor – sonically, almost totally dependent on the sidechain. If you choose short attack & release times and high ratios it’s possible to turn audio into shaped noise but, then again, often that’s the aim.
The secret with the 3630 is to ignore the front panel and tweak till it sounds good. Try it in Peak & Hard Knee using lower ratios and be careful with the threshold setting. Once gain reduction exceeds 6 dB or so you’ll begin to hear artefacts but there is a sweet spot where it sounds great
In good used condition. Modified & recapped. Has some case marks & scratches. Photos show a 3630 sold previously. Supplied with a new 9 VAC power supply
