Alesis Micro Limiter

£185.00

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Description

This is “the other” vintage compressor from Alesis. The Micro Limiter is a 1/3U stereo limiter which is famous for smashing drums, nuking snares, mullering cymbals and squashing bass guitar

Although Alesis call it a limiter, at low compression levels – when the green LEDs are lit – it uses a ratio between 2:1 and 8:1. With the yellow LEDs on CR is around 10:1 and, with the final red LEDs lit, 16:1. It uses a soft-knee approach, so there is always some compression going on, but higher input levels means more compression and a higher ratio

There’s no Threshold control – just Input, Release & Output controls and an In/Out switch. The back panel is equally minimal with input & output jacks and a power socket

Release time is the key here – with fast release times and lots of compression you get pumping & breathing but slowing up the release changes the character of the sound immensely. At long release times the Micro Limiter is in gain reduction all the time but the depth of compression is still driven by the input signal. It’s possible to use huge amounts of gain reduction but still maintain articulation on signals like bass guitar. In this respect it’s more flexible than one of my favourites, the dbx 160X

The Micro Limiter has another big advantage over its competitors – it’s a stereo device. This means stereo drum ambience, parallel buses and backing vocals are all targets for some serious compression. It will do subtle compression as well as vicious but it excels at the nasty stuff. Use your RNC for Nice compression and the Micro Limiter for Dirty

“Well, thus far, my favourite use has been on overheads; you can squish ’em pretty hard without strange things happening to the sound”

“I still have three of them. I like them on drums, vocals and acoustic guitar”

“Really cool as a parallel comp on snare and voice”

“Squishes like there is no morning”

“What a fun little box! It sounds pretty good on everything I’ve tried it on”

“Super squasher, always good fun making the whole room come through the snare mic. Good for aggressive up front vocals too”

“I’m loving it as a parallel drum comp, really trashy but nice and thick sounding too”

Inputs & outputs are unbalanced on jack sockets. Power is from an external 9 VAC power supply (included)
Owners manuals http://www.synthfool.com/docs/Alesis/MicroSeries_Manual.pdf Sound Samples - Amen to that! https://www.gearslutz.com/board/attachments/low-end-theory/246259d1311517776-smashing-microlimiter-amen-20microlimiter.mp3 Youtube demo on kit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnrZqPssNDg Youtube demo "Nuking Snare" https://youtu.be/m7RcXgyZs5k Youtube demo - MicroLimiter on bass guitar https://youtu.be/-yD03HBBA2U Ovnilab Review http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/microlimiter.shtml Gearslutz Four Star ★★★★ Review https://www.gearslutz.com/board/reviews/691024-alesis-micro-limiter.html Harmony Central Four Star ★★★★ Review http://www.harmonycentral.com/reviews/product/alesis-micro-limiter
1/3 U
Excellent used condition, looks great with minimal case scratches and a very tidy front panel. Works 100%. External power adaptor supplied All vintage gear will have case scratches and marks. It may also have, or develop, noisy pots and switches. I make my descriptions as accurate as possible and note any existing defects. I test each item before shipping, and and supply a test sheet for it, but please understand that vintage gear will not be perfect and adjust your expectations accordingly