Alice on board compressors question re models.

[Matt K]

Hi Ted

I’m the proud owner of two of your great mixers an Alice 828 and Alice 2012, they have really bought something special to my music mixes. Amazing preamps, musical EQ and just to top it of by far my favorite sounding compressor/limiter.

Absolute magic mixers, plus I am originally from Taplow very near Windsor so I have kindred spirit for these excellent machine/instruments you have built. Anything that I have composed in a computer will be passed thru the Alice mixers preamps, EQ, and compressor, it some how brings flat sounding computer mixs to life amongst many other uses.

My question is Re Compressor/limiters:

Alice 828 – Has 2x threshold controls one for the L and R master faders.

and

Alice 2012 Has 1x Threshold control with limit LED above it which sometimes is green and sometimes will flash red.

1. Are limiters the same in both mixers?

2. Is the Alice 2012 a Stereo limiter as it only has one fader?

3. Is the Alice 2012 the same as the 828 but the limiter is just grouped together as one stereo fader instead of two separate faders?

4. The limit light on the Alice 2012 could you explain how it works…?

Thanks for your time

Matt

[Ted Fletcher]

I’m ashamed to say that I can’t remember anything about the compressors in the 2012 mixer….Do you think you could post a picture of the mixer here? Or email me a picture at [email protected].

The 828 was intended to be a simple inexpensive limiter compressor but we seem to have got the design and the time constants right because it became legendary!

My favourite story was that during a visit to Pinewood Studios I was being shown around their (then new) sound stage with a huge Neve mixer, and there in the middle on a script space was an 828…. they were running the final mix through it because they liked the sound of the compressors! The film they were recording was one of the early Bond films. I know this is true because I was there!

The compressors in the 828 are individual, and so have separate threshold controls. They are really limiter/compressors, they start compressing at a low level and the comp ratio rises as the level rises so at high level they start to limit.

When I have seen a picture of the 2012 I expect it will jog my memory and I will be able to give you an answer

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