Equipment Review
Product Reviewed:
Presonus Blue Max Compressor
Made by: Presonus
Cost: $150 U.S.
Submitted by Bolts
Rating: 
Features:
-Mono and stereo compression (but not dual-channel adjustable) -14 Preset compression modes, including three different modes for vocals, one each for bass, acoustic and electric guitar, three for keys, two for percussion, two for stereo processing and two for compression "effects", and manual operation -Two 1/4 inch inputs and outputs -1/4 inch sidechain access jack -Separate variable input and output controls -Full metering for input and output as well as gain reduction -Bypass button -Can be used as a "direct box" to preamplify a signal -Internal power supply/no wall wart
Technical Specifications:
What I liked:
While I think the RNC model might be the budget choice for compressor, at $150, the Blue Max has a lot to offer, especially to beginners, or those who don't have the time or inclination to experiment with compression when they need to get tracking. The presets are the selling point of this unit, which is otherwise a fairly neutral compressor that gets the job done; by studying and playing with the presets, you learn quite a bit about compression without having to learn the hard way by tweaking until something actually sounds good. There was obviously a lot of thought put into the preset settings, because they all sound very good for their respective purposes, especially for vocals and acoustic guitar. I also like the setting to compress overheads for drums; accents the "boom" and lessens the room--not for everyone, but nice for those of us recording drums in less-than-optimum sounding rooms. The compression is clean and allows for the musicality of the performance. Ther! e have been a few cases where I found that manually adjusting the parameters was needed; the decent manual includes the parameters of all the presets in case you want to make slight adjustments. I don't have much experience with a lot of other compressors, but I like the fact that I can just dial up "acoustic guitar" and start tracking immediately. The meters are also nice for monitoring input and output and gain reduction. The bypass function lets you listen with/without compression. Overall, a good little workhorse which does it's job very well. Good starter or second compressor.
What I didn't:
Needless to say this thing has a few limitations. One- -no threshold control. While the presets have variable thresholds, the manual mode operates with a threshold of -10db--which is fine for the most part, but makes it difficult to tweak for "sweet spots." This unit also clenches up a bit when it gets hit hard, which has caused me some consternation. Physically, it's a well-made unit but I thought the knobs could use clearer indicators (am I on Vocal 1 or Vocal 2?) Difficult to read from the side unless you're right on top of it.
User Tips:
Adjust your incoming signal, then adjust the input of the Blue Max. Got to keep the gain reduction steady. This does make some nice pumping effects if you're into that. For the price I'd rate it 4 CDs.
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