The FMR RNC is easily the best bang for the buck audio compressor out there. Humbucker Music has literally sold many thousands of these and to date has the lowest failure and return rate of any single item we sell. In fact, we ran a report a literally less than one in a thousand sold has been returned due to the customer not liking it. As well, a similar defective failure rate Seriously! Who the heck makes stuff that nice these days?
With that said, here's some info concerning the FMR Audio RNC Compressor:
OVERVIEWThe RNC 1773 is a hi-fi, stereo compressor providing dynamic range control with little to no artifacts or side effects. It does this at a lower price by using evolutionary advances in digital technology, along with the best analog has to offer. Using digital controls and an all-analog signal path, the RNC offers accurate, precise controls and a clean tonal character.
The Really
Nice Compressor provides
two modes of compression: normal and SuperNice. "Normal"
allows
the RNC to be used for everyday compression tasks, like punchy
snare drums or bass guitars, and is great for everything from gentle
compression to serious squashing. SuperNice mode provides
near-invisible signal compression for sensitive material where
compression artifacts are less desirable (like vocals, acoustic guitar
or the program bus).
HOW IT SOUNDS
Transparent. The FMR Audio RNC yields clean, airy compression with few artifacts and little high end loss, even at massive gain reduction. This amazing performance is why many professionals are calling the RNC one of the best sounding compressors for under $2000!

| Size | 1/3 x 1 EIA rack unit |
| Connectors | 1/4" Unbalanced I/O (TS, or TRS for console inserts); L/R in & out, TRS sidechain |
| Controls and Displays |
Rotary: Threshold,
Ratio,
Attack Time, Release Time, Output Level |
| Modes | Normal: Provides
fast attack/release, accurate compression Super Nice: Layered compressors, reduces compression artifacts |
| Input Z/Output Z | 10k�/100� |
| Operating Level | 0.775 Vrms (0 dBu) nominal |
| Noise | Less than -90dBu over 20-20kHz |
| Frequency response | 10 - 100k Hz �0.5dB @ 0dBu, no gain reduction |
| Clip point | +22.5dBu @ 3% THD, 1kHz, greater than 2kOhm load |
| Distortion | less than 0.1%,
no gain reduction @ 1 kHz, 0dBu less than 0.5%, 6 dB G.R. @ 1kHz, 6:1, 6.0msec attack, 0.5 sec release, 0dB gain, 0dBu |
| Threshold range | -40dBu to +20dBu |
| Ratio range | 1:1 to 25:1 |
| Attack range | 0.2 msec to 200msec for 100% correction with <15dB over threshold input signal |
| Release range | .05 sec to 5.0 sec for 100% recovery with 15dB G.R. |
| Output trim range | �15dB |
| AC Power | Wall transformer, 9VAC @ 500mA, 2.1mm jack |
| Dimensions | 5.5" x 5.5" x 1.6" |
| Weight | 2 lbs |

I
hate wall-warts, why does the RNC
have a wall-wart?
First, let me assure you that, as users, we have no love of wall-warts
either! There are, however, some reasons for using them with the RNC:
1) Reduce hum/noise interference between the RNC's audio circuits and
an internal power supply (it's a very small package), 2) Improve the
universality of the RNC for an international market (the only thing
that's different between the RNC U.S. and RNC Australian is the
wall-wart; no internal changes are necessary), 3)
Simplifying/circumventing governmental approval of the RNC's power
supply by using an already approved power supply and, 4) There's little
room inside the small cabinet (used to keep the costs down) for a
transformer of adequate margins.
Why
is the RNC unbalanced instead
of balanced?
You'd think the answer to this one would be a simple "to keep costs
down". Although that's one of the reasons, there's another reason
that's less obvious and the primary one: we designed the RNC to be used
in home studios (like ours) made up primarily of unbalanced pieces. So,
we designed it to easily interface to equipment usually found in the
intended environment. For example, many home studios use mixing boards
that have single Tip-Ring-Sleeve insert points on their input channels.
We thought that it'd be neat, convenient and show unambiguous support
for this studio type by allowing the RNC to be hooked directly to these
inserts with single TRS cables. If the I/Os were balanced, we wouldn't
be able to do that.
Can
the RNC be rack mounted?
Yes! For rack mounting, the RNC has a #10-32 nut in its base that can
be used in conjunction with a universal rack tray to mount the RNC (up
to 3 on one tray) in a standard 19" rack.
For applications where you want to just set it on something (if you've got the available surface area...ours are always covered with notes, cassettes, DATs, pencils, sheet music, patch cords, etc), we've included nice little non-marring rubber feet.
PROBLEMS
Why
does the RNC distort my bass
guitar?
At the risk of sounding too esoteric and philosophical, there are many
universal laws that are, many times, inconvenient (like, say, gravity).
Well, there's a mutual (and universal) exclusivity between low
frequency fidelity and fast compressor release times. Stated another
way: the faster a compressor's release time, the more distorted the
lower frequencies will be. "Okay, okay!", you say, "I know that! But
why don't I have similar problems with my other compressors?" Simply
put, the RNC's normal mode release times are shorter than many
compressors (some of the fastest that we've seen). This means that the
RNC will induce low frequency distortion more frequently than your
other compressors. "Why didn't you make the RNC so it wouldn't distort
my bass notes?" Because then we'd limit (no pun intended) your creative
choices for other sound sources where a really fast release time would
sound really gonzo...like on kick or snare drums. Try compressing a
snare drum track with the RNC set for really fast attack and release
times. You'll here drum resonances that you've never heard before that
can be creatively used to add spice to your mixes!
"How do I avoid or reduce the low frequency distortion?" This one's easy: increase the release time until the distortion goes away. (Doing my best Groucho Marx impression: "Does it distort when you do that? Well don't do that!")
On
some sound sources, the RNC
really "pumps and breathes". What can I do to reduce the pumping and
breathing?
There are several things you can do:
The simplest of the bunch is to just switch into SuperNice mode. The other solutions will vary depending upon eachother. In general, you'll want to experiment to see which of the parameter changes gives you the effect (or lack thereof) that you want. Some of the pros that we talk to tend to keep the total gain reduction to 6dB and under (sometimes only 2dB!). They also tend to not use the other parameters in extreme settings (for example, one of our pro users who uses the RNC on acoustic guitars, swears by a RATIO of less than 2:1 and gain reduction amounts less than 2dB).
COMPRESSOR FEATURES/DETAILS
Is the RNC a peak, average or RMS-sensing compressor?Does
the RNC have hard-knee or
soft-knee compression?
In both the Normal and SuperNice modes, the RNC is mostly a
hard-knee compressor with just a touch of "softness" around the
threshold point. BUT, this "softness" is very confined and predictable,
so that if you're using the RNC in Normal mode, it
responds more like a hard-knee compressor. Even though this same level
of softness/hardness is used in the SuperNice
mode's detector, there's enough other stuff going on to keep the SuperNice
mode sounding very gentle (like seeing fluffy little white clouds on a
sunny day while eating marshmallows... um... sorry...)
HOOKING
IT UP
What
cable/connector types should I
use to hook up the RNC?
There are three initial questions:
1. Am I hooking the RNC up to an unbalanced piece of gear?
2. Am I hooking the RNC up to a balanced piece of gear?
3. Am I hooking the RNC up to special connections, like Mackie channel
inserts?
Once you know the answer to these questions, you can plan the type/quantity of connectors that you'll need. However, one thing is for sure: you'll be hooking into the RNC with either a standard 1/4" phone jack (Tip-Sleeve, or TS) or a 1/4" stereo phone jack (Tip-Ring-Sleeve, or TRS). The other end of the cable will be determined by the piece of gear that you're hooking the RNC to and it's (the other gear) connector/electrical interface requirements. If you're hooking up the RNC inputs to a balanced source, we strongly recommend that you get the source equipment manufacturer's to advise you on the best way to do this. There are some output circuit and hook-up combinations that could damage your source equipment if you're not careful.
Connecting
the RNC to unbalanced
equipment
This connection configuration is the most straight-ahead.
| RNC 1/4" Plug | XLR Signal/Pin # |
| Tip | HOT (pin 2) |
| Sleeve | COLD (pin 3) |
| Sleeve | Ground |
There are several off-the-shelf cables that can be bought already configured this way (Example: HOSA PXM-105 and HOSA PXF-105). Check with your local dealer about their recommended choices for these cables.
This all assumes that your equipment can tolerate connecting the COLD (Pin #3) to ground (some can't). So, to be on the safe side, please check with the manufacturer to make sure that you can hook up your balanced outputs this way.
Connecting
the RNC to TRS Console
Inserts
A unique aspect to the RNC's wiring is that it will connect to some
console inserts � connecting both a single channel's input
and output � with a single TRS cable:
Can
I use the RNC for my stereo mix
bus?
Yes. In fact, the RNC's SuperNice mode was designed for and tested
extensively with stereo program material. One of our goals was to have
a 2-mix compressor that sounded good, gave some signal control and
didn't cost gobs of money. So, how should you hook it up to your mix
bus? Probably the best way is by hooking it into your console's stereo
bus inserts. BUT, you could always take the simplest approach and just
take the output of the mixer, connect it to the RNC's inputs and then
connect the RNC's outputs to your monitoring system. Just follow some
of the guidelines we've given you above (and follow hook-up
instructions of the equipment you're hooking the RNC to).
SIDECHAIN
What's
the RNC's sidechain function
for?
There are a few additional effects/functions that compressors can
provide. De-essing and ducking are two that immediately spring to mind.
Both of the these functions require access to particular parts of a
compressor's innards so they may be connected to some other pieces of
gear to provide the desired function. For example, in order to de-ess,
the RNC's detector (also referred to as the "sidechain") is connected
to an equalizer. By having an equalizer in the detector, we can tell
the RNC which frequencies we want it to compress more than others.
Thus, for de-essing, we would accentuate (via the EQ's settings) the
frequencies associated with sibilance (anywhere from 5kHz to 12kHz)
while de-emphasizing all other frequencies. This would cause the RNC to
compress mostly the sibilant signals and leaving the other parts of the
signal mostly uncompressed.
The RNC's sidechain access may also let the RNC "duck" two signals. What's "ducking"? It's the volume reduction of music in the presence of another signal (usually a vocal narration). By connecting the voice-over signal to the sidechain (with the main/music channel hooked up to the RNC normally) and adjusting the RNC's front panel controls properly, the music will be "potted down" (i.e., reduced in volume) when the narrator is speaking.
How
do I use the sidechain function
on the RNC?
De-Essing with the RNC
Using the sidechain function is merely a matter of connecting the
appropriate device via the appropriate adapter to the sidechain
connector. For example, to use the RNC as a stereo de-esser, you would
connect the RNC up as shown below.
"Ducking"
with the RNC
This application is similar to de-essing except that we're only
concerned with getting the signal we wish to "duck" with (we'll call
this the "duckor" and the signal we turning down, the "duckee") into
the sidechain (so that it will control the gain of the VCA). In this
case, we don't care if there's a sidechain signal coming out of the
RNC's sidechain jack (see below).
