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Sean Cook
Joe Meek was, and still is an essential figure in the history of recording. He was a pioneer in the UK, and actually the first independent producer. He was not someone to be taken lightly. He is most famously known for his song "Telstar". He was the first to put microphones directly in front of, and sometimes inside sound sources, as well as the first to intentionally overload preamplifier inputs and print “hot” signals to tape. He was the first to use compressors and limiters in a creative way, rather than only for corrective uses. He was the first to build a compact spring reverb unit, and also to use “flange” sounds using two synchronized tape recorders, as well as the first person to employ tape loops on commercial recordings. He came up with a way of enhancing the 'tape bend' effect with compression. The compressor he used was primitive at best, but coupled with the compression distortion provided by the valve 'tube' tape machines he had, the result was voice and music sounds that were quite unique indeed.
Joe Meek Compressors are now a vital component for today's audio engineers, and are used many top studios all over the world. Joe Meek Compressors really do recreate the warmth and power of the much sought after 'Vintage' equipment, and there is much more going on inside this amazing compressor than meets the eye
See.... the human ear has an incredible dynamic range, it can interpret sounds from as low as a pin dropping, up to being next to a blaring locomotive steam engine. In fact, there are mechanisms in hearing which act as 'leveling amplifiers' and allow us to be able to hear and interpret this extreme range. There are actually two things taking place in this intricate process.... you can call them "biological compressors" the first one is 'software' affecting the way the brain interprets signals from the inner ear, the second is hardware' in the way the electrochemical impulses are passed from the inner ear. The 'software compressor' in the brain softens the effect of the loud sounds. This effect is very fast acting but not very long lasting. It acts over the whole frequency range and its effect is to soften the very loud peaks of noise or sound, if the sound is removed or stopped suddenly, then your 'ears' (actually your brain) recovers in just a couple of seconds to full sensitivity. Because we live with this effect all our lives, it is rarely noticed. The effect takes time to act ( attack time) and has a relatively slow recovery (release) time; one that can easily be mimicked electronically. The "Joe Meek compressor" mimics this effect, but instead of the listener's ear and brain doing the compression, the Joe Meek compressor pulls down the sound at precisely the right moment and amount to fool the ear into thinking that the sound is louder than it actually is.
Doesn't any compressor do this?
Actually no.
Even though there are alot of compressors on the market that can be set to the correct time constants to mimic the effect...the actual gain reduction is never done properly. The problem is that the human ear is not an engineering device, and is non-linear respectively. The psychoacoustic compression effect is like turning down the volume for an instant, but once there, the relative volumes of the sound are NOT affected further.
Good Engineering Theory, says that a compressor should work logarithmically, for a certain increase of volume, the output volume should rise proportionally less, for a 2:1 compressor. An increase of volume of 10dB at the input should produce only 5dB increase at the output. This is a continuous process where the more you put in, the more it's pushed down.
The Joe Meek compressor doesn't work like that...... As volume increases at the input, a point is reached where the compressor kicks in.... and the gain through the amplifier is reduced. As the input level rises, gradually the gain reduction becomes less effective, and the amplifier switches to being a linear amplifier except with the volume turned down.
This is just like how the human ear behaves..... the 'ear' is fooled into thinking that the Joe Meek compressed sound is louder than it really is, but without the strange psychoacoustic effect of 'deadness' that all other compressors suffer from. Pretty cool indeed !!! Also another bonus is that the mid ranges seem to jump forward, and the clarity improves because the mechanical changes that the brain thinks have taken place in the inner ear, have not happened.
With almost all other compressors the 'fooling' effect is not so complete and the ear perceives something that is not quite right...consequently, this additional clarity is missing and the whole effect is one of muddy deadness.... this is common in all other compressors, and sets the Joe Meek compressor in a class of its own, much like the very man himself did before he killed his landlady and then comitted suicide, I dont recomend using that particular technique at all.
