Hear The Gear: WesAudio _Rhea & _Dione 500 Series Compressors

As the concept of the hybrid studio has continued to evolve, more and more engineers have become interested in gear that blends the worlds of analog and digital in a single package. WesAudio is one of the brands that has answered that demand, creating a plethora of gear with pure analog processing that can be controlled through digital plug-ins.

WesAudio's lineup centers around 19-inch rackmount and 500 Series compressors, equalizers, preamps, and more. Two of the brand's standout 500 Series modules are the _Rhea and _Dione. Both compressors offer digital recall and plug-in control, but their overall designs take different approaches. The _Rhea is a stereo vari-mu tube compressor that delivers rich, musical compression, while the _Dione is a VCA-based bus compressor designed for punch, glue, and precision.

To further explore what the _Rhea and _Dione can do in the studio, we handed both compressors over to Vintage King's in-house engineer Bryan Reilly. Working across a variety of sources, Bryan put each unit through its paces to highlight its unique character and strengths.

WesAudio _Rhea & _Dione Sound Samples

Thanks to WesAudio's companion plug-ins, Bryan was able to easily capture screenshots of all his settings from his session with the _Rhea and _Dione. Continue on to hear each set of examples and explore the settings used for each track below the SoundCloud player for that section.

 

Electric Guitar #1

For both guitar examples, Bryan used a Gibson Les Paul Tradition Pro in the middle pickup position, running into a Hiwatt head and Hiwatt 2x12 cabinet. He recorded both takes using the same microphone and outboard signal chain, placing the close mics about a foot and a half from the bottom speaker.

Close Mic: Coles 4038 > API 3124V

Close Mic: Peluso P-414 > API 3124V

Room Mic: AEA R84A > Undertone Audio MPDI-4

 

_Rhea - Electric Guitar #1 - Example 1 & 2 Settings

_Dione - Electric Guitar #1 - Example 1 & 2 Settings

 

Electric Guitar #2

 

_Rhea - Electric Guitar #1 - Example 1 & 2 Settings

_Rhea (Saturation Mode) - Electric Guitar #1 - Example 1 & 2 Settings

_Dione - Electric Guitar #2 - Example 1 & 2 Settings

 

Fast Drums

Bryan did two different examples on drums, including a faster and slower loop. Before we get to the WesAudio examples, let's cover the basic set-up for recording both drum takes.

Kick In: Shure BETA 52A > API 3124V > API 560 > SPL Transient Designer

Snare Top: Shure SM57 > API 3124V > API 550A

Snare Bottom: Shure SM57 > API 3124V

Overhead: 2x Warm Audio WA-FT Fentone (Blumlein Configuration) > UnderTone Audio MPDI-4

Bone Mic: Coles 4038 > UnderTone Audio MPDI-4

Room Mic: AEA R84 > UnderTone Audio MPDI-4

 

_Rhea - Fast Drums - Example 1 & 2 Settings

_Rhea (Saturation Mode) - Fast Drums - Example 1 & 2 Settings

_Dione - Fast Drums - Example 1 & 2 Settings

_Dione - Fast Drums - Example 3 Settings

 

Slower Drums

 

_Rhea - Slower Drums - Example 1 & 2 Settings

_Rhea (Saturation Mode) - Slower Drums - Example 1 & 2 Settings

_Dione - Slower Drums - Example 1 & 2 Settings

_Dione - Slower Drums - Example 3 Settings

 

Picked Bass

Once again we have two different takes of a source, this time though, Bryan is utilizing different instruments. On the picked bass, Bryan is playing a Fender Jazz bass, and on the smoother sound example, he is playing Fender Precision Bass. On both examples, Bryan is running the bass straight into the API 3124V.  

_Rhea - Picked Bass - Example 1 Settings

_Rhea (Saturation Mode) - Picked Bass - Example 1 & 2 Settings

_Dione - Picked Bass - Example 1 & 2 Settings

_Dione - Picked Bass - Example 3 Settings

 

Smooth Bass

 

_Rhea - Smooth Bass - Example 1 Settings

_Rhea (Saturation Mode) - Smooth Bass - Example 1 Settings

_Dione - Smooth Bass - Example 1 & 2 Settings

Interested in grabbing the WesAudio WesAudio Rhea or _Dione? We can help! Contact a Vintage King Audio Consultant via email or by phone at 866.644.0160.