I walked into the studio last night to find most of the LEDs on my Drawmer compressor lit up. This was odd as there was no signal being sent to it. A quick check through the mixer confirmed my fears, a loud hum was being produced by the unit! Damn! It's broken!

Not surprising for a 14 year old piece of gear that had seen the inside of many clubs as part of the recording and touring sound system for a handful of bands. The compressor was given to me by the owner of the last record label I was signed to.

I had always heard that a quality compressor was essential to getting a pro sound, but I was skeptical at first. Sonically, it didn't sound like the Drawmer was "doing" much after installing it into my rack. It's only after the thing broke that I realised what a nice transparent piece of gear it was. I'm halfway through a new track at the moment, and after bypassing the now broken compressor I now really appreciate what a difference it makes!

You never really miss something until it is gone. Next stop, the repair shop.