Favorite DAW Compressor?

Say you need to use a hair of compression on your mixes. What plug-in would you reach for, and why?

I'd be tempted to use the Waves RCL Renaissance Compressor. Other options available to me are the Ultrafunk Compressor and the PSP Vintage Warmer. I have not done any critical tests with these though.

Grant? Jamie? Anybody?

 

I posted this a month or two ago with very, very few responses.

I use a VST plug-in called Endorphin, but I have to set everything at 0 before I can shape compression. The provided presets are way too strong for most situations. It sounds very smooth and analog, and saturates gently.

Otherwise, I alternately use the Direct-X plugin that came with Sound Forge 6, and the one in Adobe Audition.

I only rarely use compression at all with what I do.

 

Honestly, I almost never use plug-in compression or limiting (or any signal processor, for that matter). I always use an outboard piece, like an DBX-160 or for limiting, an LA2A.

If a client wants a cassette or something, like right away, then I might use the compressor that came with Nuendo. It is fine for non-critical stuff like that, but as I said before, for anything critical, it is always outboard for me.

 

I actually need a compressor that mimics the "brick wall" compression that we hear on most of today's pop CDs. I want to make up a tutorial for a few folks showing how different it sounds...but I don't know if any of my Waves plugins are capable of that. The ones I've tried just don't get that same hard "slam" that I hear on CD.

 

The "brick wall" type compression that we hear on pop CD's is not compression, it is beyond compression. It is actually limiting. Any compression ratio of 10:1 or higher is called limiting. Try setting your compressor to 10:1 or higher if you can. Then you will get the limiting effect. If you have a limiting plug-in, give that a shot.

 

That would be the Waves L1 or L2.

Sonic Foundry (actually, Sony now) has one called Wave Hammer. Talk about an appropriate name! :thumbsdn:

 

Keith: I haven't been able to get L1 to "slam" that hard--if I get close, I just get it too distorted. I'll have to try the L2 next, and I do have Wave Hammer too...just never tried it out. The name does sound nasty...

 

I have a handful of limiters/compressors on the computer...I'll have to see which I have.

I actually get closer with the dbx 118 processor I have--I use it for late night DVD watching when the kids are in bed. I can keep the volume way down low but still hear everything.

 

Technically, a limiter IS a compressor, but it has a different function, of course.

 

I would say the Waves RCL compressor is the one I would reach for first. I have used it for years and it can be very nice and smooth. It seems to reduce more before pumping than any other stereo comp I have tried (for PT anyway). Try using it in Electro and smooth then try switching to Opto and warm. The Opto overshoots just a little more and the warm setting seems to do just that to a very subtle degree.
The Bomb Factory/DIGI LA-2A was omething I thought would work well but it seems to pump more than a real one and doesn't sound like right anyway. I hear the UA version is a lot better.

 

Waves RCL = Waves Renaissance Compressor? (It seems to have the same controls, Opto/Electro and Smooth/Warm.) One of the nicer Waves compressors IMHO...

 

Yep, I meant the Rennaisance compressor. It shows up as RCLcomp in a plug-in list.
The C4 is a very good multi-band comp that could be used to deal with just the frequency range you want and leave everything else alone.

 

Well, I couldn't get my hands on the Universal Audio plug-in on such short notice... besides, I would have had to buy their PCI card too. Instead, I had a compressor plug-in shoot out. I needed this for some home studio tracks that I've been working on, to be applied to the final mix. No, I'm not applying a limiter to the tracks, I'm merely bringing the overall volume up a hair and giving the music a little bit of an edge. When recording digitally, sometimes a hint of compression on the mix can make up for the missing analog tape sound.

Anyway, here's what I found...

1) Waves RCL - Nice, but a little murky for my taste. Didn't really have character. I think I prefer this for tracking.

2) Ultrafunk R3 Compressor - When I first got this plugin two years ago, I thought it was the whip. It has a lot of vintage presets... 1176, LA2A, etc. However when comparing with the rest, this one sounded the most "digital" to me. Very grainy.

3) Digital Fish Phones "Blockfish" compressor - This thing is CRAZY. It has TONS of character but way too much for a final mix. As an experiment, I used some of their presets on individual instruments and thought it performed remarkably. It's quite a compressor, especially considering that it's free! http://www.digitalfishphones.com

4) PSP Vintage Warmer - The winner! This plug-in is part compressor, part EQ. I bypassed all the EQ stuff and just used the compressor. It has a "Drive" knob that allows for simulated tape saturation. It can get out of hand really fast, but if you work conservatively, it will sound great. It gave things that analogy sound without sounding fake, at least compared to the other plugins that I tried. http://www.pspaudioware.com/plugins/vintage.html

So there you go. All IMHO, of course!

 

One neat plugin I used to have was a "tube" simulator filter! Yes, it did warm things up a hair, but it was neat to put it into "overdrive" mode...it sounded *exactly* like overloading a tube amp! Nothing I'd use on a finished project, but still was neat to hear how it worked.