kcatthedog
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Post by kcatthedog on Feb 24, 2023 18:31:19 GMT -6
Which do people think is best and why?
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Post by copperx on Feb 24, 2023 19:14:03 GMT -6
TrackComp's SSL model is fantastic, although the low end sounds a bit "loose," which is like some hardware.
The Glue has the best low end, solid, compact, but the release sounds too mechanically perfect.
Slate's sounds great too, but doesn't have that many oversampling options.
All of them get the compression action right, with slight variations. They might be, in many instances, indistinguishable from a clean clone. However, none of them will get the gold cans distortion/euphonics if you like that sound. The distortion isn't modeled.
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Post by ragan on Feb 24, 2023 19:25:02 GMT -6
I’ve always liked The Glue best. When I moved to the Audioscape hardware, it was The Glue that made the decision (based on my blind ABs) hard.
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Post by notneeson on Feb 24, 2023 19:46:03 GMT -6
I'm just using the SSL one now and it's working for me. I cut my teeth on the SSL rack unit and this plugin does enough of what I need.
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Post by wiz on Feb 24, 2023 20:02:02 GMT -6
I really like the SSL native comp 2
I have had the glue uad and Stam outboard and I like the ssl plug best
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kcatthedog
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Post by kcatthedog on Feb 24, 2023 21:42:18 GMT -6
Hmm $329 vs $99( ssl vs glue)?  |
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Post by sirthought on Feb 24, 2023 21:58:50 GMT -6
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2023 22:59:54 GMT -6
The Glue at 16x oversampling but it’s clean. Otherwise just use a digital compressor.
The SSL Native Bus compressor isn’t a G bus. It’s a port from the a 90s digital console.
Trackcomp 2 doesn’t model the partial half wave rectification of the sidechain.
PSP Buspressor has a weird, smeary tone too if you like that sort of thing. I have it and never use it.
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Post by copperx on Feb 24, 2023 23:32:42 GMT -6
I’ve always liked The Glue best. When I moved to the Audioscape hardware, it was The Glue that made the decision (based on my blind ABs) hard. Can you expound on that? Why the Glue and what differences did you notice in the Audioscape? |
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Post by ragan on Feb 24, 2023 23:39:05 GMT -6
I’ve always liked The Glue best. When I moved to the Audioscape hardware, it was The Glue that made the decision (based on my blind ABs) hard. Can you expound on that? Why the Glue and what differences did you notice in the Audioscape? The Glue just sounds the best (to me) out of the DSP versions I’ve tried. When I first had the AS, I ran things through it and matched them with The Glue and blind tested them. It was inconclusive enough that I made a spreadsheet to track my preferences over a couple weeks. The AS hardware did win for me. I gradually found it to have an edge in dimension and punch, but it was a very subtle difference. |
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Post by copperx on Feb 25, 2023 1:11:09 GMT -6
Can you expound on that? Why the Glue and what differences did you notice in the Audioscape? The Glue just sounds the best (to me) out of the DSP versions I’ve tried. When I first had the AS, I ran things through it and matched them with The Glue and blind tested them. It was inconclusive enough that I made a spreadsheet to track my preferences over a couple weeks. The AS hardware did win for me. I gradually found it to have an edge in dimension and punch, but it was a very subtle difference. Do you still think the small difference is worth it? (I'm asking because I'm trying to figure out the same thing, although with the Stam MK2). |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2023 1:27:38 GMT -6
If you want peace of mind that you could have better with hardware, don't use emulation plugs. The better purely digital plugs tend to behave much better than the emulations anyway but the Glue is great all around. For an extreme example of what I mean, compare the Waves or SSL Native SSL Channel Strip dynamics sections to Oxford Dynamics (or even Waves C1) or the CLA 76 / LA2A to Renaissance Compressor on Electro (for 76) or Opto (the LAs) to keep it old and fair. Obviously CLA-76 is going to get annihilated by something newer.
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Post by seawell on Feb 25, 2023 2:21:12 GMT -6
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kcatthedog
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Post by kcatthedog on Feb 25, 2023 3:25:52 GMT -6
The Glue just sounds the best (to me) out of the DSP versions I’ve tried. When I first had the AS, I ran things through it and matched them with The Glue and blind tested them. It was inconclusive enough that I made a spreadsheet to track my preferences over a couple weeks. The AS hardware did win for me. I gradually found it to have an edge in dimension and punch, but it was a very subtle difference. Do you still think the small difference is worth it? (I'm asking because I'm trying to figure out the same thing, although with the Stam MK2). Yes:) the extra dimension and impact for me too is there. I asked about the ssl plug as I noticed that Mark , in the m2pro vs studio video I posted used an ssl plug on every aux. |
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Post by linas on Feb 25, 2023 4:14:43 GMT -6
Pro-C 2  |
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kcatthedog
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Post by kcatthedog on Feb 25, 2023 6:59:33 GMT -6
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Post by ragan on Feb 25, 2023 10:12:45 GMT -6
The Glue just sounds the best (to me) out of the DSP versions I’ve tried. When I first had the AS, I ran things through it and matched them with The Glue and blind tested them. It was inconclusive enough that I made a spreadsheet to track my preferences over a couple weeks. The AS hardware did win for me. I gradually found it to have an edge in dimension and punch, but it was a very subtle difference. Do you still think the small difference is worth it? (I'm asking because I'm trying to figure out the same thing, although with the Stam MK2). Yeah, I do. The hardware legitimately won my blind shootouts over time, and that gives my peace of mind that I made the right call for me. But I also use other hardware on my mixbus, so it fits with my workflow that way. I go EQP5 -> SSL comp -> Zulu. It’s a pleasing chain that I understand and like mixing into. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2023 13:40:15 GMT -6
Presswerk’s great if you know how to use it. Most people can’t even set an LA2A in the sweet spot and Presswerk lets you adjust the rms window and the non-linear transfer curve independently of the ratio and knee. And it’s not set up like Unisum where you have to intentionally set it aggressively to make it sound like a Distressor. You can easily make Presswerk fart and pump wildly. It’s not impossible to set like Compassion and the Flux Compressors but it’s harder than the dual threshold ones like Kotelnikov, MDWDRC2, and the Oxford Dynamics. |
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Post by craigmorris74 on Feb 25, 2023 13:42:25 GMT -6
I have a SSL type bus compressor that I built with 202x VCA’s in the side chain. I did a super precise setting and level matched comparison with the SSL Bus Compressor 2, and when blind A/Bing the two, I found them to be almost indistinguishable. The only way I could tell the apart at al was by looping a couple of beats and switching back and forth. Even then, it was mind-blowingly difficult to tell them apart. I’m use the plug without hesitation when mixing for clients ITB.
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Post by tkaitkai on Feb 25, 2023 13:52:48 GMT -6
I thought the UAD MKII was great.
TAN by Acustica is another good one, and also free.
And I actually like the old Waves SSL Comp for the same reason I like the CLA-76 — doesn't really sound a thing like hardware to me, but it has a character that I like from time to time. I'd be leery of putting it across an entire mix, though.
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Post by svart on Feb 26, 2023 8:39:12 GMT -6
Using the SSL native. It sounds like any other plug. It sounds enough like the real thing that I don't really care. I also have the waves version and can't really tell much difference the way I use them.
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Post by kcatthedog on Feb 26, 2023 13:37:27 GMT -6
Its just not an rgo thread without a YT shootout vid!!
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Post by seawell on Feb 27, 2023 13:06:32 GMT -6
Here’s one with a bunch of the plugins & the Smart C1LA 😉
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Post by kcatthedog on Feb 28, 2023 4:14:58 GMT -6
Nice, for me Smart first, tightest, maybe a little crisper and clearest, then Glue and the 2 Tim.
I’ve had 3 ssl clones and there is a common smoothness to them, maybe softening of transients ?
So, my preference above was for the sound on the mix I preferred, not for the best ssl emulation.
Thx Josh!
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Post by kcatthedog on Feb 28, 2023 4:22:11 GMT -6
If interested: tapeop.com/reviews/gear/98/c1la-stereo-compressorlimiter/Josh referenced this having more features, they are: “Feature-wise, the C1LA has what you'd expect, and then a few things more. The straightforward controls, taken directly from the C1, are threshold, ratio, attack, release, and makeup gain. The C1LA has one more release time (2.4 seconds) and three more ratios (1.5:1, 3:1, and "Lim") than the standard C1 possesses. You can also divide the threshold setting in half with a button, doubling the resolution of the potentiometer. There's a soft knee option, which gives a more gradual curve to the selected threshold and ratio settings. Attack and release times can be multiplied by 1.5, giving loads of flexibility there. "Auto Long" makes the auto release setting... wait for it... longer, by an unspecified amount. Stereo linking has three settings: unlinked (dual mono), DC-linked, and fully stereo. As far as I can gather from the manual, DC (or diode) linking "protects the stereo image" but allows for more independent channel reduction than the standard summed-stereo link. There is also the ability to display input level, output level, or gain reduction on the largish needle meter wedged into the corner of the faceplate. Sidechain options are multifold; you can either choose from one of three sidechain HPF frequencies (65, 130, or 205 Hz), or you can inject your own stereo sidechain signal into the two "bantam" (British for tiny-telephone) jacks on the front of the unit. Just when you thought you'd seen it all in 500-series module design.” |
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