Vengeance Sound – Multiband Sidechain 2
Price: $128
Web: www.vengeance-sound.com
Format: VST,
RTAS, AU
If you’re after a dynamics processor
tailored specifically for cutting-edge club music, Multiband Sidechain2 should
be right up your alley. Vengeance Sound have teamed up with Keilwerth Audio for
a number of effects plugins, but this was the first, and now at version 2, it’s
got a new engine and many few features.
If
you’re after a dynamics processor tailored specifically for cutting-edge club
music, Multiband Sidechain2 should be right up your alley
Designed specifically for club-style
sidechain compression, Multiband Sidechain 2 is in fact less a compressor and
more a triggered amplitude envelope. It has a dual-band design, split into two
side-chain channels, Low and Hi. These channels work independently, and each
includes its own envelope controls – Attack, Hold and Release – with adjustable
curve for the attack and release. The effect level of each is altered using its
Strength setting, and the balance between bands can be set using the Low and
High Vol knobs. You can also choose to monitor individual channels or both
together. Other settings include band crossover point and type (digital, notch
and steep), and 2-band EQ.
The sidechaining effect itself can be
triggered in one of three ways: MIDI, audio input (using Vengeance Sound’s VPS
Transmitter plug in) or host sync. This last option syncs to your DAW’s host
tempo, triggering the effect on every quarter-beat, and also includes a manual
adjustment (Host Trigger Shift) to correct for any latency issues or just
fine-tune the timing.
The
sidechaining effect itself can be triggered in one of three ways: MIDI, audio
input (using Vengeance Sound’s VPS Transmitter plug in) or host sync.
The genius of this plugin is that it takes
a processing concept – namely, triggered compression – then aims to achieve it
through a different process, namely tailored amplitude envelopes. This gives
you much more control and is far more specific than using compressor
attack/release times and a key signal. Sounds good in theory, but the proof, as
they say, is in the pudding – and in this case the gamble pays off, big-time.
Not only can you create effects unachievable with a standard compressor, but
you can also tailor them differently for the high and Low bands. If that isn’t
enough, Vengeance Sound have clearly put a lot of work into the interface,
which looks great and really helps you keep on top of things.
Cytomic – The Glue
Price: $99
Web: www.cytomic.com
Format: VST,
AU, RTAS
Music technology is an ever-evolving field,
and it often seems to be moving forward at the speed of a runaway train.
Nonetheless, there are certain hardware compressors that have stood the test of
time, and SSL’s famous buss compressor is one of them. Initially found in there
E Series consoles, it has stayed around in one form or another ever since – you
can even find it in rack-mounted format.
The
Glue is a brilliant compressor, and as the name implies, it’s a great option
for mix buss or subgroup duties
Unsurprisingly, there are now many software
options available, including fully endorsed versions from Waves and Universal
Audio. However, we particularly like this version from Cytomic, which takes the
original design and supersizes it with a few typical but useful software
extras.
So, like the original, The glue includes notched
settings for attack, release and ratio, including the Auto release setting.
However, there are few extras, with a faster Attack at 0.01ms and more Release
settings now at 0.2, 0.4 and 0.8ms. The plugin also includes a Range parameter,
which limits the maximum gain reduction (values are ‘full’ to 0), and also a
wet/dry Mix control for blending the effect in parallel compression style.
The Glue accepts an external sidechain
signal but also includes a sidechain high-pass filter (0 to 2kHz). This acts not
only on an external sidechain but also on the internal detector, so you can
tailor the compressor to be less sensitive to low frequencies. At the output
stage, Cytomic have also added a Peak Clip option that kicks in from -2dBFS up
to a maximum point set at -0.5dBFS. For the highest possible fidelity, The Glue
also includes user-selectable oversampling (x2, x4, x8 and x16).
The Glue is a brilliant compressor, and as
the name implies, it’s a great option for mix buss or subgroup duties. But the
three extra functions that really put it in a different class are the Range,
Mix and Sidechain HP filter. If you like to clamp your mixes at mix buss stage,
these give you a great deal more flexibility, and you’ll find it much easier to
achieve the results you want with less undesirable pumping. Of course, if you
actually want sidechain compressor with audible pumping, the external side is
there, ready and waiting.
