Elysia – Mpressor
Price: $199
Web: www.elysia.com
Format: VST,
VST3, RTAS, AU, AAX, TDM
Elysia’s Mpressor is a highly respected
hardware compressor with some pretty cool creative features. Elysia have worked
in conjunction with Brainworx to emulate it as closely as possible in software
form.
Elysia’s
Mpressor is a highly respected hardware compressor with some pretty cool
creative features
On the face of it, Mpressor is very similar
to many other compressors, with the regular Threshold, Attack, Release and
Ratio settings. But there are a number of extras that make it much more
interesting – hence the ‘creative compressor’ tag Elysia have given it. At the
simpler end you get an external sidechain (incorporating a high-pass filter at
80Hz), while the attack and release options get two extras – Auto Fast attack
and Anti Log release. The first engages a signal-dependent fast attack, while
the second switches the linear release to an anti-logarithmic shape. This has
the effect of making the compressor release more obvious.
Mpressor includes both positive and
negative ratios, and the latter can cause dramatic reductions in level as the
threshold is passed. As you’d expect, this can create some pretty interesting
results. You also get Elysia’s Niveau Filter, which has two parameters –
Boost/Cut and Frequency – and is a bit like a ‘tilt’ control, working around
the selected center frequency. So, if you boost, frequencies above your
Frequency setting are boosted and those below it are cut, while for a cut the
reverse is true (high frequencies cut, low frequencies boosted).
Next there’s the switchable Gain Reduction
Limiter. This adjustable circuit lets you limit the maximum gain reduction
applied. And finally, there’s the make-up gain; in addition to the gain make-up
of the output signal, this also influences the saturation of the input signal,
so the more gain you add, the more saturated the input signal becomes.
The upshot of all these features is that
Mpressor basically has a split personality. It can be a transparent mix buss
compressor or a sound mangler, and many things in between. It’s certainly one
of the most responsive compressors available, and given the price of the hardware
version, this plugin, though not cheap, is in many ways a bargain.
Softube – tube-Tech CL 1B
Price: $480
Web: www.softube.com
Format: VST,
VST3, AU, AAX, RTAS, TDM
Softube’s
virtual version was developed in collaboration with Tube-Tech
CL 1B by tube-Tech is a value-based opto
compressor with transformer input and output stages, and two separate time
control circuits for fixed and manual settings. Unusually, these can both be
combined for a part-fixed, part-manual response. Softube’s virtual version was
developed in collaboration with Tube-Tech, and if you’re after a musical
compressor that does containment with subtle coloration, you need look no
further than this.
CL 1B’s mixed mode is a bit of a curiosity,
as you basically get fixed attack/release for fast transients, followed by a
second-stage release controlled by the manual Attack and Release parameters.
Overall, CL 1B is about as far away from an 1176 as you can get, but it can be
the perfect compressor for vocals or bass.
Thanks to its eye-watering $480 price tag,
we wouldn’t recommend CL 1B for those who are just starting to build their
plugin collections. For those with an established setup and money to burn,
however, this is a very desirable addition to any producer’s toolkit.
IK Multimedia – Black 76
Price: $82
Web: www.ikmultimedia.com
Format: VST,
RTAS, AU
The
basic design includes input (to drive the fixed threshold), output, attack and
release, with four ratios (4:1, 8:1, 12:1 and 20:1)
The 1176 is one of the most famous
compressors of all time. Renowned for its super-fast attack times, simple
controls and non-linear ‘all-button’ setting, this FET-based design can be
anything but subtle, but also somehow manages to be enormously flexible, making
it a go-to device for everything from drums and bass to vocals and guitars. We
could have chosen any number of emulations, but this one from IK Multimedia
includes a couple of nice software touches (MS processing and the ‘all-button’
setting), can be used within IK’s free T-RackS shell and won’t break the bank,
particularly if you buy more than one IK plugin.
The basic design includes input (to drive
the fixed threshold), output, attack and release, with four ratios (4:1, 8:1,
12:1 and 20:1). Attack ranges from 20 to 800ms, and release from 50 to 1100ms.
Black 76 is great for adding fast release snap to individual beats or hammering
transients on sounds that need taming, and it will successfully curtail wayward
vocals, giving them both bite and presence.
