Limitation: While some can provide hardware emulation, not many are particularly good at it.Īs you would expect, each of the above has a different sound and different compression characteristics, which is the reason why the settings that worked well on one compressor type won’t necessarily translate to another.
Almost every developer now has a compressor that goes way beyond what a hardware emulation can do and that results in parameters and sound that never could have been achieved in the old hardware days.
While it’s great to make the compressor plugin based on a previous hardware model, today’s digital compressors can do so much more. Won’t solve dynamic issues or increase the punch. Good for a mix buss or to add warmth and fatness. The louder the transient, the harder it’s compressed. Takes time to react, which adds a “glue” to the mix (like the mix buss or subgroup). The Vari-Gain compressors are sort of a catch-all category because there are other ways to achieve compression besides the first three. Vari-Gain Style (like the Fairchild 670 or Manley Vari-Mu) Excellent for adding punch to drums and buss compression. Use when the transients are already controlled (mix buss). Aggressive sounding with extreme settings and extended parameter functions. VCA Style (like the dbx 160 or SSL buss compressor)Ī Voltage Controlled Amplifier (VCA) circuit was a product of ‘80s technology and had both excellent response time and much more control over the various compression parameters.
Very warm and rich sounding, but won’t work on the mix buss. Best for punch and snap, but adds the most color. Very fast attack and release with lots of control. FET Style (like the 1176)Ī Field Effect Transistor (FET) was used to vary the gain in the old analog hardware version, which had a much quicker response than the optical circuit. Limitations: Won’t control transients, pumps with low end content. Transparent, tightens up track without being noticed.
Slow attack and release, use when large transients aren’t present (like vocals). The time lag between the bulb and the photocell gave it a distinctive attack and release time. Optical Style (like the (LA-2A)Ī light bulb and a photocell were used as the main components of the compression circuit. Here’s a brief look at their characteristics, and what we can do with them. Most compressor plugins today are based on the four different electronic building blocks that could be used to build a compressor back in the analog hardware days. There are a number of different types of compressors that every engineer is familiar with, but there’s not a lot of information available about the differences between them and what they’re good at.
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