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Compressor plug in recommendations

Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 5:53 pm
by Tarekith
Hey all, looking to get some feedback on what compressors people like, given that i have some rather specific requirements. So many out there that I'm sure I'm missing some, so it's always good to poll the masses. Anyway, here's my requirements for the compressor:

- Must be native to OSX, either VST or preferably AU. DSP card plug ins ala the UAD or Powercore need not apply.

- Must not be host dependant, ala Live's Compressor.

- Must not require a dongle, I hate the things on principle.

- Prefer a version with auto-release, but not required.

- Most important, must have some form of mix control, for blending a copy of the dry uncompressed signal with the compressed version. Basically a built in option for parallel compression.

Anyone got any recommendations based on the above?

Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 5:55 pm
by Grappadura
Guess you know the sticky about compressors at kvr ?

Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 5:57 pm
by Tarekith
Nope, just posted there but didn't see any sitcky. Let me go look again...

Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:02 pm
by Grappadura
hehe, its right in the section where you posted :)

Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:07 pm
by Tarekith
Yeah I see it now, doh.

Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:13 pm
by Geezus
different compressors have different characters that suit different tasks differently (thats a mouthful). Sonalksis has a bunch of really cool ones ranging from classic vintage style to precise multi-band to fucked up artistic ones. The audio damage freebie rough rider is pretty sweet to my ears too, and for warmth I like vintage warmer. I dont know what the compatibility for osx is for these but i'm sure it wouldnt be hard to look into it

btw why built in dry/wet? Couldnt you just use racks or some similar function in another DAW to blend dry and wet signals?

Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:15 pm
by Tarekith
Well aware of what makes comps differ, I guess I'm mainly looking for what ones people like that meet my criteria, so i can download demos of them all and decide which one fits my needs best.

I love the Sonalksis comp for general duties, but it lacks a wet/dry knob which is my main need at the moment. Vintage Warmer is already lined up for my tests :)

Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:16 pm
by Geezus
Tarekith wrote:Well aware of what makes comps differ, I guess I'm mainly looking for what ones people like that meet my criteria, so i can download demos of them all and decide which one fits my needs best.

I love the Sonalksis comp for general duties, but it lacks a wet/dry knob which is my main need at the moment. Vintage Warmer is already lined up for my tests :)
again, if you are using live you can easily use a rack to do dry/wet.

Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:17 pm
by Tarekith
I am not using Live though.

Re: Compressor plug in recommendations

Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:24 pm
by Chang
Tarekith wrote:Hey all, looking to get some feedback on what compressors people like, given that i have some rather specific requirements. So many out there that I'm sure I'm missing some, so it's always good to poll the masses. Anyway, here's my requirements for the compressor:

- Must be native to OSX, either VST or preferably AU. DSP card plug ins ala the UAD or Powercore need not apply.

- Must not be host dependant, ala Live's Compressor.

- Must not require a dongle, I hate the things on principle.

- Prefer a version with auto-release, but not required.

- Most important, must have some form of mix control, for blending a copy of the dry uncompressed signal with the compressed version. Basically a built in option for parallel compression.

Anyone got any recommendations based on the above?
OSX, no ilok, no UAD, Duende or Powercore or TDM. And must be able to blend like New York paralleling. hmm

Thats a TALL order. As far as quality and sound, meeting that criteria I have no idea.

But would be very interested in some answers myself on this.

Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:27 pm
by Tarekith
Stillwell Rocket was recommended on another forum, seems to be an interesting plug in.

Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:29 pm
by mr.adl
I´d say Marquis but it lacks the Dry/Wet knob :(
You might still look into it:
http://www.voxengo.com/product/marquiscomp/

Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:31 pm
by Tarekith
Marquis is not OSX ready yet though, otherwise I'd have it anyway (it does have a dry knobt oo btw). Honestly Marquis is the comp I really want for the task anyway, just waiting for it to be ported.

Right now that leaves Crunchessor as the only AU compatible comp Aleksey makes.

Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:33 pm
by Filterheadz
The upcoming Cytomic "Glue" compressor has everything you're asking for...

and it sounds absolutely amazingly fabulous!

http://www.kvraudio.com/get/3666.html

greetz,

bert

Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:35 pm
by Tarekith
Thanks, that looks right along the lines of what i need. Is there a demo available?