Feedback Compressor II - Gentleman's Edition (discussion)

[djscorb]

Hi Fabien

Tried the compressor properly today and I really loved it. Truly great work and it's hard to accept that it's free! I will be more than happy to cough up for the GE

You mentioned the sidechain filtering having more options for dealing with high frequency content (HF Tame mode). Would that be something like a 3dB per octave tilt for the entire spectrum rather than just from 400Hz down? Could be great for taming highs in a mixing scenario and would indeed be a welcome extra

Cheers

Scorb

[FabienTDR]

You mentioned the sidechain filtering having more options for dealing with high frequency content (HF Tame mode). Would that be something like a 3dB per octave tilt for the entire spectrum rather than just from 400Hz down? Could be great for taming highs in a mixing scenario and would indeed be a welcome extra

Yes, that's exactly what I had in mind with this option!

[djscorb]

Fantastic

I'm sold!

Cheers

Scorb

[djscorb]

Hello again

One feature that would be an extremely useful addition for the GE would be some a/b banks (or A to H!) as in Melda and DMG products.

Several banks that let you audition alternative settings that are all optimised and level matched to the track you are working on is far more useful than saving different presets and opening each in turn.

With a decent A/B system, you can cycle through with your eyes closed and it can really make auditioning different settings more objective without breaking your flow.

The ability to clear an a/b bank and copy settings from one to another is also essential for this feature to be effective.

There could perhaps be some vertical buttons to the far right of the GUI that wouldn't clutter the existing layout.

What do you think?

Cheers

Scorb

[FabienTDR]

One feature that would be an extremely useful addition for the GE would be some a/b banks (or A to H!) as in Melda and DMG products.

Several banks that let you audition alternative settings that are all optimised and level matched to the track you are working on is far more useful than saving different presets and opening each in turn.

With a decent A/B system, you can cycle through with your eyes closed and it can really make auditioning different settings more objective without breaking your flow.

The ability to clear an a/b bank and copy settings from one to another is also essential for this feature to be effective.

There could perhaps be some vertical buttons to the far right of the GUI that wouldn't clutter the existing layout.

What do you think?

That's a great idea, definitely a valuable feature.

Putting the A, B, C buttons to the right side is a nice idea, too.

I totally overlooked this option.

Thank you!

[bpblog]

all i can say is that Gentleman's Edition is a great idea.

thank you for your fantastic work, FabienTDR!

[FabienTDR]

all i can say is that Gentleman's Edition is a great idea.

thank you for your fantastic work, FabienDNR!

Thank YOU for all the lovely support!

Glad you like the GE approach!

[FabienTDR]

"Gentleman's" as an adjective is perhaps not a word you want to use, not because women may want to use it, but there are certain negative connotations that word is used for.

Example: Here in the US, a "Gentleman's Club" is basically what is also known as a 'strip joint', where women take of their clothes for paying customers.

Decidedly not in the general definition of the word "Gentleman"; at least how Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines the word: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gentleman

In this regard, using this word in the description of the product may ward off potential customers for an entirely different reason.

That's interesting, there seem to be some cultural differences. But the fact that the term makes people smile and discuss if it's adequate or not gives me a good feeling about it's promotional potential! I personally like the fact that is doesn't just describe the tool, but also addresses the user's generosity to pay for software in 2013.

[djscorb]

One feature that would be an extremely useful addition for the GE would be some a/b banks (or A to H!) as in Melda and DMG products.

Several banks that let you audition alternative settings that are all optimised and level matched to the track you are working on is far more useful than saving different presets and opening each in turn.

With a decent A/B system, you can cycle through with your eyes closed and it can really make auditioning different settings more objective without breaking your flow.

The ability to clear an a/b bank and copy settings from one to another is also essential for this feature to be effective.

There could perhaps be some vertical buttons to the far right of the GUI that wouldn't clutter the existing layout.

What do you think?

That's a great idea, definitely a valuable feature.

Putting the A, B, C buttons to the right side is a nice idea, too.

I totally overlooked this option.

Thank you!

You're welcome!

Just three banks (A,B & C) would probably be perfectly adequate. Also can I suggest that an A/B button, when clicked, cycles through all three slots in turn. This is the way DMG now handle it and it's great for the "closed eyes" aspect.

The other feature you mentioned that I liked the sound of aside from the Hi Frequency Tame mode, is a split function that allows you to compress a select frequency range. I'm not a fan at all of Multiband compression, but splitting the audio into two can be an awesome creative tool and problem solver. Would make for a lot of additional applications such as an exciter, sub bass control, even de-essing. The split could be defined from just one filter or you could use two filters as a bandpass to mark out a frequency range for compression whilst passing the rest of the signal unaffected to the output.

Anyway, I very much look forward to seeing and hearing what you come up with

Cheers

Scorb

[FabienTDR]

Such a split feature would be a useful addition, no doubt. But there are several conceptional and technical problems making it really difficult. I don't like the sound of minimal phase band splitting, so a proper linear phase filter is a must. At least as default option. But creating a linear phase crossover that acts well over a wide bandwidth without letting the CPU load and latency explode is a difficult task.

For very low frequencies, the latency can grow significantly (easily up to a half second). This is a potential source of trouble, especially with regard to the DAWs latency compensation and surprised users!

The FB comp II does heavy work in the background in order to sound great over the full bandwidth. IMO this would be a processing overkill for narrow(er) band signals. For example, there's really no need for high rates if one wants to only compress the lows.

The FB Comp II GE will probably only offer very limited band split features - if any.

I think that frequency dependent dynamics need a different approach to UI and processing. A future plug-in maybe?

[djscorb]

Actually, almost as soon as I had finished typing I was already thinking that such a feature (split) would really start to over-complicate this plugin.

Whilst latency and cpu is not such a problem when mastering, this plugin excels at buss compression and drums so additional latency and cpu overhead would be a step in the wrong direction.

Perhaps such a feature would indeed work better in another plugin.

Looking again at the suggestions you've made I would already be happy with what's been discussed.

One thing did occur to me about having an additional FF mode however. If the new edition has the ability to switch between FF and FB, does that allow the possibility of higher ratios or even negative ratios? I am drooling just thinking what it would sound like on drums with negative ratios!

Cheers

Scorb

[FabienTDR]

@djscorb: A flexible and aggressive "mix" oriented compressor is already in development. Patience pls!

[Aiynzahev]

@djscorb: A flexible and aggressive "mix" oriented compressor is already in development. Patience pls!

Ooh looking forward to it

[djscorb]

Excellent news.

I just started to give Proximity a work out today after being so impressed with the Feedback Comp. It's a very useful tool and just the ticket for getting certain mix elements to sit nicely on the Z axis.

I've been recommending your plugins to several friends this week.

Looking forward to seeing what's next, keep up the amazing work!

Cheers

Scorb

[MFXxx]

Thanks for all your hard work with this. One of the better free comps and very nice to use (love the GUI).

Gentlemens edition...not many many ladies that have never appreciated a gentleman in their life