Compressor for low and distortion for high frequencies

[helium]

Is there somethign like this: A plugin that splits the signal into two bands fiercely compresses the lower band and distorts the upper band?

[mik82]

Use energy XT and some eq's. Set out one signal path from the audio in to go to an eq allowing only the low frequencies through. Compress this with whatever compressor you want. Set up another signal path with an eq allowing only high frequencies and run this through a distortion.

[Klemperer]

Then Orion Platinum (host) has a BandFX -plugin that splits your signal into 3 bands, pretty nice, you can set the splitpoints as you want and apply 3 effects. But you maybe wouldn't want to actually buy a complete software studio for this...anyway, it's there, in case you'd want to try a demo.

EnergyXT is indeed a possibility...as nearly always.

[butter]

Endorphin can do something kinda like that.

[Klemperer]

Endorphin can do something kinda like that.

and indeed is cheaper . Thanks for that, didn't know this.

[kritikon]

Yep, Endorphin is a very good one to try.

Any other multiband or dual band with independent controls can do that too. There's the C3 compressor, which is a freebie. Volcano is another freebie (very small GUI though).

If you want quality compression for that, then something like Kjaerhus GUP1 will do it if you use the sidechain to compress the low band, then send via an aux to another channel to distort the high band (via another instance of GUP1 sidechained to the high band). Which is a bit fiddly, I know.

Another option is QuantumFX, which has very easy to use sidechains. And a lovely warm overdrive. In fact, you wouldn't even need sidechains within QFX - you could just patch up an FX chain with a low band comp and a high band overdrive/distortion. A bit more expensive, and has a learning curve, but it's an all in one solution and it does a huge amount of other things besides.

And PSP do a few plugins that would achieve it too. MixSat can do something similar, and Vintage Warmer should be able to, probably more effectively.


And then there's the Waves multiband limiters. They do a very good job of distortion

[Klemperer]

Another option is QuantumFX, which has very easy to use sidechains. And a lovely warm overdrive. In fact, you wouldn't even need sidechains within QFX - you could just patch up an FX chain with a low band comp and a high band overdrive/distortion. A bit more expensive, and has a learning curve, but it's an all in one solution and it does a huge amount of other things besides.

Actually I wanted to add this too, but I thought my Orion-tip was expensive enough:-): I like QuantumFX, and all who are able to build own plugins could well profit from it (no synths like Reaktor though, but cheaper...).
The Orion-plug was the first I had and could use for this, and like it really. Does a very nice job (in fact it's the only job it does as it's thought for exactly this).

[lfm]

Trash from www.izotope.com does that if you want.

You can run compression in up to four bands, and different settings for each band.

And the same with the distortion algorithms(about 50) where each band can have it's own algorithm or none.

EQ and other filtering can be done separately pre and post distortion.

[peejunk]

Ohmforce Predatohm can do something like this

[SOLA]

Route your audio signal to two sub channels, take a high and a lowpass filter and split by yourself. Put an compressor in the one sub channel where you cut the highs off and add a distortion in the other channel where you cut the low frequencies off. Configure it so that you only hear your audio signal through these channels.