GCO- a question to Torben and the compressor experts...

[jens]

GCO-1 is very flexible - its intention is, I believe, to be able to mimic the behaviour of almost any single band compressor. Most controls you usually don't neccessarily need to touch at all. They are to finetune the compressor behaviour. All the time since I bought GCO-1 I was wondering why Torben didn't provide certain presets for mimiking the behaviour of certain famous classic compressors. I know the Sonitus Ultrafunk compressor provides such presets although while being good the it surely isn't flexible enough. I have no experiences with a 1176, a Fairchild, etc. - but I would like to be able to try their specific behaviour. However I don't know where their knee starts, I don't know the length of the second release stage of a LA2A, I don't know the specific non-linearity of certain classic compressors, etc.

Questions to Torben: why don't you provide such presets? It surely would be a big selling point, wouldn't it? And b.t.w. about the 'knee'-value: shouldn't it be a db-value just as treshold instead of %?


Question to Torben and everyone else: do you have access to data-sheets where I could extract these values myself from?

[dalor]

I'd have some requests too Hope this doesn't sound too annoying. As i just discovered, just mixing a limited or compressed signal to a certain level into the dry signal can be very useful sometimes. So here i go:

GCO-1 / GPP-1 / MPL-1: Next to the GAIN value, a MIX knob (for e.g. MIX only 5% of the comressed/limited signal with the dry signal), by default its 100% (wet).

GPP-1 / MPL-1 : The GAIN output of -10db (GPP-1) or -5db (MPL-1) is too low, something like -40 would be really helpful.

I own all these products (and GMO-1 as well), and they are the best investment in terms of mastering tools i ever did, they are amazing (if not the best) products i'd say.

[fgimian]

hey jens, GCO is indeed extremely flexible but it isn't (in my opinion) as capable of sounding like vintage gear like LA2As and 1176s as the wonderful Voxengo Marquis Compressor, that thing is incredible and can indeed sound a lot like the vintage hardware you refer too.

Also the Sonalksis compressor sounds along the lines of an SSL buss compressor.

I personally feel that the GCO is best used for a little dirt (in classic mode), or for very smooth compression (in smooth mode) and it is just as good and useful as the others I have mentioned, however, it really can't emulate the sort of hardware you are referring to in my honest opinion and thus, this is why I think presets haven't been added for this sort of hardware.

Cheers
Fots

[Kingston]

yeah jens forget about it.

GCO-1 is an entity on it's own. No matter what you do, it sounds like GCO-1, and that's a great thing. Even with all those knobs, the flexibility is elsewhere than mimicing something.

Ask yourself why you would actually *need* some vintage emulation? Couldn't you just instead make GCO-1 sound good? Not much else those (somewhat unreasonably) sought after vintage comps are capable of either.

Oh and those ultrafunk vintage emulation presets sound like absolute rubbish. They're so heavily outdated and grainy digital sounding it's not even funny anymore.

[jens]

Ask yourself why you would actually *need* some vintage emulation?

like I already said: to make up my mind about their specific behaviour - I don't believe in voodoo - if (e.g.) the release-stage is right it is right...

I think GCO-1 porvides all crucial parameters - there'll probably still be some minor differences to the orginal but chances are I'll don't hear them anyway...

and sorry, no offense meant, but:

GCO-1 is an entity on it's own. No matter what you do, it sounds like GCO-1

sounds a tad like voodoo to me...

Couldn't you just instead make GCO-1 sound good? Not much else those (somewhat unreasonably) sought after vintage comps are capable of either.

What makes you think I don't already do this?

[headquest]

Oh and those ultrafunk vintage emulation presets sound like absolute rubbish. They're so heavily outdated and grainy digital sounding it's not even funny anymore.

I noticed in several threads you don't like the Sonitus stuff much . Do you think any of them are worthwhile? Why are you against the Sonitus stuff?

[bmanic]

Also the Sonalksis compressor sounds along the lines of an SSL buss compressor.

This is do not understand. IMHO it doesn't sound anywhere close to the SSL buss compressor and I've even tried the different settings provided at the UAD forum for emulating the SSL. It's much much too smooth for trying to be an SSL.

The 4000 series desk we had our hands on had a rather brutal compressor on the master bus. The Sonalksis compressor is one of the few that is hard to abuse so that it really sounds brutal. Then again, used lightly it does provide a certain glue that reminds me of the SSL bus compressor when it's attack is set to .1ms and auto release. Hmm.. maybe there is some truth to all this.

Cheers!
bManic

[bmanic]

Oh and those ultrafunk vintage emulation presets sound like absolute rubbish. They're so heavily outdated and grainy digital sounding it's not even funny anymore.

I noticed in several threads you don't like the Sonitus stuff much . Do you think any of them are worthwhile? Why are you against the Sonitus stuff?

He doesn't like the sound. Neither do I. I agree with him, they are simply outdated, outclassed and outgunned.

Sonitus ultrafunk's were very good, when compared to the competition then, in the end of 90's but that's many years from now.

Cheers!
bManic

[Kingston]

Oh and those ultrafunk vintage emulation presets sound like absolute rubbish. They're so heavily outdated and grainy digital sounding it's not even funny anymore.

I noticed in several threads you don't like the Sonitus stuff much . Do you think any of them are worthwhile? Why are you against the Sonitus stuff?

Few simple things:

1. VST plugins have only really sounded brilliant for a few years now, since maybe 2003, and even then only a select top crop (my personal opinion, no need to agree). Before that it was all pretty crude basic algorithms and digital sound, ie. waves platinum pack etc. shite.

2. Sonitus was released originally at around 1999. Nothing has been done to the algorithms since, but the plugins have been repackaged several times.

That about sums it up.

[jens]

oh, and before this thread is taking the wrong turn:

I don't want the GCO-1 to sound like e.g. a 1176 - my attempt was to make it behave like one - I'll leave the 'sounds like...'-comments to those with the golden ears who know what they're talking about (even if they'll never be able to prove it) - noob that I am I try to get a better understanding of what does what and why...

[Kingston]

I don't want the GCO-1 to sound like e.g. a 1176 - my attempt was to make it behave like one

and the difference is?

[jens]

I don't want the GCO-1 to sound like e.g. a 1176 - my attempt was to make it behave like one

and the difference is?

I dunno - I for one probably can't hear it and am not interested in it either...

[jens]

So what parameters exactly is the GCO-1 missing to mimic (say) a 1176? Or does it provide all paramters but they are scaled wrongly?

[bmanic]

jens, the behaviour of the 1176 is it's unique sound. The extremely fast attack that chops off the incoming audio and the insane release. That's the sound of the 1176. Also the very weird all buttons in (or 4:1 + 12:1 button or any other two or three button combination) is impossible to mimic in GCO as it's not a controlled behaviour in any way.. it's just insane.

Cheers!
bManic

[Kingston]

I don't want the GCO-1 to sound like e.g. a 1176 - my attempt was to make it behave like one

and the difference is?

I dunno - I for one probably can't hear it and am not interested in it either...

uhh ok.



what a weird fella.