Cleanest most transparent vst compressor?

[thecontrolcentre]

I did? I must have missed that.

Really?

Or, rather than using compressors, you can always just choose the right sound in the first place or layer sounds.

Can you see it now?

[yellowfever]

You said "rather than using compressors, choose the right sound first" ...
This is implying that compression is unnecessary.

Sometimes it is. Horses for courses.

and @ TCC if you need any help finding more of my posts just holler.

FWIW, as has already been mentioned, I'd go for the T Racks Opto Compressor.

[thecontrolcentre]

@ TCC if you need any help finding more of my posts just holler.

[pandashake]

@ TCC if you need any help finding more of my posts just holler.

You guys need to DEcompress.

[Meffy]

@yellowfever: Haven't we discussed this "thin ice" business before? Here, for the final time (and yes, I mean it, no more warnings, next time you get the boot):

If you have nothing to contribute, don't post. If you see a thread titled "Which bicycle should I buy?" don't post "Get roller blades instead!" If you see a thread about "What's the best brand of white bread?" don't respond "If you don't want to get sick you should be eating spelt and oat bran!" If you see a thread asking for opinions on compressors, don't come back with "If you're competent you shouldn't need to use them!"

[edit: This is in addition to the overall rules of civility and generally not being a jerk that always apply.]

Do you understand this?

[thecontrolcentre]

You guys need to DEcompress.

[Bubbamusic]

Sounds like you need the Nebula free bundle. Beautiful compressors and EQ's, you just need a computer with some ass.

http://www.acustica-audio.com/index.php ... Itemid=101

[LeVzi]

My understanding of a transparant compressor is one that you can do heavy or light compression without the sound changing at all (the signal would be visible beyond the threshold as if the compression wasn't happening)

But in actual fact you are going to struggle to find a compressor that can do very heavy compression without altering dynamics in someway.

To the OP, the best all round compressor I use that I would deem transparant for my needs, and that includes all perc, synth leads/pads, sound FX and vocals, is The Glue.

As to what Gol was talking about, I can see what he means about a transparant limiter being better for increasing loudness beyond 0db, without changing the dynamics or causing distortion, and there are a few around that are good, Elephant being my personal choice there.

I used to use Endorphin prior to the Glue, that was pretty clear too.

But since I swapped to the Glue, i'm more than happy And not a dongle in sight with it. I seriously suggest trying it in your list with the others.

[MickGael]

Recently picked up a DBX 266XL for band practice (vocals). Very, very nice and only $150 (for 2 channels).

Just saying'...

[futurefields]

My understanding of a transparant compressor is one that you can do heavy or light compression without the sound changing at all (the signal would be visible beyond the threshold as if the compression wasn't happening)

But in actual fact you are going to struggle to find a compressor that can do very heavy compression without altering dynamics in someway.

Transparent compression still alters the dynamics. That is the primary function of a compressor, transparent or not.

A transparent compressor will alter dynamics, while leaving the overall tonality and frequency response less altered than a more heavily colored compressor (ie. something with tubes or other circuit that imparts significant signal coloration)

For free, try Reacomp.

If you want to spend big money on a transparent compressor, get Pro-C. It also has a classic/colored mode that is very good.

If you want to spend big money on a compressor that sounds analog in its roundness, but is still relatively transparent in that it doesn't add significant distortion, check out the Sonalksis SV-315.

[LeVzi]

My understanding of a transparant compressor is one that you can do heavy or light compression without the sound changing at all (the signal would be visible beyond the threshold as if the compression wasn't happening)

But in actual fact you are going to struggle to find a compressor that can do very heavy compression without altering dynamics in someway.

Transparent compression still alters the dynamics. That is the primary function of a compressor, transparent or not.

A transparent compressor will alter dynamics, while leaving the overall tonality and frequency response less altered than a more heavily colored compressor (ie. something with tubes or other circuit that imparts significant signal coloration)

For free, try Reacomp.

If you want to spend big money on a transparent compressor, get Pro-C. It also has a classic/colored mode that is very good.

If you want to spend big money on a compressor that sounds analog in its roundness, but is still relatively transparent in that it doesn't add significant distortion, check out the Sonalksis SV-315.

Maybe i've got my terminology wrong, but when the compressor is "compressing" you want it to do so without it altering anything at all in the signal, it should sound the same before and after, just louder. Thats my understanding of transparant. Same with a limiter, you can raise up to and over 0db, and a good transparant limiter will not cause distortion (until it's pushed too hard, same with a compressor)

So yeah , there will be changes in certain areas but to the ear, it must be the same before -> after compression. I know some compressors add colour before they do anything, at least some i've tried, which is ok if you want that, but in this case the OP just wants advice on a good all round transparant compressor, and I think they got plenty of food for thought !

[eduardo_b]

Maybe i've got my terminology wrong, but when the compressor is "compressing" you want it to do so without it altering anything at all in the signal, it should sound the same before and after, just louder. Thats my understanding of transparant. Same with a limiter, you can raise up to and over 0db, and a good transparant limiter will not cause distortion (until it's pushed too hard, same with a compressor)

The use of compression doesn't have to result in louder, In fact, without make-up gain of some sort, it will typically be lower than the original level. Distortion is most obvious with limiters because of their more extreme settings that can crush the dynamic range even more than a typical compressor.

[futurefields]

Maybe i've got my terminology wrong, but when the compressor is "compressing" you want it to do so without it altering anything at all in the signal, it should sound the same before and after, just louder. Thats my understanding of transparant. Same with a limiter, you can raise up to and over 0db, and a good transparant limiter will not cause distortion (until it's pushed too hard, same with a compressor)

What a compressor does is apply gain-reduction whenever the signal passes over a certain threshold, which is determined by the user. Above this threshold, "ratio" selector will tell you how much gain reduction will occur. If there is a 2:1 ratio, once the audio signal is over the threshold, it will require 2 decibels of INPUT gain to yield 1 decibel of OUTPUT volume. In other words, once the signal is above the ratio, it will have exactly 1/2 the dynamic range that it would if it were not compressed at all.

Some compressors apply this gain-reduction in a more transparent (ie. cleaner with less artifacts/distortion) way than others. That's not to say that non-transparent compressors are less effective, they often have a tonal quality to them that people consider "musical", in that they impart a certain warmth and organic quality to the signal. But, this is not desired if you already have the tone you want, and you just want to control the dynamics without altering the tone.

[eduardo_b]

What a compressor does is apply gain-reduction whenever the signal passes over a certain threshold, which is determined by the user. Above this threshold, "ratio" selector will tell you how much gain reduction will occur. If there is a 2:1 ratio, once the audio signal is over the threshold, it will require 2 decibels of INPUT gain to yield 1 decibel of OUTPUT volume. In other words, once the signal is above the ratio, it will have exactly 1/2 the dynamic range that it would if it were not compressed at all.

One-half the dynamic range? This doesn't seem right. Volume level, perhaps, but I don't remember this being a direct correlation to dynamic range.

[aggravation]

nastyvcs compressor sounds very clean to me. The signal has to be quite hot for the comp to really pulverise the audio but it still has a sweetening effect.
Apologies if someone has already mentioned this one