Fuse Audio Labs releases the VCL-25A Vintage Vari-Mu Leveler

[jens]

I'm not a specialist of vintage compressor , what is the function of "floor" feature ?

It sets the level of the noise-floor, but why would you rather go to the length of asking here and having to wait for a reply than just RTFM?

[garfield78]

I'm not a specialist of vintage compressor , what is the function of "floor" feature ?

It sets the level of the noise-floor, but why would you rather go to the length of asking here and having to wait for a reply than just RTFM?

Yes , i admit , my bad

[jens]

I just realized that, while Ray has done quite a few VCA and opto compressors over the years, it appears he has indeed never done a FET compressor... I wonder why that is?

Hi Jens,

For no particular reason, frankly, except for maybe the fact that I never got my hands on a FET-Compressor. And I believe that particularly the 1176 has been emulated to death, so it's unlikely to see a Fuse emulation of that one - I know, I know there are other cool FET comps out there.

Afair, I had to do deal with a FET in the elysia karacter once, so that one doesn't count as a compressor. That's about it with me and FETs in audio circuits

Best,
Ray

Thanks for you thorough answer, Ray!

I somewhat agree in regards to the already-having-been-emulated-to-death bit, but that would then of course as well go for the BRA La2A and Pultec emus and I think it's great that you have them, even though I didn't purchase them for exactly that reason (couldn't resist the VLA-3A though) - a 1176 emu would for me have to have something similar to IKMM's brilliant LR/MS implementation in order to compete with theirs and then it would perhaps end up being to parameter-rich for your liking.

I was under the impression there must be several other great FET compressors worth having a go at, but this thread make me google up and down the internet and I couldn't really come up with anything at all...

[jens]

I just realized that, while Ray has done quite a few VCA and opto compressors over the years, it appears he has indeed never done a FET compressor... I wonder why that is?

i think Black Rooster Audio have a 1176 emu which is a FET compressor, and i believe Ray does all the dev work for them. so, yes, he has

As I wrote "over the years" I most certainly was in no way referring to Fuse Audio Labs alone.

[MogwaiBoy]

Re: latency. As long as the plugin communicates correctly with the DAW, a good DAW will auto-compensate and align everything from the time you hit play to the sound starting to play back. Correct me if I'm wrong? The annoyance only comes from the slow playback start?

Unless you're tracking, then it's a serious issue.

[v1o]

I just realized that, while Ray has done quite a few VCA and opto compressors over the years, it appears he has indeed never done a FET compressor... I wonder why that is?

Hi Jens,

For no particular reason, frankly, except for maybe the fact that I never got my hands on a FET-Compressor. And I believe that particularly the 1176 has been emulated to death, so it's unlikely to see a Fuse emulation of that one - I know, I know there are other cool FET comps out there.

Afair, I had to do deal with a FET in the elysia karacter once, so that one doesn't count as a compressor. That's about it with me and FETs in audio circuits

Best,
Ray

I think you might reconsider your stance somewhat. Sure, there are tons of FET's out there but not many (or any) that could compete with Fuse Audio Labs on price/quality ratio. Here's a list of IMO best FET emulations and their problems:

1) Slate Digital FG-76 and revisions - Subscription model or VERY expensive, Virtual Mix Rack has huge initial load time and installation is very bloated

2) UAD 1176's - Need hardware, high latency

3) Waves 1176's - "Waveshell" system that their plugins run on is an antiquited heap of garbage from the 90's

4) Softube FET / Native Instruments VC76 - Made over 10 years ago, not top quality sound and emulation

5) IK Multimedia 1176 - Crappy business model, bloated installation, bad copy protection, good but not spectacular sounding

6) DMG Audio Track Comp - Just very odd behaviour and quirky emulation IMO, I don't understand how people think this is good, although many people love DMG.

7) PSP FETPressor - Not authentic, very clean

8 ) Analog Obsession - buggy hell

Am I missing any?

You sure like to whinge. The IK is rather good, you can easily delete all the other stuff that the installer installs then and keep only what you use. The whole process honestly takes less than half an hour and you will never have to do it again.

Softube FET is fantastic and probably the best 1176 emulation on the market. Just being a bit older doesn’t mean it’s not excellent, they got it right first time round, it will still sound good decades from today. It’s a top notch emulation and it’s not the same as the NI VC76.

McDsp also make a good 1176 as part of their 6030 compressor collection.

[Liero]

You sure like to whinge.

Ad hominem much?

[zvenx]

........... The IK is rather good, you can easily delete all the other stuff that the installer installs then and keep only what you use. The whole process honestly takes less than half an hour and you will never have to do it again.

...............

Technically you have to do it everytime there is an update.
I myself find it a pain in the ass, as I have to do it for both mac and pc......everytime there is an update...
rsp

[sqigls]

IK sucks all balls ever.

[spunkmuffin]

IK sucks all balls ever.

So IK sucks yours? I guess that means you like em.

[v1o]

........... The IK is rather good, you can easily delete all the other stuff that the installer installs then and keep only what you use. The whole process honestly takes less than half an hour and you will never have to do it again.

...............

Technically you have to do it everytime there is an update.
I myself find it a pain in the ass, as I have to do it for both mac and pc......everytime there is an update...
rsp

If everything is running perfectly, it’s a good idea not to update plugins unnecessarily unless there’s a particular issue affecting your system that is resolved within that update. I’m still happily running old Waves plug-ins and I will not pay for WUP.

For the T-racks 1176 I ran version 4 for nearly four years without running that stupid installer again. I only updated when they brought out version 5 with significant updates.

[zvenx]

So your DAW runs with zero problems? Nada?
Wish I ever had that... ever....

1) If you ever have to call support, the first thing they will usually ask you is if everything is updated.

2) "General Reliability improvements" - see that little line? It usually has quite a few fixes that aren't listed for whatever reason..

with T-racks 5 I think there were GUI issues that the initially did a quick/hot fix in less than a week after release then a more permanent/general fix a few months later.... that right there is just 3 'necessary' updates.

Glad you have a perfectly running system
Anyway enough of the hijacking by me.
I bought this plugin within an hour after demoing it... really great sounding..
Fuse makes them great and easy to use... always my top two requirements (well that an not being buggy)
rsp

[midi_transmission]

Can some vari MU expert educate me a bit? I know roughly what a vari MU does and I know the techical difference to FET, opto and so on... but I find it difficult to judge the quality or in which situations a vari MU is so great.

I would be very thankful for some wise words.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Can some vari MU expert educate me a bit? I know roughly what a vari MU does and I know the techical difference to FET, opto and so on... but I find it difficult to judge the quality or in which situations a vari MU is so great.

I would be very thankful for some wise words.

I generally think of Mu compressors as being on the slower side (not always), usually with a smooth release and a warm character (do all Mu comrpessors contain tubes by design?). I don't make EDM by any means, but where I tend to reach for these types of compressors might be to level off a piano (pianos are hard to compress without doing more harm than good), acoustic guitars, maybe the 2-buss depending on the song. Fairchilds were used on just about everything in The Beatles era, so don't be affraid to try and drums and vocals too. I personally will start to go into the Mu compressors in my arsenal when I want to do some levelling of a track, just even out some dynamics, not really do heavy compression or any heavy shaping of the sound.

Anyway, that's just my non-expert take.

[pekbro]

I spent a good amount of time with this compressor convincing myself I didn’t really need it.

Then I bought it anyway...