Is the Melda MTurboComp the last Compressor you will need?

[gentleclockdivider]

AFAIK melda plugs do not do any circuit emulation of the above mentioned examples
So NO , you won't be able to replicate any ( vintage ) compressors behaviour .

[RobinWood]

The answer is the same as to any "last" or "best" plugin: big fat NO.

Besides it doesn't do emulation and the current presets mostly don't sound like their real counterparts, I hardly dislike percentage controls. Sure you can try to create other transfer curves like in any other modern compressor, but how many open the edit screen to do so when being in a production?

I remember when I tested it, it also wasn't that light on the CPU and in a GS thread it got justified with the complexity of the internal routing and generic parameters that are there for all models (either used or unused). I'd rather use a specialized simple compressor then on every channel which does the job like it should. Just because you can make something different, doesn't mean you should at any cost.

[drdriller]

the last compressor i will ever need is Melda MDynamicsMB

Melda is good at producing modern plugins but not at emulating old gears.

Emulating old gears is a boring old fashion game, use waveshaping or saturation to choose your color.

[nichttuntun]

AFAIK melda plugs do not do any circuit emulation of the above mentioned examples
So NO , you won't be able to replicate any ( vintage ) compressors behaviour .

It does everything you need from soft touch to utterly destruction. It colours very nicely or stays completely clean. You can do so many different sounding tones and vibes with it and it sounds marvellous. So I do not find it so important if the original hardware units are recreated in detail. The pros often state that there isn't an emulation which sounds like the original. So I do not care as long as the results are great and no music consumer will know anyway. I used and tried out so many different VST compressors in the past and I can't make out major differences between the models they say they are sounding somehow like the originals. I use things I got in a way till I like the results. And still I can't imagine another VST Comp getting so much different styles and colours out of it.

For me this is a fantastic sound design machine, perhaps for people who do not want to be limited by those "original" one knob wonders for the sake of "originality".

I don't know if you really used it in a mixing project. But I am sure you would be convinced and surprised by switching through the different models on easy screen alone, if you would give it an unbiased approach and just listen.

[frizzbee]

hell no

[plexuss]

No. For obvious reasons many which have been stated. Try replicating Kush Audio compressors, for example. Novatron.

[MeldaProduction]

AFAIK melda plugs do not do any circuit emulation of the above mentioned examples
So NO , you won't be able to replicate any ( vintage ) compressors behaviour .

The fact that we do it differently has nothing to do with the results. Theory clearly states that for every input / output pair there are infinite number of algorithms getting the results. Saying that circuit emulation is the only way is like saying that you cannot heat water using electricity, because it was originally done by firing wood

[XxEDxX]

When I did a compressor shootout before buying a new one, MTurboComp was only in the mid-field. Aspects like usability, lightweight, funcitonality and character were not that convincing. It can do a lot, but it always misses something. And that is something that made the complete Turboseries pretty useless for me (same for all-in-one synths). It loses to the corresponding counterparts. So you either buy something that tries to be involved everywhere but with halfbaked sound or you buy just the 1 thing with superb sound. Since stock plugins can get you right to your goal, I'd rather spent money on a character plugin for the last 1%.

I agree you have to get used to the UI and parameters, which is the downer for most. Knowing that meldaproduction is known for their antipathy against analog and usual concepts, together with guessing they don't have all the pricey hardware available which lent their name, the presets are only a marketing move and not a sales point.

The only thing that would make a sales point is the edit screen. But on the other hand hardly anyone likes to fiddle there. It's something for the hardcore users, maybe in sounddesign for fx. If you find something to tweak at all.

[nichttuntun]

Aspects like 1) usability, 2) lightweight, 3) funcitonality and 4) character were not that convincing.

It can do a lot, but it always misses 5) something.

1) it's so easy to use. Just a few knobs in easy screen.
2) hmmm, I used over 20 complex Melda plugin instances (Turboreverb, Turboeq, Turbodelay, the really demanding Rotary and a lot distortion and saturation plugins, some with internal modulators, plus multiple versions of uhe Satin and some specialities from Kazrog), on a 30 track mix on a 9 years old quadcore PC. Nine of them are Turbocomp and I still can load up some more plugins. It seems lightweighty enough for me.
3) top notch because there is nothing in comparison you can tweak that much under the hood.
4) character is definitely there and you can tweak a lot to your liking in many many different ways. The models alone sound completely different from one another. And that's just a starting point for your sound design.
5) what?

I think it maybe was possible that some people like shiny surfaces combined with easy 4 knobs functions and that's a position their judgements are influenced by. I bet if Waves, Slate and others would publish the Melda comps with only easy knobs functions and photo realistic surfaces most people would be massively impressed.

For some it seems simply impossible to believe Melda makes state of the art sounding plugins... Aren't they just fixed upon digital stuff? And now they should make great analogish sounding plugins too? That seems to be impossible. Maybe some can't put the ambivalence between the GUI and the sound from vintage gear aside. I just put plugins into a mix and tweak them always in context and I just listen. It cuts through it destroys it makes space and nearly always sound homogen and natural, musical. Again, what is missing while you are mixing with MTurbocomp?

[Symphony Sid]

When I did a compressor shootout before buying a new one, MTurboComp was only in the mid-field. Aspects like usability, lightweight, funcitonality and character were not that convincing. It can do a lot, but it always misses something. And that is something that made the complete Turboseries pretty useless for me (same for all-in-one synths). It loses to the corresponding counterparts. So you either buy something that tries to be involved everywhere but with halfbaked sound or you buy just the 1 thing with superb sound. Since stock plugins can get you right to your goal, I'd rather spent money on a character plugin for the last 1%.

I'd be very interested in seeing the other plugs you compared with it in your tier rankings.

[plexuss]

3) top notch because there is nothing in comparison you can tweak that much under the hood.

Except DMG Compassion https://www.dmgaudio.com/products_compassion.php

[MeldaProduction]

nichttuntun: Thank you!

I that in general nothing is perfect for everyone, and that's how it should be, since we are not clones, yet

[XxEDxX]

I'd be very interested in seeing the other plugs you compared with it in your tier rankings.

Sure,

DMG Compassion
FabFilter ProC2
FL Studio stock plugins
MModernCompressor
MTurboComp
NI Supercharger
NI Solid Bus Comp & Solid Dynamics
Sonalksis SV-315 mk2
Studio One stock plugins
TDR Kotelnikov
Toneboosters Compressor
Waves RComp
Vengeance FX Vol 1 compressor
Xhip Effects Compressor

I think I missed out 3 or 4 other plugins. And I can't remember which one but it didn't have a ratio or threshold knob, but a graph of the transfer which needed to be tweaked instead Also not quite sure if u-He Presswerk was already available back then or if I tested it shortly afterwards. Also after figuring out I'd stick with the S1 stock plugins for the most time, I took a look at a hardware Shadow Hills from a studio closure as well as some "emulations" of the classics from UAD, Waves, Analog Obsession, Melda, NI...

Most performant were the Studio One stock plugins followed by Xhip Compressor. Workflow and visual feedback wise FF ProC2 won. NI Supercharger brought some most generic useful character imo and Waves RComp did on certain material like drums. MTurboComp had much to tweak, so had DMG Compassion. Toneboosters Compressor was pretty clean.

[Notheorem729]

I think everyone is missing the big picture here. Sure... MTurbocomp is marketed as a plugin that emulates a whole list of hardware but since when have we let marketing decide anything in a discussion about a plugin? Do I think this is the last compressor you will ever need? No, not for me anyway. However, if I was looking for one compressor I could use for absolutely everything that allowed me to design my own compression styles I can't think of anything that could compare to this. We all know that there is no such thing as one compressor to rule them all. That being said we are far better off asking who this is right for or what this is right for instead of "if this is right" because there is a group of people out there who want nothing other than this I'm sure. To be fair... I haven't used this in a mix. I accidentally activated the trial for all melda plugins at once when I only wanted to try a few a while back. I definitely want MTurbocomp so I can mess around and design some custom compressors. Which in my opinion is what is important here. Comparing this to emulations of the same type of compressor is great but in my opinion it in no way can determine the value. Mturbocomp may not perfectly emulate an LA2A (or whatever) but the fact that you can sit down yourself and design an LA2A emulation without coding anything yourself has far more value to me than the list of emulations regardless of how they compare to other plugins.

[DocSnyder]

I think everyone is missing the big picture here. ...However, if I was looking for one compressor I could use for absolutely everything that allowed me to design my own compression styles I can't think of anything that could compare to this...

1) I can do such things in any modular environment and there are dozens of it availabe. Even simpler compressors allow for shaping the transfercurves or attack & release envelopes.
2) How often do you honestly sit down and think "I wish I could create my own compressor"? Haven't talked to a single musician that felt the need for it. And therefore I'd say take it for what it is, not what it might become - in the end it simply is a generic compressor with a couple presets in the first place, not an ultimate compressor building machine for which you definitely use it way too few.