New Toneboosters Compressor :)

[The Noodlist]

I don't know anything about what percentage of its code is new - which is exaxtly the same for me for all the other V4 plugins which all were regarded as successors to V3 plugins if there was a V3 of the same type of plugin
(There are e.g. vast differences between Reelbus V3 and V4...)

Reelbus V4 has the option to choose the V3 algorithm, maybe a updated V3 bus might be added to the V4 Compressor.

[onerob]

In 4.2 we've lost the attack/release shape parameter. Also the range for the Zones isn't as much as before (I liked to be able to try leaving only low sub-bass uncompressed).

That being said, this is a really interesting compressor and I hope it keeps being improved.

I'd still like to see some kind of variable stereo linking control.

[dasdeck]

I like this compresser too, but removing features after the release is bad.

[frizzbee]

seems like a rushed release to me without knowing which direction to go. sadly. first time with a toneboosters plugin i thought visual aesthetics had priority before the functionality/features.

[imrae]

It is strange how the envelope behaviour appears to be an afterthought. Usually it's a big part of a compressor's identity?

[acousticglue]

Well just hang on to the hosses and let em chime in

[DeathByGuitar]

I used to be in the ToneBoosters beta group on Facebook and then it just disappeared. Then again, considering how little time EQ4 was in beta, maybe Jeroen just likes to get things out there ASAP and figure it out as he goes. I mean, that's fine...probably not the best thing from a marketing standpoint but I'm sure people are buying it anyway.

Would love to get his thoughts on this approach. I KNOW YOU'RE READING THIS, JEROEN

[todd_r]

I used to be in the ToneBoosters beta group on Facebook and then it just disappeared...

Me too! I know Jeroen keeps updating and improving, but it was a bit odd to release it when he knew there was such big changes just round the corner. Off to re-test anyway...

[DeathByGuitar]

Maybe he should just label things public beta until they get to a certain state? I've never seen such drastic, frequent changes to non-beta/alpha software before. (With the exception of Reaper). I dunno.

[acousticglue]

It's holiday weekend here in good,ole riot of USA. Let the firewoks,begin

[djeroen]

I KNOW YOU'RE READING THIS, JEROEN

Sure am

Apologies everyone for the initial release hiccups. I guess we jumped the gun with the initial release. Things should be much more stable with the 4.2 update! The changes aren't as drastic as they seem to be.

On the release shape control: the control is still there, it's just relabelled as 'hold'. I guess it is fair to say that this control doesn't do a classic hold nor a release shape (linear vs log) modification, and hence the initial labelling as a release shape was confusing for various people. 'Hold' should provide a more intuitive explanation of what it does.

It can probably be best described by a 'soft' hold, giving a very smooth transition between 'classic hold' in which the gain doesn't change for the duration of the hold phase, and a release. The release curve will be delayed by exactly the hold time, but you'll see that the curves are always ...well... curvy. This solves issues with the classic hold functionality that generates distortion components because the first derivative of the gain function is not continuous. The soft hold does produce smooth and continuous derivatives of the gain function, reducing harmonic distortion.

Then onto the modes: although one can very clearly measure the differences in harmonic distortion of the modes that were in 4.1, most people couldn't hear much a difference. So we've condensed the list into two options that are clearly distinguishable, and therefore it's now a much simpler toggle button instead of a drop down menu.

And yes we do read these comments and try to reflect them in updates where we possibly can. This is why (constructive) feedback on forums like this is extremely valuable for us to keep improving our plugins!

[mabian]

I know that the V4 GUIs are much smarter, rescalable and modern, but I find them less appealing than v3.
One thing that especially annoys me is the mostly monochrome asset; it would be great if more colourful skins were made available, with different tints for the various sections (for example in the new compressor have the graph colored differently than the knobs).
For the very same reason I really welcomed the ability to color curves in EQ v4.

Maybe I'm so old that I still prefer skeuomorphic GUIs... (Barricade and Reelbus V3 are awesome in this regard imo)

- Mario

[acousticglue]

Yep you would be in the minority there

[DeathByGuitar]

Yeah I'm kind of over skeuomorphic stuff. I do really like the look of some plugins but I think a lot of them go overboard when they're full of glare, scratches and rack screws. Just needless distraction.

[DeathByGuitar]

I KNOW YOU'RE READING THIS, JEROEN

Sure am

Apologies everyone for the initial release hiccups. I guess we jumped the gun with the initial release. Things should be much more stable with the 4.2 update! The changes aren't as drastic as they seem to be.

On the release shape control: the control is still there, it's just relabelled as 'hold'. I guess it is fair to say that this control doesn't do a classic hold nor a release shape (linear vs log) modification, and hence the initial labelling as a release shape was confusing for various people. 'Hold' should provide a more intuitive explanation of what it does.

It can probably be best described by a 'soft' hold, giving a very smooth transition between 'classic hold' in which the gain doesn't change for the duration of the hold phase, and a release. The release curve will be delayed by exactly the hold time, but you'll see that the curves are always ...well... curvy. This solves issues with the classic hold functionality that generates distortion components because the first derivative of the gain function is not continuous. The soft hold does produce smooth and continuous derivatives of the gain function, reducing harmonic distortion.

Then onto the modes: although one can very clearly measure the differences in harmonic distortion of the modes that were in 4.1, most people couldn't hear much a difference. So we've condensed the list into two options that are clearly distinguishable, and therefore it's now a much simpler toggle button instead of a drop down menu.

And yes we do read these comments and try to reflect them in updates where we possibly can. This is why (constructive) feedback on forums like this is extremely valuable for us to keep improving our plugins!

I feel like these kinds of features could benefit from an official video demonstration of some kind. Well I think all of your V4 plugins could, really...but I like how non-conventional this is. I feel like TB's sort of "proudly digital" sort of approach to everything is really awesome and not emphasized enough. So tired of everyone trying to just emulate equipment from yesteryear.