New T-RackS Compressor

[Ploki]

If you are buying plugins based on someone previous work then well.. you are in for surprise at least when it comes to Fabrice work.

It was revealed just this year that many of the "dynamic" modules inside Slate Virtual Mix (like Slate compressors) rack aren't done by Slate at all. This is common practice in industry and it's called outsourcing. In case you wonder, they were made by Pulsar Audio.

https://pulsar.audio/

In fact if you look few years of Slate releases they are rebranded plugins from other manufacturers.

But the fact that Slate lives on Fabrice "appeal" speaks volumes on Slate marketing.

Note that I am not saying Slate dynamics plugins are inferior or something - just that many of them are not being developed by Fabrice as many people like to think.

i love Pulsar audio. Mu and 1178 are probably my favourite compressors, so is Smasher. Just works ~~fineeee

wonder what else they had made. Do you know which compressors were done by Pulsar? I oughta try that shit.

[v1o]

If you are buying plugins based on someone previous work then well.. you are in for surprise at least when it comes to Fabrice work.

It was revealed just this year that many of the "dynamic" modules inside Slate Virtual Mix (like Slate compressors) rack aren't done by Slate at all. This is common practice in industry and it's called outsourcing. In case you wonder, they were made by Pulsar Audio.

https://pulsar.audio/

In fact if you look few years of Slate releases they are rebranded plugins from other manufacturers.

But the fact that Slate lives on Fabrice "appeal" speaks volumes on Slate marketing.

Note that I am not saying Slate dynamics plugins are inferior or something - just that many of them are not being developed by Fabrice as many people like to think.

i love Pulsar audio. Mu and 1178 are probably my favourite compressors, so is Smasher. Just works ~~fineeee

wonder what else they had made. Do you know which compressors were done by Pulsar? I oughta try that shit.

They said publicly they did the Slate FG 1176. And they're rumours that they did the Arturia compressor bundle.

[tigerkong]

So what's the consensus on this? Better than slate?

[plexuss]

So what's the consensus on this? Better than slate?

My feeling was that Comprexxor is not a good Distressor emulation based on the testing and listening I did. Further, FG-Stress is on $50 sale. With my Audio Deluxe Bucks I got it for $20. Comprexxor is $70 in my IK account. $70 vs $20 and FG-Stress came out sounding more like Arousor, Deflector, and the Softube emu.

I think Comprexxor has some nice things going for it though that FG-Stress doesn't. But for me I felt I should pick one or the other and for now I choose Stress because of the price mostly. Comprexxor will have to wait which is fine because it will be cheaper and in the meantime I will get use out of Stress.


https://soundcloud.com/musicofplexus/se ... sWz9WXvsWh

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

Does that include the source files run through a hardware unit?

[plexuss]

Does that include the source files run through a hardware unit?

No. Only comparing the software emulations. The odd thing about Complexxor is that it was showing the same fain reduction as the other plugins but the output didn't seem to be much different than the input compared to all the others. there was a group of about 3 or 4 that were the most similar. I am not saying its bad, but for me it would require further investigation to find out whats going on and why. Myself, I can wait and also benfit from a lower price. I'm rarely in a rush unless its a no-brainer kind of think with Stress ($20 net cost due to credits).

[simon.a.billington]

So what's the consensus on this? Better than slate?

I don't own any Slate plugins personally, but my feeling is there is no such thing as "better". The hardware units themselves never sound exactly alike so who can you expect the emulations to. Better is subjective, not just personal opinion but the context in a mix and every mix is unique.

Anything can sound good given the right context.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

So what's the consensus on this? Better than slate?

I don't own any Slate plugins personally, but my feeling is there is no such thing as "better". The hardware units themselves never sound exactly alike so who can you expect the emulations to. Better is subjective, not just personal opinion but the context in a mix and every mix is unique.

Anything can sound good given the right context.

Distressors are built with modern components and pretty tight tolerances. The pot values may slip a bit so maybe 6 on one is 5.5 on another, but they otherwise shouldn't sound wildly different from unit to unit.

[simon.a.billington]

So what's the consensus on this? Better than slate?

I don't own any Slate plugins personally, but my feeling is there is no such thing as "better". The hardware units themselves never sound exactly alike so who can you expect the emulations to. Better is subjective, not just personal opinion but the context in a mix and every mix is unique.

Anything can sound good given the right context.

Distressors are built with modern components and pretty tight tolerances. The pot values may slip a bit so maybe 6 on one is 5.5 on another, but they otherwise shouldn't sound wildly different from unit to unit.

Modern tolerances are more tight for sure, but its till not perfect. And when you chain together like 20 or so components those tolerances all accumulate to something more significant.

So yeah, they don't sound exactly the same, especially if you compare a new unit with a well used one. Nothing is identical, unlike plugins. It's not nearly as different as one 1176 is to another, though, or an LA-2A

[imrae]

It is absolutely possible to build hardware with modern components that is consistent enough to avoid audible "character differences" between units. Are you basing this claim on experience with hardware Distressor units, or just speculating in order to justify buying more plugins?

[MogwaiBoy]

Currently 40 Euros

[HM]

It was revealed just this year that many of the "dynamic" modules inside Slate Virtual Mix (like Slate compressors) rack aren't done by Slate at all. This is common practice in industry and it's called outsourcing. In case you wonder, they were made by Pulsar Audio.

It's my impression that IK doesn't do much of their code themself

Back from CSR its been a common secret who wrote code to this Reverb and several others

I would like more open giving credits for this and that in the industri

Not related to Comprexxor or CSR in speciffic I guess it can be a problem for the long-
term maintainance and bugfixing that so much parts of the software is depended on a
continiuas good relationship to specific developers, or if they are still alive or in business

But even inside the same software-house its often one or just a few persons who counts

Obviously there will be taken big advantage of such dependency

I am happy not to run a compagny under such conditions

[pixel85]

So, now after the honeymoon is long gone, a question to Comprexxor owners: are you still using it? Has it taken the place of other plugins because it's so good? Or is it already collecting digital dust along with a hundred other compressors in a folder?

I'm going to test it again today, not to check if it sounds like Distressor (I can't care less), but if it does something other plugins can't do. I just grabbed Kush Novatron, which has a lovely sound IMO and it seems to be in the same ballpark (swiss-army knife compressor). The current Comprexxor price is nice tho

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

Only CSR is like that. We have talented in-house developers (before and) since then that wrote everything else. Please ask and check your sources before spreading information. Our developers are sought-after for their work on our plugins including Comprexxor as well as some surprising older plugins that are still popular - people attempt to poach them from us all the time.

We also have employees incredibly skilled in hardware including the hand-built compressor that was also coded by us into a T-RackS processor which is a one-of-a-kind ("from farm to table" if you will) because of that. Much of the earlier T-RackS is born from the skills our developers and others have in building and repairing high end audio gear (especially studio hardware and guitar gear). CSR is the exception rather than the rule, and it is a singular exception.

I know we're a privately-held company, but anybody you reached out to here could have given you the correct information instead of relying on hearsay and rumor or really what appears to be a large leap in assumption more than anything. We still employ the main brains behind IK's core DSP as our CTO and he oversees these projects as well as our on-board DSP on the speakers etc with the same attention to detail and standards which we plan to continue with the talented roster of in house developers we employ for years to come.

[simon.a.billington]

It is absolutely possible to build hardware with modern components that is consistent enough to avoid audible "character differences" between units. Are you basing this claim on experience with hardware Distressor units, or just speculating in order to justify buying more plugins?

I'm actually basing my claims on what hardware manufacturers "say themselves", they're the first ones to tell you its not an exact art as much as they try to make it out to be.

Its also a fundamental principle in physics that it is "impossible" in the real world to manufacture exactly identical components. There will ALWAYS be imperfections. Imperfections in the process, imperfections in materials, imperfections in the design, imperfections in the power it feeds on, imperfections in the cables and other signal paths you use.

Yes its true we can manufacture things very close now, its still not perfect. And depending on how you use it, the wear and tear, any servicing, the longer you use these units the greater and more audible their variations.

There's plenty of information. on this online, so you don't have to take my word for it.