M1/M2Macs: a good "allround compressor" for realtime-play Keys / creative Synthethic sounds ?

[bmanic]

It does sound nice, good recommendation, although is that 10 or 16dB gain reduction, here you say 10dB and on the GS link 16dB, that is a big difference.

Ah probably was 16dB then. I don't exactly remember but I trust my original description more than my ear. I just listened to the sound clip, didn't read my own description.

.. but the description probably just says what Islander showed on the meter, and metering never really shows the actual GR "range" (meaning how much it compresses and then actually recovers). Even if a compressor shows silly amounts of gain reduction, the _actual_ gain reduction is measured from the whole range of the "swing" of the compression, so how far the release cycle recovers.

So probably in "real terms" it's only 8 or 10dB (you can sort of hear it on the reverb and how it blooms/swells).

[bmanic]

I use currently use THIS when playing keys, for the very reason that it "just works" due to it's vari-mu nature. It's sort of "set and forget". You can play pads into it, without it choking, you can play percussive stuff and it'll just be under control nicely. You can slam it on a piano and it'll just bloom and sound gorgeous.

Your description sounds exactly what i was looking for.


40ms Attack is very short, though. and 50ms smallest release quite surprising.
will demo it !
Much thanks @bmanic

edit: Nice demo !

You probably want to take a look at Vari-mu (or VM "like") type of compressors in general. They are really well suited for this kind of application as they are usually very forgiving, yet can do a lot of "musical" compression. Some other alternatives:

Softube TLA100
AO Kolin
Pulsar Audio Mu
Native Instruments Vari Comp
Klanghelm MJUC
Arturia STA

etc..

[Ploki]

Presswerk

you´re right. U-HE looks "as realible" as i like to have it in this case.
I didn´t liked the U-HE GUIs on older ones i demoed. But got me some U-HE recently at sales. I´ll check ! Thank you !

Dave Derr just posted on Gearspace recently to say Arousor M1 testing is about to begin.

Aslong my Arouser plugin was loading, on my old M1/ monterey, all was fine. i could live with rosetta2.

On my new(er) M2mac, these are NOT loading at all, and spitting out a prompt "per loaded instance" it seems.
No ! .....never again such one !

These are not $29 plugins. it was $100 2ndhand.
Thats the "better-priced" market. You would guess these folks are behind it in time.
......they lost me now !
but thanks for feedback anyway ! ( i knew they work on it.......too late for me)

I do realtime-play patches. These are too labour intensiv. And: these have to last for years.
=> i just start to realize how important the "realibity aspect" for this type of work is !

https://ploki.gumroad.com/

Base version of Nitro for Presswerk is free, it’s a completely different take on Presswerk.

In context of the thread i’d suggest ProC2 as well. It would be my first pick really

[Funky40]

https://ploki.gumroad.com/

Base version of Nitro for Presswerk is free, it’s a completely different take on Presswerk.

interesting !
i was not aware that such an aftermarket exists. These look good !

In context of the thread i’d suggest ProC2 as well. It would be my first pick really

also interesting !
i have the pro-C, use it.
it is my unshiny-grey, low CPU comp.

I just have this problem with it: "it is telling me No story".
it gives me no feedback.

for my music making, i like to go into extreme settings.
The tough part is the adpativyness when going into more extreme settings.
I like to setup looong attack times and bring it into quite heavy compression at times.
I do not need to suck down hard transients, just some slight compression on percussive parts, but "work big" when sounds would bloom to much

You probably want to take a look at Vari-mu (or VM "like") type of compressors in general. They are really well suited for this kind of application as they are usually very forgiving, yet can do a lot of "musical" compression. Some other alternatives:

etc..

this is interesting input !
exactly the input i was looking for.

so, beside specific product tipps, i see two special votes vs. my specific usecase ( Piano/EP):
one for the La-2A, ....one for vary-mu.

To this day, all this different types of comps is a myth to me.
In the hardware world was i more specialiced to do sounddesign stuff with comps ( with my modular). ITB, i rather have a hard time to "feel" comps, as it happened with HW.

[bmanic]

Basically what you want is program dependent compressors. This meaning that a short stabby sound will force the compressor to have very different reaction (usually release and ratio) compared to a sub heavy sustained pad sound. Something that just invisibly "hugs" the sound and puts it in place.

This is why I suggested Vari-Mu types because they are inherently very program dependent. The only downside is that they can be quite slow in their attack..

LA-2A or opto compressors in general are also highly program dependent and thus can be great as well. The LA2A has a quite fast initial attack which means that it can sometimes "choke" a bit, but it's highly dependent on the original audio source.

For a modern digital yet highly program dependent compressor you could try FabFilter Pro-C2. It has a lot of different algorithms though so it takes a while to find the one you think works the best. A good starting point for basic compression is the Mastering algorithm and the Bus algorithm. Those two, when you set release to 'Auto' mode (you can still tweak the average release timings while in auto mode!), should be very transparent and nicely tighten up any synth sounds while playing live. The negative of that compressor is that it is squeaky clean. There's no "mojo" to be had with that one.

Another good modern digital compressor that is highly program dependent is Kotelnikov (freeware) or Kotelnikov GE (the big brother version, paid).

Also one more mention for Klanghelm DC8C. This one can be setup to be highly program dependent and you have a lot of control over it yourself, if you want to tweak it.

.. oh and while I'm at it, a really clean yet highly program dependent compressor is the Plugin Alliance Amek Mastering Compressor. It can be very forgiving as long as you only stick to the "green knobs", the slow RMS part of the compressor. The 'fast' and 'peak' knobs can cause some undesirable pumping and need some managing, thus not optimal.

The bottom line is this: You want a program dependent compressor that adjusts its internal parameters and timings according to the incoming audio. There's plenty of those available.

[bmanic]

https://ploki.gumroad.com/

Base version of Nitro for Presswerk is free, it’s a completely different take on Presswerk.

In context of the thread i’d suggest ProC2 as well. It would be my first pick really

Dude! You are incredibly talented at this UI stuff!! Well done sir!

Do you happen to have any videos of ACID (the UI for ACE) in action? Are these easy to install on a mac? I'm extremely tempted to purchase your set for ACE!

Sorry for the off topic.

[Ploki]

Thank you

Sent you a pm!
Unfortunately no videos

[Funky40]

Basically what you want is program dependent compressors.

This is why I suggested Vari-Mu types because they are inherently very program dependent. The only downside is that they can be quite slow in their attack..

Wow, what a great input and help ! Much appreciated ! @bmanic

For a modern digital yet highly program dependent compressor you could try FabFilter Pro-C2. It has a lot of different algorithms though so it takes a while to find the one you think works the best. A good starting point for basic compression is the Mastering algorithm and the Bus algorithm. Those two, when you set release to 'Auto' mode (you can still tweak the average release timings while in auto mode!), should be very transparent and nicely tighten up any synth sounds while playing live. The negative of that compressor is that it is squeaky clean. There's no "mojo" to be had with that one.

i have pro-C, and use it for some things.
i think i had a look at the modes when i had it fresh.
....but was totally overwhelmed by al those modes.
and at that time was my goto comp the unfiltered audio "Zip".

the last months i used Pro-C several times in patches, but had totally overlooked these settings.
Ok, time to start with Pro-C fresh again !
I might have to do some test patches,...to run these with existing recordings.
Never gave VST comps that time to run tests. Time to do so i guess.