Your go-to compressor in 2023?

[VELLTONE MUSIC]

i was wondering why people even use compressors, until by accident i used a 'right' setting on 'right' instrument and wow what a difference...
To me separating compressors as drum or vocal one and using them only as drum or vocal compressor is pointless in a digital world.
Whith plugins is easy to build fx chain for seconds.
For example most famous comp duo for vocal is 1176+la2a.
Non of these is vocal comp,in fact 1176 is more drum comp,la2a actually is used as limiter more than a comp...
Separated they are useful for different tasks,together they do wonderful job on vocal.
That's just one combination out of thousands useful in different situation.
I used to listen what a comps do and like to experiment with it in a fx chain.
So listen and apply what you hear,where the track benefit from it.

[Papuzzo]

Audiojunkie, my bad, this is a getting started forum so I assumed wrong. I was in your stage about 15 years ago and was searching for all this "MOJO" that compressors, EQs, and reverbs create. I spent too much time researching and then I spent too much money on plugins to find out they really didn't make my crappy music sound like a #1 hit. That's when I unplugged from the endless debates on the Internet and concentrated on making my music less crappy instead. The funny thing is, every now and then I create something really interesting and I try to process it as little as possible and as transparently as possible to not ruin the MOJO that I created. Anyway, that was my journey, I wish you luck on yours and be careful of advice on the Internet telling you the best MOJO comes from a real vintage Fairchild 660, LA2A or 1176 and there are no vst plugins that can recreate their true MOJO. You will be bankrupt immediately. MY honest opinion is that Pro-C and Saturn together can produce better results than any of these vintage emulations, and your DAW's compressor and tube amp distortion plugins can be made to sound just as good.

[VELLTONE MUSIC]

Audiojunkie, my bad, this is a getting started forum so I assumed wrong. I was in your stage about 15 years ago and was searching for all this "MOJO" that compressors, EQs, and reverbs create. I spent too much time researching and then I spent too much money on plugins to find out they really didn't make my crappy music sound like a #1 hit. That's when I unplugged from the endless debates on the Internet and concentrated on making my music less crappy instead. The funny thing is, every now and then I create something really interesting and I try to process it as little as possible and as transparently as possible to not ruin the MOJO that I created. Anyway, that was my journey, I wish you luck on yours and be careful of advice on the Internet telling you the best MOJO comes from a real vintage Fairchild 660, LA2A or 1176 and there are no vst plugins that can recreate their true MOJO. You will be bankrupt immediately. MY honest opinion is that Pro-C and Saturn together can produce better results than any of these vintage emulations, and your DAW's compressor and tube amp distortion plugins can be made to sound just as good.

Disagree...
You deny decades of engineers and programmers work.
Some stuff are better and cost money.
I am sound designer with 12 years of experience and for years i was sure i can build perfect bass,key,pad so on and can mix them perfectly ,so i don't need quality AND PROVEN in countless records fx...BUT...
I WAS WRONG.
Quality fx are core of good mix,especially for edm genres.
No matter how perfect the instruments are,inside the mix is a total mess and every serious producer need quality fx to build professional mix.
FX is just a tool,could be high quality or not ,how well you gonna learn or use it,depends on you.
There is contradiction on your statement about plugin MOJO - how a emulation of a proven hardware unit doesn't have MOJO (i would say it has,that's why i spend my money on it - TO USE THAT MOJO) then other plugin without MOJO have same or better MOJO...how is that possible???
I agree that the market rely on hype,but there is a demo,everybody could decide is there something special a ''MOJO'' which to use or it's just marketing.
If a starting producer wanna go pro, have to spend few dollars more,to find which fx have the quality he/she/ needs and to use them.
I was in the free plugins world first years and if it was possible to make everything with free stuff only i wouldn't bother to buy anything or to write here.
Compared to the hardware in the past ,PLUGINS are so affordable, even financially broken guy like me can afford it,just buy discounted fx,which are available every month :):)
Of course...
You can always play a bamboo flute in the back yard and to call this professional mix
Cheers

[Papuzzo]

OK, are all the built in compressors and plugins of your DAW crap and unusable? How many vst compressors does a hobbyist who is getting started need to make sure they get that elusive MOJO in their music? Should a hobbyist spend more time becoming a great audio engineer or a great musician? How many people are completely obsessed with gear yet lack the talent to really make that gear shine? I'll make a bold statement that the gearjunkies will strongly disagree with: If the gearjunkies spent their money on taking lessons for their instrument of choice and just learned to live with the DAW's included fx for a bit, and maybe even one or two free plugins, after about a year their music would sound so much better, be more interesting, and they will be more fulfilled with their progress as a musician. Then they can pass their improved music, which now includes real MOJO (real MOJO comes from musicians, not plugins) on to a great audio engineer for mixing and mastering.

[audiojunkie]

i was wondering why people even use compressors, until by accident i used a 'right' setting on 'right' instrument and wow what a difference...
To me separating compressors as drum or vocal one and using them only as drum or vocal compressor is pointless in a digital world.
Whith plugins is easy to build fx chain for seconds.
For example most famous comp duo for vocal is 1176+la2a.
Non of these is vocal comp,in fact 1176 is more drum comp,la2a actually is used as limiter more than a comp...
Separated they are useful for different tasks,together they do wonderful job on vocal.
That's just one combination out of thousands useful in different situation.
I used to listen what a comps do and like to experiment with it in a fx chain.
So listen and apply what you hear,where the track benefit from it.

Interesting additional things to think about!

[audiojunkie]

Audiojunkie, my bad, this is a getting started forum so I assumed wrong. I was in your stage about 15 years ago and was searching for all this "MOJO" that compressors, EQs, and reverbs create. I spent too much time researching and then I spent too much money on plugins to find out they really didn't make my crappy music sound like a #1 hit. That's when I unplugged from the endless debates on the Internet and concentrated on making my music less crappy instead. The funny thing is, every now and then I create something really interesting and I try to process it as little as possible and as transparently as possible to not ruin the MOJO that I created. Anyway, that was my journey, I wish you luck on yours and be careful of advice on the Internet telling you the best MOJO comes from a real vintage Fairchild 660, LA2A or 1176 and there are no vst plugins that can recreate their true MOJO. You will be bankrupt immediately. MY honest opinion is that Pro-C and Saturn together can produce better results than any of these vintage emulations, and your DAW's compressor and tube amp distortion plugins can be made to sound just as good.

That’s cool! What is it about the Pro-C and Saturn that make them such a good combo in your opinion?

EDIT: Ah, I see that the Pro-C offers “8 different compression styles”. It is essentially eight compressors in one.

[Papuzzo]

A lot of the reason why early compressors and EQs are still popular is that they introduced harmonic distortion that was musical. Sometimes engineers didn't want that harmonic distortion and wanted the cleanest signal possible but that was the limitation of early gear. FabFilter Pro-C is a workhorse compressor plugin that can handle anything, but it won't give you the same harmonic distortion as pushing an old tube compressor. Saturn is a very powerful plugin for adding that harmonic distortion. Used in combination, one can get very transparent compression that doesn't mangle their audio and then be able to dial in just the right amount of harmonic distortion to make a track, or a mix, sound fuller and more alive. Note that FabFilter plugins are very expensive and not absolutely necessary for hobbyists just starting out. Today many free plugins are amazing in quality and the plugins included in DAWs like Ableton, Cubase and even Reaper are just as good as many paid plugins from the bigger name plugin creators.

[Scoops]

Note that FabFilter plugins are very expensive and not absolutely necessary for hobbyists just starting out. Today many free plugins are amazing in quality and the plugins included in DAWs like Ableton, Cubase and even Reaper are just as good as many paid plugins from the bigger name plugin creators.

Allow me to spin this in a different direction please

I've had a DAW for a really long time. Over 2 decades. While I agree that the freebie and integrated plugins offer a world of wonderful gizzmosis, I really wish I had discovered Fabfilter much earlier, like when they first came out. I would have saved myself alot of $$$ on buying plugins over the years

[Papuzzo]

Note that FabFilter plugins are very expensive and not absolutely necessary for hobbyists just starting out. Today many free plugins are amazing in quality and the plugins included in DAWs like Ableton, Cubase and even Reaper are just as good as many paid plugins from the bigger name plugin creators.

Allow me to spin this in a different direction please

I've had a DAW for a really long time. Over 2 decades. While I agree that the freebie and integrated plugins offer a world of wonderful gizzmosis, I really wish I had discovered Fabfilter much earlier, like when they first came out. I would have saved myself alot of $$$ on buying plugins over the years

I hear ya'. FabFilter plugins are top notch and still worth the money. Same with Valhalla. I can't say that about many other plugin creators anymore.

[lobanov]

There are "essentially" 5 Primary types of compressors...

You never use TYPES of compressors. It is not possible. You use concrete models and concrete units.

Differences between units aren't significant in the digital world but differences between models can be significant.

Pick one compressor you haven't used before and learn it. Try it in different contexts.

[pekbro]

There are tons of different ways of doing things, many of them quite interesting, like compressors that work based on different types of analysis on the incoming signal, brightness, darkness, loudness etc. compandors, expanders, gates, transient, limiters, spectral compressors etc, It's all dynamics processing.

I tend to like compressors with unusual features and tech, vs old school coloration and functionality,
though that type of stuff is no less valid imo...

[Calagan]

There are "essentially" 5 Primary types of compressors...

You never use TYPES of compressors. It is not possible. You use concrete models and concrete units.

Differences between units aren't significant in the digital world but differences between models can be significant.

Pick one compressor you haven't used before and learn it. Try it in different contexts.

It may be obvious, but what audiojunkie wanted to say is there are 5 big types of compression in the physical world : tube (vari-mu), opto, FET, VCA and Diode. Each reacts differently to audio signal and each forms a specific group that shares similar vibe.
Most digital compressors are based on the behaviour of these units. I guess a purely digital compressor is more similar to a VCA.
Of course, each unit is unique and a Manley, a Gates Sta-Level or a Fairchild 670 (all tube compressors) will behave quite distinctly. However, they share some similar signature you don't find in the FET models : for exemple, the ratio depends on the input gain in the tube models, the release is shortened by high level transients in the Fet models (the 1176 for exemple)...

[lobanov]

There are "essentially" 5 Primary types of compressors...

You never use TYPES of compressors. It is not possible. You use concrete models and concrete units.

Differences between units aren't significant in the digital world but differences between models can be significant.

Pick one compressor you haven't used before and learn it. Try it in different contexts.

It may be obvious, but what audiojunkie wanted to say is there are 5 big types of compression in the physical world : tube (vari-mu), opto, FET, VCA and Diode. Each reacts differently to audio signal and each forms a specific group that shares similar vibe.
Most digital compressors are based on the behaviour of these units. I guess a purely digital compressor is more similar to a VCA.
Of course, each unit is unique and a Manley, a Gates Sta-Level or a Fairchild 670 (all tube compressors) will behave quite distinctly. However, they share some similar signature you don't find in the FET models : for exemple, the ratio depends on the input gain in the tube models, the release is shortened by high level transients in the Fet models (the 1176 for exemple)...

You never use TYPES of compressors. It is not possible.

[mjolnir]

well, maybe not everything is strictly a compressor.
for example, GCLIP is a soft clipper. Not really an ordinary clipper, not really compression either.
But you can certainly get compressor effects (without clipping) if you use it right.

I think it's okay to talk about different types of compressors if you prefer to differentiate from brickwall liimiters or transient shapers.
Some compressors are designed per purpose and that's okay with me.

Also, to call Nova simply a compressor, or simply an EQ doesn't really help since it really is a dynamic EQ.

However, if there are enough control elements in a set of plugins, you can usually use a lot of them interchangeably.

[audiojunkie]

There are "essentially" 5 Primary types of compressors...

You never use TYPES of compressors. It is not possible. You use concrete models and concrete units.

Differences between units aren't significant in the digital world but differences between models can be significant.

Pick one compressor you haven't used before and learn it. Try it in different contexts.

It may be obvious, but what audiojunkie wanted to say is there are 5 big types of compression in the physical world : tube (vari-mu), opto, FET, VCA and Diode. Each reacts differently to audio signal and each forms a specific group that shares similar vibe.
Most digital compressors are based on the behaviour of these units. I guess a purely digital compressor is more similar to a VCA.
Of course, each unit is unique and a Manley, a Gates Sta-Level or a Fairchild 670 (all tube compressors) will behave quite distinctly. However, they share some similar signature you don't find in the FET models : for exemple, the ratio depends on the input gain in the tube models, the release is shortened by high level transients in the Fet models (the 1176 for exemple)...

You never use TYPES of compressors. It is not possible.

You keep saying that. Please explain what you mean. You don't want us to use the word, "TYPE", but what else would you call groups of compressors using tube (vari-mu), opto, FET, VCA and Diode, other than a "type" of compressor design. Compressors that differ by design features are literally grouped, and a word for a group, can be "type". I'm not seeking to argue, but to understand what you mean.

If I take away the word, "Type", does this sentence work better for you?

Each of the various compressor designs (ie Tube, opto, FET, VCA, or Diode) in the real world reacts differently to the audio signal. And those compressors that model the various compressor designs are intentionally meant to emulate the characteristics of these various compressor designs in the digital world.

If I'm completely mistaken, I do apologize. I am simply trying to learn and understand better. If one should not refer to the various modeled compressors as types, and You use concrete models and concrete units, please help me understand what concrete models and units you are referring to? Please expound for those of us that are trying to learn Write a paragraph instead of just a sentence. It will help me understand better.