Best compressor for snares?

[mixtur.se]

PSP fet pressor, all I need. Makes a snare go boom just by inserting

[Ah_Dziz]

Depending on the genre, I go with an SSL channel comp (NI/ Sostube) for "standard" live kit sound or a very flexible digital compressor like MDynamics from Melda when I need a very detailed knee etc.

[HOTF]

bit crusher : 8 bits, around 8 Khz sample rate. try now !

[Ah_Dziz]

Goodhertz vulf comp is also super good on drums when you need them very "up front". I usually use it on a room recording but it can make a snare super strong as well.

[sascha]

Can't speak much on synth snares, but for acoustic snares (which is my domain as a drummer), nothing beats an 1176. And that's because of the slamming of the attack on fast transients. Since an 1176 is a feedback compressor, there must be negative gain reduction in the feedback loop (1:-n). This creates that special sound you won't get out of a feed-forward compressor or a simple saturator, it's highly dynamic and got that certain 'choke'. The negative ratio makes the gain reduction 'dig holes' in the audio, and the control loop pulls it back into stable territory, but this is a function of riding the envelope.

For modern sounds, especially in metal these days, you might need a longer attack, though. The 1176 only can go up to 800µs (it's a 'limiting device' by design), which is far too short for creative envelope shaping to make the snare pop out like you hear in so many recent productions.
On the hardware, you can change this easily by adding a resistor (somewhere around where the ratio buttons set the DC offset point for the FET). I have two KT-76s, need to check where that one is on their PCB, though.
In software, the UAD Distressor is more versatile than the UREIs, but still operates on the same design principle.

BTW, I'm working on an own SW product specialized at drums that among other tricks does the original thing but up to 10ms... ahem.

[imrae]

For ultra-fast transient smashing, Fircomp2
For other transient manipulation, Molot GE
If not trying to destroy the recorded transient, pretty much any compressor will do

[jtsterays]

The 3 Voxengo comps (Deft,Crunch,Marquis). Lots of unique attack shapes perfect for shaping drums.

[comfortablynick]

In software, the UAD Distressor is more versatile than the UREIs, but still operates on the same design principle.

BTW, I'm working on an own SW product specialized at drums that among other tricks does the original thing but up to 10ms... ahem.

The UAD Distressor is great on drums. I also like Arousor with its attack mod and saturation controls.

Looking forward to trying your drum processor!

[whassup]

BTW, I'm working on an own SW product specialized at drums that among other tricks does the original thing but up to 10ms... ahem.

Cool Sascha, all the best for the new endeavour. Looking forward to it.

[El°HYM]

Best is the DBX 160 VU.

Released in 1976, dbx’s first dynamic range compressor for professional audio was reportedly not a particularly popular idea with Blackmer, whose primary objective was to increase the dynamic range of recorded audio. Nevertheless, the two-rackspace, half-width box would prove popular with engineers looking for inexpensive alternatives to, say, the LA-3A and 1176 in spite of its limited feature set.

It is also important to note that the 160s compression curve was a “hard knee” curve: the onset of compression was instantaneous and often resulted in noticeable compression depending on ratio and threshold settings. As is often the case with audio devices that have earned “classic” status, these shortcomings weren’t necessarily a bad thing and often contribute to their desirability.

The dbx 160 VU model used the first commercial version of the Blackmer gain cell, the 200 VCA, and its companion RMS detector, the 207/208. These were both discrete-transistor devices on small printed circuit boards potted in metal enclosures.

Another persistent myth about the 160VU is that it has balanced I/O. The input stage is indeed a textbook differential amplifier built around a TL082 FET op-amp with a gain of -6 dB, but the output driver is a bit different and is, in fact, unbalanced. Here, a non-inverting, “ground-canceling output” driver circuit is used. Where a fully balanced output will produce the “hot” output signal on XLR pin 2 and an inverted or anti-phase signal (“cold”) on XLR pin 3, the 160 VU’s ground-canceling output is a single output op-amp stage with push-pull drive transistors driving pin 2, with pin 3 designed to cancel out any errant voltages, i.e., ground hum, that might appear on pin 1 (ground). Gain of this stage is set at +10dB.

So what are the real differences between the 160 and 161 VU models? First and foremost, the 161’s inputs and outputs are unbalanced on RCA connectors and calibrated for -10dBV (consumer audio). The 161’s output stage also lacks the output drive transistors as well as the ground-cancelling circuitry and will also have a higher output impedance. In fact, the 161’s post-VCA current-to-voltage conversion op-amp stage is serving double duty as the output driver.

https://www.mixonline.com/technology/bi ... compressor

[Boone777]

bit crusher : 8 bits, around 8 Khz sample rate. try now !

Yes that too works great or a waveshaper, wavefolder. I picked up a neat little trick: send the snare to bus with a bitcrusher and reverb blend to taste.

[BackInCheck]

Voosteq Material Comp is really good. One of the most "analog" sounding plugins to my ears (looks a bit gimmickly, but sounds really good. Their Model N is also great. Both a super affordable.

Also, as others have suggested: transient shapers, sample rate / bit reduction, saturation and clippers can be a good addition.

Another trick is to use fade in and fade out to finetune the sound of your snare, if you have it available as audio in your DAW or audio editor (as opposed to using drum VSTs). That way you can exactly shape the decay and attack the way you want it and get super snappy snares.

If you want to go deeper into sound design, look into layering snares with different sounds (eg finger snaps, clap sounds or some noise)...

[DCrown]

Dbx 160

[kraster]

1176, Distressor, SSl Channel compressor.

[martiu]

i wonder what Venetian Snares is using