Is TrackComp 2 by DMG Audio the best compressor?

[btfnk]

There is no “the best” but trackcomp is definitely in the current top tier for analog emulation accuracy.

On the topic of the SSL bus comp sound I generally prefer Cytomic’s The Glue over the SSL Bus mode in trackcomp. The SSL in the glue is less accurate to the real thing. It’s smoother and cleaner than the hardware. But I almost always find it sounds better than more accurate emulations like the one in Trackcomp. The Glue is more like what an SSL bus comp wishes it was, while the trackcomp mode is closer to what it actually is.

[s28]

There is no best, that's for sure.

They are two different tools.

Trackcomp, at £75 is quite pricey really.

I think better sound sources, and arrangements will make much more a difference to your sound than which compressor you use. But perhaps your asking to achieve a certain thing?

For free, Fircomp and Kotelnikov are amazing.

Maybe a better question would be I want to do x, y, z, which would be better?

[Trancit]

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Trackcomp, at £75 is quite pricey really.

...

If Trackcomp is already pricey... what is Pro-C2 then with it´s 149,-€ for being an absolute boring digital standard compressor in a fancy dress??

[SamDi]

I'm trying to decide whether to buy PSP Impressor at intro price ($20).

TrackComp 2 is what i would buy if money is no object. Maybe i'll buy it some time later.

It‘s not legit to call a thing the best without beeing able to quantify it to objectively measure and compare it to the others. So it‘s rather a matter of taste regarding the sound and the workflow and of course the special cause what you want to do with it, if you regard it for you the best then. For sure all the DMG Audio plugins belong to the top notch class and are worth to own them and many of them are on my wishlist. But since I try to get the DMG items on my wishlist as used, because buying them new, they are really too pricey for me und they appear not often used on the market, it‘s difficult for me to get them. Also they are literally NEVER on sale. The conclusion is, that not many, which have bought it do regret that buy and it seem to be a really high quality product

[plexuss]

I'm trying to decide whether to buy PSP Impressor at intro price ($20).

TrackComp 2 is what i would buy if money is no object. Maybe i'll buy it some time later.

It‘s not legit to call a thing the best without beeing able to quantify it to objectively measure and compare it to the others. So it‘s rather a matter of taste regarding the sound and the workflow and of course the special cause what you want to do with it, if you regard it for you the best then. For sure all the DMG Audio plugins belong to the top notch class and are worth to own them and many of them are on my wishlist. But since I try to get the DMG items on my wishlist as used, because buying them new, they are really too pricey for me und they appear not often used on the market, it‘s difficult for me to get them. Also they are literally NEVER on sale. The conclusion is, that not many, which have bought it do regret that buy and it seem to be a really high quality product

DMG offers a discount if you own some of their products. For example I have 6 DMG products. If I add Essence to my cart it shows $132US regular price but with a $50 discount as an existing customer, for a total of $86. It's not a deep discount but it can help with affordability.

[peterjsd]

trackcomp feels like "the best" tool available for me. it's the first compressor I reach for. It's quick to set, but can do pretty much any compression/saturation task I'd want from a compressor (except negative ratios like mpressor, and equal loudness frequency-dependent ratio compression like kotelnikov). it's more like 6 compressors in one interface. I got it during the intro discount and it replaced several plugins. Over time I've compared it to all the 1176, LA2A, and SSL emulations I could try (windows / non-UAD) and it beat/matched them. It's got loudness matching and ABCD auditioning too, which make it easier to hear what I'm doing

[s28]

...
Trackcomp, at £75 is quite pricey really.

...

If Trackcomp is already pricey... what is Pro-C2 then with it´s 149,-€ for being an absolute boring digital standard compressor in a fancy dress??

An even pricier compressor.

DMG are great, trackcomp2 is really nice. It is still pricey for a lot of a people.

I didn't mention fabfilter, there are ofc less value for money products that trackcomp2.

[DaveGamble]

Definitely subjective. I tried Trackcomp for it's API 2500 and it sounded very different to the other emulations I have - and not in a way I liked either. Clearly it's a well coded, versatile beast though and it deserves to be auditioned.

Might suggest that if you buy the hardware, you have an option to return it...

[DaveGamble]

The workflow of Trackcomp is amog the very best. It has auto loudness that works.

Some included models are among the very best if not best, but I don't like all of them. The SSLs are the best SSLs for me in plugin form. Once you understand it, it's not complicated to use, actually one of the fastest workflow because of auto loudness. But it's a professional interface with some parameters you have to understand.

I think it's a no brainer to have and DMG are great people.

Thanks. Which models don't you like?

The Zener is has received a lot of praise. But for me it doesn't work for some reason. And the la2a is difficult to setup right for me. I still have not tried the 2k too much. Most of the time I switch to the G-bus quickly and prefere it. I read mostly good things about the 2k. Maybe I have to understand the 2k better or I just like the G-Bus better. The DMG models are great too.

The Zener really might NOT work for you. It's a 60s design by some probably quite intoxicated techs in a studio. Our default mode is "THD" mode, which is literally just a distortion (this may not have been the most sensible choice, but it paints the picture somewhat). That really is the vibe for the Zener. It's WILD. I built a couple, and they are ABSOLUTELY NOT for every source. Or, many sources. But you smack a drum bus into that thing, which you want to necromance from the dead, and it can do it. It can REALLY do it. But it's clearly quite insane. Please don't put it on vocals, pianos, guitars, full mixes, wind instruments, brass instruments, string instruments or field recordings

Dave.

[DaveGamble]

There is no “the best” but trackcomp is definitely in the current top tier for analog emulation accuracy.

On the topic of the SSL bus comp sound I generally prefer Cytomic’s The Glue over the SSL Bus mode in trackcomp. The SSL in the glue is less accurate to the real thing. It’s smoother and cleaner than the hardware. But I almost always find it sounds better than more accurate emulations like the one in Trackcomp. The Glue is more like what an SSL bus comp wishes it was, while the trackcomp mode is closer to what it actually is.

I'm literally THRILLED with this summary
FWIW, I heard that the Cytomic version was modelled on a special version of the SSL kit. That might be incorrect though.

Dave.

[DaveGamble]

Just wanna throw in: TrackComp is really not A compressor. It's a plugin which contains a raft of entirely independent circuit models. It's a "notepad" of all the compressors that people have jumped up and down excitedly about at me. Which is a really happy experience. So they get modelled and shoved into the list on TrackComp.

Is TrackComp the best compressor for a source? It's not really the right question - I mean - Is an 1176 the best compressor for a source? Or would a <xyz> do better? There's quite a few of 'em in there now. In general, I'd hope that if you try TrackComp, you'll find that you love a few models, like a few, and absolutely HATE a few of them. That's how it is for me. They're bits of hardware. You won't want every piece of hardware in your studio. It's ALL about taste.

The big one is the LA2A. In general, LA2A plugins are, like, softened, sanitised versions of the real thing. The truth with LA2As is that they are valve units and the optos are very edgy chemistry. The LA2A is one of the most delicious distortions I have ever found. With an LA2A and reasonable valves in place, you have a box that brings probably the closest thing to what people mean by "tube warmth" to a signal. But the optos. Oh, the optos. It's no secret that there's a whole aftermarket in T4B optos for reconditioning LA2As. And if you buy the wrong one, you sell it and buy another one. The variance on T4Bs is huge. And they're REALLY nonlinear. Frankly, they're horrid little things. They're literally made with a plastic box stuffed with some bulbs, a weird light-sensitive strip, and some glue. So... when you ask what an LA2A sounds like as a compressor... It's entirely down to what T4B is in it, and whether it happens to work for your source. So, the sensible thing to do, would be to pretend that T4Bs actually work, and this is what most plugin developers do. You just simplify the model of the T4B to something that sounds believable, and call it a day. But we'd gone all this way. We've got that magnificent distortion working in the box (which was a hugely happy day for me. I remember going down the pub afterwards to show it off). So why would we make the T4B a botch? Perhaps we could add a "digital" mode for the T4B, which just simplifies it all, but I don't want to. If you go on a quest, and get an LA2A, replace all the valves and capacitors so that it boots up, you'll find that you have exactly the same fun getting it to work on sources as with the TrackComp version. Except now, if you want to change the T4B, you've got to spend money. Sigh.

NB: If you have an LA2A which works great, with a T4B that is good, and you can post samples of it doing good stuff, then I'm happy to receive a few T4Bs to add to the TC2 models. It -would- require you posting the T4B over to the UK. I have a few of them, which are in TC2 now at different attack/release settings. And odds are there are attack/release times for TC2 which will cover your unit. But I'd love to find a REALLY NICE T4B which is actually better than the "fancy" ones I have here.

Dave.

[DaveGamble]

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[plexuss]

Just wanna throw in: TrackComp is really not A compressor. It's a plugin which contains a raft of entirely independent circuit models. It's a "notepad" of all the compressors that people have jumped up and down excitedly about at me. Which is a really happy experience. So they get modelled and shoved into the list on TrackComp.

Ya ok. But from a customer perspective (mine), its a compressor.

[Trancit]

...
Trackcomp, at £75 is quite pricey really.

...

If Trackcomp is already pricey... what is Pro-C2 then with it´s 149,-€ for being an absolute boring digital standard compressor in a fancy dress??

An even pricier compressor.

DMG are great, trackcomp2 is really nice. It is still pricey for a lot of a people.

I didn't mention fabfilter, there are ofc less value for money products that trackcomp2.

Good answer

[Trancit]

Just wanna throw in: TrackComp is really not A compressor. It's a plugin which contains a raft of entirely independent circuit models. It's a "notepad" of all the compressors that people have jumped up and down excitedly about at me. Which is a really happy experience. So they get modelled and shoved into the list on TrackComp.

...

That´s really what I love with companies like yours or u-he is a good example too...
That the people who really know what´s behind are giving some inside!!

Very much appreciated here and I think that´s a huge part in creating some confidence!