PSP MasterComp
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- KVRian
- 608 posts since 23 Jun, 2005
full demo is out now... sounds hoooooooot!
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- KVRist
- 322 posts since 2 Mar, 2005
Where is it on the PSP site????? I go to download demo but its not there.
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- KVRAF
- 4265 posts since 21 Oct, 2001 from my bolthole in the south pacific
http://www.pspaudioware.com/download/de ... 00demo.exeJohnny Cherry wrote:Where is it on the PSP site????? I go to download demo but its not there.
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- KVRist
- 322 posts since 2 Mar, 2005
Thanks
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- KVRian
- 1219 posts since 12 Aug, 2002
Hmmmmm...right then.
Well, everyone has their tastes I suppose...but this is not one of mine. I find it quite odd that this is being touted as a mastering compressor actually. For me it has entirely too much character, and I'm not too overly fond of that character either.
I was totally mystified by the rather course ratio adjustments, of which there are only 11. A mastering comp that has ratio jumps from 2.8 to 4.0 to 8.0 to full limiting?? You have to be very fortunate to have one of these exact ratios work for your track. This alone would have capped it for me had everything else suited me just fine. No smooth ratio control...so forget precise work.
Not spiffy in my book.
And, when you implement a sidechain feature, does it not strike you as an odd omission not including a sweepable band cut option? It does me. *Very* useful...and it's not there. Pity, that.
About that character... I was unable to really get a deep threshold/low ratio texture that I liked. I had to resort to looooong release times on a busy pop mix to get it to settle down, which took too much excitment and urgency out of the track. I engaged the "auto" function and tried shorter times to restore some bounce but to me it imparted a "nervousness" I did not care for. After a while I gave up on the "auto" buttons entirely, preferring rather to set the attack and release values manually. I did not fare a whole lot better with shallow threshold/higher ratio settings because you can not finesse the ratios over 2.0 finely enough, a very, very frustrating limitation, as it practically ensures that the compressor coloring will be heard more than what one might desire otherwise...which for me, was all too often.
In short, I could not manage to set this compressor to give me what I would call a transparent, well behaved mix compression. You have to really like the way it "works" the mix, and I just didn't. I could see it having good track compression usefulness, where a bit of unbridled attitude can seldom go amiss, but as a mastering processor, it was definately not to my liking.
I believe I'll pass...
Well, everyone has their tastes I suppose...but this is not one of mine. I find it quite odd that this is being touted as a mastering compressor actually. For me it has entirely too much character, and I'm not too overly fond of that character either.
I was totally mystified by the rather course ratio adjustments, of which there are only 11. A mastering comp that has ratio jumps from 2.8 to 4.0 to 8.0 to full limiting?? You have to be very fortunate to have one of these exact ratios work for your track. This alone would have capped it for me had everything else suited me just fine. No smooth ratio control...so forget precise work.
Not spiffy in my book.
And, when you implement a sidechain feature, does it not strike you as an odd omission not including a sweepable band cut option? It does me. *Very* useful...and it's not there. Pity, that.
About that character... I was unable to really get a deep threshold/low ratio texture that I liked. I had to resort to looooong release times on a busy pop mix to get it to settle down, which took too much excitment and urgency out of the track. I engaged the "auto" function and tried shorter times to restore some bounce but to me it imparted a "nervousness" I did not care for. After a while I gave up on the "auto" buttons entirely, preferring rather to set the attack and release values manually. I did not fare a whole lot better with shallow threshold/higher ratio settings because you can not finesse the ratios over 2.0 finely enough, a very, very frustrating limitation, as it practically ensures that the compressor coloring will be heard more than what one might desire otherwise...which for me, was all too often.
In short, I could not manage to set this compressor to give me what I would call a transparent, well behaved mix compression. You have to really like the way it "works" the mix, and I just didn't. I could see it having good track compression usefulness, where a bit of unbridled attitude can seldom go amiss, but as a mastering processor, it was definately not to my liking.
I believe I'll pass...
Last edited by kilroy on Wed Aug 24, 2005 5:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders - Lao Tzu
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- KVRAF
- 2086 posts since 11 Feb, 2003
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- KVRian
- 1283 posts since 13 Nov, 2004
I'm so confused by this thread.............
I had to ask for my money back because even with a "mondo" computer it crashed my system, as did the master Q.....but I have never had a problem with the vintage warmer I alredy had.
The master comp had a phenominal delay........I mean it was like an echo........
NONE of my other plugs have that.
It was simply unusable.
I had to ask for my money back because even with a "mondo" computer it crashed my system, as did the master Q.....but I have never had a problem with the vintage warmer I alredy had.
The master comp had a phenominal delay........I mean it was like an echo........
NONE of my other plugs have that.It was simply unusable.
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- KVRAF
- 11381 posts since 3 Feb, 2003 from Finland, Espoo
I totally agree with this.. I wouldn't use it on a whole mix but it seems to be rather good at different Bus compression jobs (like gluing different parts together or making certain sections of a song pump nicely).kilroy wrote:Hmmmmm...right then.
Well, everyone has their tastes I suppose...but this is not one of mine. I find it quite odd that this is being touted as a mastering compressor actually.
I'll pass on this one too as it uses too much CPU for being a usefull track compressor and it does not surpass the sintefex for mastering tasks but it's definately a good try from psp this think. I happen to like it a lot!kilroy wrote: In short, I could not manage to set this compressor to give me what I would call a transparent, well behaved mix compression. You have to really like the way it "works" the mix, and I just didn't. I could see it having good track compression usefulness, where a bit of unbridled attitude can seldom go amiss, but as a mastering processor, it was definately not to my liking.
I believe I'll pass...
Cheers!
bManic
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- KVRAF
- 11381 posts since 3 Feb, 2003 from Finland, Espoo
I'm really liking this compressor a lot. It seems to excell at very small gain reductions. Usually less than 1dB of reduction does wonders for mixes, in this regard it reminds me a lot of certain hardware (like the tubetec compressors).
I also noticed that the 'auto' settings STILL depend on how you set the knob, so 1ms attack in auto is NOT the same as 100ms in auto mode!
Best universal settings that I've found so far is slow attack around 50 to 100ms, set to 'auto' and then a really slow release of 3 seconds or more, also set to 'auto'. It reminds me a bit of the Millenia TLC-2 which also needed very long release times. It kind of 'gels' the mix and gives it stability. I also used the highpass filter to keep it from pumping on kickdrum impact.
Cheers!
bManic
I also noticed that the 'auto' settings STILL depend on how you set the knob, so 1ms attack in auto is NOT the same as 100ms in auto mode!
Best universal settings that I've found so far is slow attack around 50 to 100ms, set to 'auto' and then a really slow release of 3 seconds or more, also set to 'auto'. It reminds me a bit of the Millenia TLC-2 which also needed very long release times. It kind of 'gels' the mix and gives it stability. I also used the highpass filter to keep it from pumping on kickdrum impact.
Cheers!
bManic
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- KVRAF
- 2049 posts since 18 Sep, 2003 from Seattle USA
I can use it in Sonar4 on a 2.6GHz P4 - the DX version doesn't have latency comp yet but the VST version does. Sorry about your experience - I hate that when it happens to me!eyeknow666 wrote:I'm so confused by this thread.............
I had to ask for my money back because even with a "mondo" computer it crashed my system, as did the master Q.....but I have never had a problem with the vintage warmer I alredy had.
The master comp had a phenominal delay........I mean it was like an echo........
It was simply unusable.
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- KVRAF
- 2049 posts since 18 Sep, 2003 from Seattle USA
Nice tips!bmanic wrote:I also noticed that the 'auto' settings STILL depend on how you set the knob
I believe Kjaerhus GCO release acts this way too, it can release automatically but uses the actual release setting as a maximal value - correct me if I'm wrong please!
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- KVRian
- 1283 posts since 13 Nov, 2004
heard that!kylen wrote:I can use it in Sonar4 on a 2.6GHz P4 - the DX version doesn't have latency comp yet but the VST version does. Sorry about your experience - I hate that when it happens to me!eyeknow666 wrote:I'm so confused by this thread.............
I had to ask for my money back because even with a "mondo" computer it crashed my system, as did the master Q.....but I have never had a problem with the vintage warmer I alredy had.
The master comp had a phenominal delay........I mean it was like an echo........
It was simply unusable.
I'm gun shy too........it's like, It's not perfect.....give me my money back!
well, they are a great company a. to do that b. I love the vintage warmer
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- KVRian
- 1219 posts since 12 Aug, 2002
Bah! Don't listen to this silly git...he's gone right off.kilroy wrote:I was unable to really get a deep threshold/low ratio texture that I liked.
Right...had another go round with this. Never let it be said that kilroy throws in the towel without a good effort.
And sooo...
Strapped this over some electric jazz/blues/fusion tracks I engineered back in "the days". Energetic ensemble consisting of 5 string bass, electric guitar, keys...rhodes, piano, organ...a great female vox, and drums/percussion. *Loads* of dynamics in this group, very skilled, tasteful players. After futzing round with different settings I came up with this...
ratio 1.2
threshold -30 (don't be shy...dig waaaaaay in)
attack 1000ms (yep, that's right...one whole second)
release 585ms
"auto" buttons disengaged (or it will sound weird)
filters wide open
RMS/Soft knee
...and there was the sound.
On this music, that loooong attack and deep threshold, combined with the lowest ratio to be had, preserved all the crucial transients, whilst imparting a lovely textured warmth and beautiful blooming low end...deep and solid, with no pinching. Vox tracks sounded intimate, present and full. Maximum gain reduction of 3db, with good behavior and a nice pleasant stacking with that medium long release. A well glued hifi sound.
I might have wished for a *wee* bit less reduction, but what do you do when you only have 7 fixed ratios to choose from and you have the threshold bite set where you want it.
Facinating restriction, that.
To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders - Lao Tzu
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- KVRAF
- 2049 posts since 18 Sep, 2003 from Seattle USA
Thanks for the report Kilroy - and I thought I used long attacks! That is curious about the fixed ratios - I guess all we can do to lighten things up at low thresholds is to use the mix knob a touch - defeats the purpose of digging down that deep a little though maybe...