User Interface: Boasting a lovely photorealistic interface, the ergonomics are clean and elegant.
Sound: Fantastic. If you are looking for something that will instantly give you a vintage pumping compressor sound, look no further. The sound is rich and thick, and you can dial up (or down) that character to taste.
Features: Compadre was optimized for loops and drums, and the feature set offer a very broad range of options for that application. Within minutes I was able to come up with a very cool syncopated pumping effect. Alternately, I was able to pull out "stick", snare attack, or paper in the kick. Very flexible and lots of fun.
Documentation: Certainly enough to get your started!
Presets: Lots. More than enough to showcase what it can do and you should have no problem finding a starting point for rolling your own. Simply adjust the threshold and you are in action.
Customer Support. Excellent!
Value for money: A great value.
Stability: No crashes yet!
Bottom line: I own and use several hi-end compressors. They all have uses and stengths. That said, Compadre is unique in a lot of ways. If you want to add heft and attitude to drums, its a no brainer. Surprisingly, it has proven a life saver several times on vocal tracks. None of the compressors I had were taming a wild voal track the way I wanted, so I tried Compadre. It nailed it in 5 minutes. I was more than impressed. In short, for me it is a "character compressor" - but what character! When I am looking for "that sound" this is the one I use.
