GRIP Valve Drive Compressor

I have been trying out the demo just now and I have a few questions:

The plugin's default "blend" values for both the compressor and the valve drive are 100% dry. Compressor output defaults at -24dB. Shouldn't that be 100% wet and 0 dB?

In Reaper 5.15 x64, Windows 10 x64, the plugin only seems to work on the left channel. The plugin pin-connector shows "Input", VST In 2,"Output" and VST Out 2. The demo showed the plugin working on a stereo mix. Bug?

What good is an output maximum of +6dB, when the compressor go as far as 20dB of gain reduction? Normally I wouldn't use THAT much, but it would be nice to be able to compensate for 8 to 10 dB gain reduction within the plugin itself.

Greetings, Psync.

1) it's just the pure default setting if loaded - just click on the "next preset" arrow and you have the main preset / best basic direct loaded.

2.) The plugin is (as nearly all others) designed in full stereo path (2 channels - L + R). Maybe you put it on a mono track /mono sample - if so every daw automaticly uses the L channel for mono sending to the plugins - because there will be only 1 channel instead of 2. In stereo usage it works well, we tested it on a high variety of examples and as said, full stereo - as nearly all other plugins. "VST in 2" = 2 channels in L+R... "VST Out 2" = 2 channels aswell L+R.

3.) Well based through the direct combination with the valvedrive (already there you have up to 24db drive) we figured that a high "make up gain" setting isn't needed, and the most people don't using compressors on extrem settings. Next to this, relatively to the attack & release time settings you mostly never compress the full signal (transients, slow attack etc..) so peaks will be still more present as the compressed part and so even with for example 20 db gain reduction of (as example the tail of a kickdrum - but attack phase untouched through attack time settings) your signal won't drop down by 20db - logical.

Also, with eyes on a typical mixdown, you never want to have a track in the mix going way over 0db peak or close under it, always with a specific amount of headroom, so as example, you using a typical sample-loop which is always (mostly) normalised to -0,1db, even by adding up to 10 db gain reduction and a little bit of drive and +6 db on the output - you are close below the peak value before - but also already with some more headroom till zero peak - as it should mostly be. So in short, make up gain value is set through the average way of how to use a compressor.

Hope the answers helped :)

Update to version 1.01 is out.

- Update of the Framework for higher DAW compability (to solve rare problems with specific DAW versions)

Cyforce, thanks for your reply.

Version 1.01 works correctly on stereo channels (and stereo sources) now (Reaper 5.15 x64, Windows 10 x64), version 1.0 did not. It sounds really nice.

I understand what you're saying about the make-up gain versus typical compression and the drive function. That's just my lack of experience, I guess... :-)

As for the default setting: I simply like to pull up a plugin and turn the threshold down (or the drive up) to immediately hear what a plugin 'does', without the need for any specific vocal, drum or mix settings. But I can definitely live with this...

About that drive, though: I like the sound of the harmonics, but when the drive is turned up, most of my sources seem to lose a lot of low-end. Had to turn the mix knob back to almost 5 or 10 percent to preserve some. Is that the original behaviour of the German tubes?

That being said, I really like the sound of the compressor. This will almost definitely make it into my arsenal.

Will a number readout for the knobs be included in the future, or was it a deliberate decision to not include it ('just use your ears')?

Greetings, Psync.

@Cyforce: Can You specify what kind of hardware emulated?

Thanks in advance and forgive my poor english... ^_^.