Professional Analog Mastering.
Professional Analog Mastering.
226K+ subscribers
This compressor feels like a jack of all trades but master of none. It’s not going to be the best optical compressor or 1176 emulation, but it’s flexible enough to get great results.
Of all of the algorithms or modes, the standouts include clean, which is great for general compression when you want to quickly affect dynamics.
Then vocal is perfect for quickly bringing vocals to the forefront of a mix. When combined with a little lookahead and auto make-up gain, this setting just about instantly sits the vocal on top of the mix while increasing low-level details.
Lastly, the mastering option is perfect for controlling both the peaks and RMS level of a stereo mix. The distortion is incredibly low, so if you keep the amount of attenuation under a couple of dB, you won’t notice a change in the timbre, just more controlled dynamics.
This is also the compressor I go to for any side-chaining or ducking. The internal/external side-chain, combined with a basic EQ feature, helps a lot with controlling the behavior of any triggered compression. The same can be said for the various modes.
For example, if I’m using this compressor on an auxiliary reverb send, and I use the dry signal as the trigger to duck the reverb, switching between the modes or algorithms makes finding the right compressor behavior a lot easier.
Lastly, this is by far my favorite compressor for parallel compression. Since I have control of the mix and the individual dry signal, it’s easy to dial in the compressed signal without setting up a send.
So, even though it’s not the best sounding compressor for any particular task, it’s probably the most flexible and practical on this list.
Let’s listen to the plugin applying aggressive compression. Then I’ll vary the wet-dry to introduce parallel compression.
Watch the video to learn more >
When I first used this compressor, I had trouble figuring out what to use it for. It seemed like one of those plugins you try but don’t use after the initial demo.
However, I kept coming back to it, and once I got a hang of the controls, I’ve found I use it on almost every mix and sometimes even a master.
The plugin does 4 things.
First, it amplifies quieter aspects of the signal. Even without enabling any of the other processors, notice how aggressively it amplifies quieter details.
By combining this with a gradual soft-knee protection near the peak, it’s behaving like a sot-knee saturator with a fair amount of input gain.
Second, it introduces a fair amount of harmonic distortion - this alters the timbre and provides a mildly distorted sound that adds complexity to a signal.
But, the push-pull of the compression-expansion effect is by far the most enjoyable aspect of the plugin.
Even with a very subtle ratio, and small attenuation and amplification ranges, the signal can be controlled significantly.
Granted, you need to be careful with the threshold and pay more attention to the levels than with a traditional compressor; however, the end result, with the beneficial harmonics and low-level amplification, is better sounding than most compressors and controls dynamics without the need for aggressive peak down compression.
So, let’s listen to the processor. Notice that the attenuation and amplification is subtle, but that the dynamics are impressively controlled.
Watch the video to learn more >
Let me start by saying this is not an easy compressor to control. It takes a while, and reading the manual a few times, to get the hang of it.
And even then, I find I’m still learning new ways to process with it after using it for a couple of years.
Also, even if you’ve had this plugin for a while, I’d recommend reading the original hardware unit’s manual. Softube’s manual for the plugin doesn’t go into too much depth, whereas the hardware unit’s manual from Weiss will tell you everything you need to know and more.
For example, in the manual, you’ll find a lot of info about the attack and release settings. Getting a better understanding of the fast, average, and slow release settings is crucial to controlling the compressor’s behavior or understanding why it’s behaving the way it is.
The fast release is for peaks, the slow for RMS, and the average determines the length of time the compressor considers peak or RMS. By varying the average, how the peak material of the signal is compressed changes greatly.
Another useful bit of info is how the max gain setting works. If we pull up this graphic from the manual, we can see that the ratio, threshold, and knee play a large role in how the signal can be maximized post-compression.
For example, if I use a soft knee with a high ratio, and then select make up gain, the peak will hit 0dB, but more importantly, the shape of the dynamic change will now be amplified in tandem.
Once you get the hang of controlling dynamics enough, by varying your attack and release settings to enable the max gain feature without clipping, the compressor really starts to show its value.
It allows for highly customizable maximization of the signal into a ceiling.
Functionality aside, the compressor has an incredibly distinct sound. Even though its touted as transparent, I think it actually has one of the more pronounced timbres of any compressor I’ve used.
The distortion is aggressive but never overbearing. How it shapes transients sounds surgically precise, but the plugin adds an undeniable polish and sheen that’s hard to explain or find an underlying reason for.
Lastly, the purchase of the Mk3 comes with additional units based on the compressor. These include the maximizer, de-esser, and limiter, all of which use the processing of the Mk3, just with a stripped-down user interface.
I find the de-esser to be one of the best sounding, if not the best sounding, ways to control sibilance. It’s not as transparent as FFT editing, or as smooth as maybe FabFilter’s de-esser with its aggressive lookahead.
But it adds an undeniably enjoyable character to an otherwise harsh part of the frequency spectrum. And the flexibility available in the settings window offers some of the complexity and nuance of the original unit.
So, if you can’t tell, I highly recommend this plugin. It’s in second place for me due to the aggressive learning curve and the sometimes difficult-to-control UI.
But again, once you spend time with it, you’ll likely use it on 90% of your projects.
Let’s take a listen to it, and notice how it offers a distinct timbre.
Watch the video to learn more >
If you’ve watched this channel before, you’ll know that I show this plugin all the time. Whenever I want to demonstrate a unique compression technique or plugin feature, Presswerk seems to be the only option more times than not.
Like the DS1 Mk3, the compressor is complex; however, I’ve found its user interface a lot more responsive. Additionally, instead of simplified versions of the compressor distributed as separate units, Presswerk includes these stripped-down versions as different views within the plugin.
So, if I want the sound of this compressor, but with settings optimized for a particular instrument or for a specific purpose, these views expedite the mixing process greatly.
And, if you want more control over a particular setting, these views act like a preset, meaning you can go back to the main window and adjust the parameters set by the simplified version.
This plugin also offers a highly distinct timbre; however, I’ve found it to be versatile enough to achieve just about any timbre.
In that way, it’s a lot like the Pro-C2 with its multiple modes. It takes a little more work to achieve the sound of a particular processor, but once you do, it’s a vast improvement over the Pro-C2.
Some of my favorite functions include this mix of feedback and feedforward detection, dual-phase rotation, which softens the highs through dynamic masking, and separate mid and side detection paired with make-up gain.
This makes it a fantastic way to dynamically control the stereo width of a signal, either by compressing the mid and not the side, or by compressing the side and using makeup gain.
Like the DS1 Mk3, we get adaptive release and controllable RMS detection, but in an arguably easier way to control.
Lastly, it simply sounds good. It doesn’t matter how I use it, whether it's for subtle bus processing, moderate vocal compression, or for an aggressive creative effect, there hasn’t been a single time I’ve thought ‘this isn’t the right compressor.’
Instead, I always find a way to tweak it to accomplish exactly what I’m going for.
Let’s take a listen to it. I’ll switch through some presets so we can quickly hear it run through wildly different settings.