Freeware compressor vs cubase
Home > Home Recording Forum > Mixing Techniques > Freeware compressor vs cubase
Posted on May 05, 2010 09:27 am
Fragile
Member Since: Sep 30, 2009
Any word on good compressor plug ins? i've been using cubase's "Vst dynamic" plug in. Anyone else use that and like/dislike it? KVR audio seemed like a good place to get freebees, but i'm wondering if there are any you guys have used and found particularly useful. Results > ease of use. I'm starting to get the hang of how to use compression. But i'm really wondering if i'm missing out on anything by sticking with Cubase's FX.
[ Back to Top ]
May 05, 2010 09:38 am Also, signal chain wise. Do you guys place the compressor before or after amp/FX plug ins? i can't really decide what would give the best result. I'm thinking i'd certainly want it before any delay or reverb, but i'm not sure about the amp plug itself.
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
May 05, 2010 09:47 am I love the reaper ones.
I've seen guys over on R board put compression both before VSTi, and after. Often they use bootsy's Density MK2 before, and something else after. I have density here, but haven't put it into use yet. A lot of guys over there love it.
Before a guitar sim will phatten up the signal before it hits the amp sim, so that's good. After levels the signal out, but I wouldn't go overboard for this.
May 05, 2010 10:01 am Oh is ReaComp a free plug in? i've heard good things about it. Sounds a little more complex, but i THINK i'm getting a better ear for stuff like this anyway. So an extra few hours learning a better compressor would prolly be worth it (:
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
May 06, 2010 12:49 am Yep, they're free, in a bundle called reaplugs. They are all usable in any VST host. I used the free classic compressor from khaerjus, but found I could usually always 'hear' that it was on there, so I wasn't always sold.
The reacomp is almost always transparent, giving me a nice gentle compression, without me 'hearing' it working. I usually only compress up to 2.5 ~ 4 : 1, so i'm not real agressive.
The ReaXComp is nice too, easy to use and very noticeable, in a good way. It's made a few projects sound nicer, but I have to admit, I'm leaning towards MM's preaching of 'if you need a Multi Comp, then you should fix the mix'.
I haven't had any projects that warrant that level of work lately, so I'm still green on that.
But, for my ears, the ReaXComp did a very nice job of acting like mastering EQ.
cruxTypo SzarMember
Since: Jul 04, 2002
May 06, 2010 02:36 am Yeah the Khaerjus is definitely a flavor plug more than a workhorse (damn tasty though), the vst one that comes with cubase isnt horrible, its clean and responsive and sometimes u need that.
I only use Waves now mostly, which costs a bunch so i dont really any suggestions for free ones, but i think Stillwell Audio has some very usable demos of most of their plugs but again their comps r more flavorful.
In terms of before or after other plugs, its all about usage. When i think about where something is in my chain i dont think about rules or anything, its all about wat u want to happen. Usualy if ur using an amp sim that will end up crushing a bit of the transients and affecting the basic dyanmisc of ur source already so a comp after would be for a different purpose. A comp ahead would probably be good to tame some wild spikes that r messing with ur sim though.
May 06, 2010 08:23 am I read in another forum its not actually *un*common to use several instances of compression at different settings. Anyone back this up? Also, what situations would i want the multiband compressor vs the all band one? You said MM advises that if you get into a situation that you'd need one, you should fix it somewhere else, but what sort of situation would that be?
cruxTypo SzarMember
Since: Jul 04, 2002
May 06, 2010 09:43 am My 2 cents on both matters:
considering wat cmopressors do i can imagine using multiple ones in a chain, i mean if u want one that just lightly tames the initial attack and one that picks up the decay for more beef, u might need two for that, since u could want to the leave the middle the same as it is. I imagine it being useful for several applications but the first one that comes to mind is if u have a long note and want different things to happen to it. remember again that if ur compressing a single track, adn then compressing at the output, thats basically two stage compression as well, so its not beyond imagination.
the consensus im seeing on multibands, especially amongst mastering engineerings is that using them on the master buss indicates something lacking in the mix that should be fixed accordingly. using multibands on single instruments doesnt seem as frowned upon, especially on things like bass where eqing can easily set off their delicate balance. Drums that come to u in only one stereo track or so would be another example i can think of, but basically the gist is that on single instruments its still a useful tool.
the whole ta-do with multibands from wat i can surmise is that when ur mixing u should be trying to strike that balance of frequencies between all ur instruments. if ur doing ur job correctly the multiband should then be redundant as it would be basically saying 'the balance i created means nothing, im going to change different parts of the spectrum anyway'
May 07, 2010 02:23 am Search for Antress plugs and grab the 1176 + La2a comps. They sound pretty cool, and they're free!
I agree with crux about the cubase comp. I used to use 'VST dynamics' in every mix before cubase 5 came out. Now I mostly use Rcomp from waves.
cruxTypo SzarMember
Since: Jul 04, 2002
May 07, 2010 03:08 am I actually dont like Rcomp from Waves much, just sayin, i think it sounds really aggressive. I still use their original Comp1, to me it just sounds really clean and its quite responsive. The funny thing is i actually use the Comp1 to do aggressive comping becoz its quite forgiving in some ways. The Rcomp to me gets really heavy way too fast, but thats my opinion.
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
May 07, 2010 08:30 am I'll use a single band comp on vocals and bass, both to fatten them up and to bring them under control.
I'll use a MBC on the final mix to give certain parts of the spectrum a little more presence. I also use EQ along with it, but feel the MBC really 'glues' it all together quite nicely.
I forgot about Scott Stillwell's plugs. They get a real good writeup by most who use them (i haven't yet). He's got a few different ones, along with some EQs that alot of people also like.
www.stillwellaudio.com/?page_id=29
Both him and Schwa make some nice stuff. Shareware licensing model, like Reaper.
