VST 3 Sidechain Compressor

[LeVzi]

I am looking for a VST3 compressor that offers a bit more than the stock Cubase one for the pumping effect, not sure why but the Cbase one just doesn't seem snappy enough for my liking.

Has to be VST3 as I cannot be arsed setting up quadro channels anymore.

THe cheapest possible would be good, I cannot afford to be spending big bucks on something when the one I normally use could get fixed in an update.

Thanks.

[Guest]

Did you look at kvraudio?

[hopselectroniks]

waves renaissance compressor pumps nicely .. part of the musicians bundle for under a hundred bucks + you get a few other really good plugs including the ren EQ which is my favourite channel eq

[Dreamix]

Compassion is pretty nice

[ilmolto]

AraldFX StormGate1 is a nice free VST that can simulate a sidechain effect. Check it out.

[LeVzi]

I have been back and forth through the KVR database, and most are out of a price range for such a task $300 for a compressor mainly for sidechaining is a bit OTT imo

Others that fall into the good price range, even though they are VST3 , do not have the sidechain option ie Meldaproductions MModernCompressor

COMPassion is the one thats malfunctioning at the moment, hence the need for a replacement until it's fixed.

I would love to use Waves plug-ins but I don't have an iLok2 which would add to the price and I am not overly keen on WUP.

I will definately check out Stormgate, thanks, I also have LFOTool which could do it, but I do prefer to use a compressor for S/C'ing.

If the Cubase compressor was less clinical and had faster attack and release times it would be nice to use, but it just doesn't really work. Maybe Steiny should implement a newly coded Side Chain Compressor just for that task with the code taken from the ideas of FET Compressors.

I am thinking as well maybe using the old Quadro channel is going to be the only real option here, as then I can look into cheaper compressors like Stillwell's The Rocket (Very very fast attack) and I could use the one I have, The Glue.

Seriously Steiny, why didn't you implement the sidechain function for VST 2 that you now have for VST 3 ?

[Keith99]

Pro-C is good

[JMCecil]

Have you demoed the two new vintage compressors Steinberg released?

http://www.steinberg.net/en/products/vs ... strip.html

I don't have a use for them, as I have great compressors with my UAD setup, but I demoed them and they are really good.

[thinkingcap]

Have you demoed the two new vintage compressors Steinberg released?

http://www.steinberg.net/en/products/vs ... strip.html

I don't have a use for them, as I have great compressors with my UAD setup, but I demoed them and they are really good.

But they´re not really sidechainable, or am I missing something..?

[JMCecil]

Have you demoed the two new vintage compressors Steinberg released?

http://www.steinberg.net/en/products/vs ... strip.html

I don't have a use for them, as I have great compressors with my UAD setup, but I demoed them and they are really good.

But they´re not really sidechainable, or am I missing something..?

sorry, my dumbassery. I was really responding the part of your post about how clinical the included compressors are.

For the life of me I can't understand why they don't use all of the available VST3 capabilities in their own plugs. I don't side chain often, so I don't even know if those plugs can. They did upgrade Portico to include side chain I believe though. So maybe they will get a clue and add it to these.

[thinkingcap]

I was really responding the part of your post about how clinical the included compressors are.

Was not my post, really...

For the life of me I can't understand why they don't use all of the available VST3 capabilities in their own plugs.

Well, if you market it as a more or less exact emulation...

[JMCecil]

I was really responding the part of your post about how clinical the included compressors are.

Was not my post, really...

lol, I'm on FIRE!!!! ok ... the OP's post about how clinical the included compressors are. I should just go back to bed.

[thinkingcap]

I should just go back to bed.

Never a bad thing to do...

[Split]

I should just go back to bed.

Never a bad thing to do...

Unless the house is on fire

Could the op not pass the signal through some coloured compressor before the Steinny clean Comp for some colour.

Doesn't address to want for super fast attack time though.

Although you could copy the track that the sidechain is derived from and nudge it forward in time

[supergroover]

Pro-C is good

I agree here. Fabfilter Pro-c is a pretty good sidechain compressor.

[Bottomend]

Here is a good cheap sidechain comp..... http://www.sonalksis.com/sv315.htm Bottomend

[mr.roos]

The Sonalksis plugin reads like a dream and with great reviews... but it's $250 Euros with some weird $$ additions (what is this all about?). That's some serious money I think for a single plugin. At least compared to a Waves plugin. Eh, but the 14 day trial is nice, maybe I'll try it sometime. Thanks!

[Guest]

the best VST3 sidechain compressor.. by far.. is mPressor by elysia...

[LeVzi]

Thanks for all the suggestions, the sonalksis is one i've tried before, it's really nice tbh, don't think it's VST 3 though.

The Elysia looks nice, demo's are nice, but whats this plug-in alliance all about ?

Pro-C is another that is really impressive tbh, but i'm kinda hoping to scale down the money side of it, I don't want to spend a fortune on a new compressor while COMPassion is getting fixed.

I decided to use Quadro, as VST3 options are fairly limited, and I thought about colour and speed which to me says 1176.

So after some searching around, I found The Rocket from Stillwell , seems to be modelled "sort of" on an 1176.

The other one they do is Bombardier, which seems again to fit the bill, anyone with any experience of these.

Demo of the rocket is favourable tbh, lightening quick attacks, you can shave everything for the kick to come through and use a nice release the pump is very noticeable, and it's also a bit unclean, which I love.

[Breeze]

The Sonalksis plugin reads like a dream and with great reviews...

... but it's not VST3. I've asked them about this for a couple of years and they keep saying "maybe some day"... too bad really. The Pro-C is probably the best price/performance deal. iZotope's Alloy is also a good VST3 and does band limited compression as well as single channel compression (assigning the VST3 sidechain input to one or more bands of a multiband comp) + whole lot more, so more expensive.

[funkman]

i use the cubase compressor for sidechaining pads and bass. i find it does the job.i tweaked the parameters and just saved the settings as a preset.i actually have 6 presets saved for different levels of pumping.

[ilmolto]

I also use the compressor in Cubase because it's the only compressor I have that gives me the option for a hard knee. The one thing I don't like about it is that it can distort the sound if you have too short a release time. This is normal for any compressor, but I find the native Cubase compressor to be the worst. I tend to go no lower than 50 ms of release. I can go way lower with a Waves compressor without any distortion, but the fact that they are soft knee really annoys me.

[mr.roos]

breeze - Thanks for pointing that out! I missed that. Also I looked at that Rocket comp and that whole site actually. I will try one of these out because the price is crazy. But it does look like that site has sort of lost some activity of late, not a good sign maybe. Thanks for pointing this Stillwell site out. The Bombadier is the one that looks the most promising for my needs actually.

[LeVzi]

I have (touch wood) managed to get COMPassion working again, and thanks to something else being pointed out, I have better options.

I am pleased to find the The Rocket though, very nice compressor and lightening quick.

Thanks everyone.

[Are Grongstad]

If you cannot sidechain (duck) properly with the stock/native Steinberg Compressor (Cubase Pro 8) then you need to read up on how to use compressors. When ducking (kick drum as trigger) you typically look for a transparent compressor with hard knee, peak mode and fast attack. Compressor has everything you need and you should use native plugins if possible to minimize CPU load. Strap Compressor across the track or group you want to duck, click Compressor's Activate Side-Chain button, go to your kick track's Sends and select Destination -> Side-chains -> Compressor. Now dial in Ratio between 3:! and 8:1, Make-Up = 0, Attack = 0.1 to 1 ms, Hold = 0, Release = 30-70 ms, Analysis = 0 (Peak). Lower Threshold until you hear pumping (Gain Reduction). Adjust Release according to groove/rhythm, but not too fast as the pumping then gets choppy and not smooth, 50-60 ms should normally do the trick. See attached pic for example.

The best SC (sidechain) compressor out there IMO is elysia mpressor - it is a super transparent and smooth hard knee compressor with super-fast attack. But it is expensive and Steinberg's Compressor is close, if not equal, to mpressor's quality when it comes to SC. Other good workhorses, even though being soft knee compressors, are Waves C1 and RComp - they can pump really well and are transparent. With C1 you can pull the attack all the way to 0.01 (!)...

In some cases - depending on the kick and your mix' intensity - you may hear a click or pop if the attack is set too fast, you may then ease back a tad on the attack or simply use another kick to trigger the SC compressor.
It is wise to use a dedicated muted kick track (some call it a "ghost kick" or "sidechain key kick") to trigger the SC compressor. When I say muted I mean activate pre-fader and pull the track volume fader all the way down (minus infinity). This allows for more flexibility as you may control your audible kick and pumping separately. The ghost kick does not necessarily have to be a copy of the audible kick. You can also choose a short and punchy ghost kick - shorter than the audible kick. This allows for even more flexibility as the release span gets longer.