Slate Digital Virtual Buss Compressors - Manual (Page 8)

The Non-Linear Difference
During
the
development
of
the
VBC,
I
spoke
to
many
top
pros
in
the
audio
industry
about
mixbuss
plug-­‐in
compressors.
There
seemed
to
be
an
overwhelming
consensus
that
even
though
many
of
them
were
adverKsed
as
'analog
modeled',
they
sKll
didn't
have
the
classic
sound
of
analog
compressors.
So
Fabrice
and
I
got
to
work.
First
we
needed
to
examine
the
hardware
compressors
and
the
current
crop
of
analog
modeled
plug-­‐in
compressors
to
see
what
was
going
on!
And
what
we
found
was
surprising.
The
classic
analog
compressors
that
we
studied
added
some
very
complex
nonlinear
arKfacts
in
their
signal
paths.
Their
sound
was
not
simply
based
on
their
specific
compression
topology
like
Kming
and
compression
curves.
Some
of
the
analog
compressors
had
modulaKons,
dynamic
harmonic
distorKons,
dynamic
phase
distorKon,
saturaKon,
crosstalk,
and
more.
And
just
like
in
our
Virtual
Console
CollecKon
plug-­‐in,
these
arKfacts
added
a
sonic
imprint
to
the
compression.
Was
this
the
magic
sound
that
made
the
plug-­‐in
compressors
sound
different
than
the
analog
compressors?
There
was
only
one
way
to
find
out.
We
had
to
precisely
model
it.
All
of
it!
Several
months
later,
we
had
algorithms
that
combined
the
exact
compressor
topologies,
curves,
Kmings,
as
well
as
the
circuit's
nonlinear
dynamic
arKfacts.
We
were
able
to
bypass
JUST
the
arKfacts,
and
the
answer
was
very
clear.
Much
of
the
magic
tone
that
has
been
missing
from
many
plug-­‐in
compressors
is
these
nonlinear
addiKves.
When
you
hear
the
three
VBC
compressors,
you'll
noKce
a
depth,
life,
and
analog
'vibe'
that
you've
likely
not
heard
before
in
a
plug-­‐in
compressor.
I
hope
that
you
enjoy
it
on
your
mixes!
Using the Presets
The
presets
will
give
you
a
great
starKng
point
as
to
what
the
compressors
are
capable
of.
But
the
most
important
thing
is
to
modify
the
threshold
and
gain
reducKon
for
your
parKcular
mix.
Overall,
I
ulKmately
suggest
adjusKng
unKl
you
have
about
2-­‐4
db
of
gain
reducKon...
however
on
some
se_ngs
of
the
FG-­‐GREY,
I've
set
it
for
a
lot
of
gain
reducKon
and
it
can
sKll
sound
great,
even
on
a
full
mix.
-­‐
Steven
Slate
Slate
Digital
-­‐
Virtual
Buss
Compressors
8