compressors vs scope compressors

[mrvinyl]

would you consider the scope compressors better than lets say t-raks or the sony sonnox ones

[garyb]

t-raks?
Scope is definitely better, depending on the Scope compressor, there are several.

the Sony?
maybe, maybe not, but the Scope devices are not embarrassed by the comparison.

[the19thbear]

i would not use the stock comps on anything... but there are alot of GREAT 3rd party comps!
D-comp ( free) and DAS' comps are great.

[Gatam]

i m in love with DAS comp (i have all of them but not the DAS-Comp AI, i ll buy it later)
i just bought the Wolf comp which is a serious weapon too, ultra polyvalent comp, ingenious and usefull

[voidar]

The stock compressors are cool for side-chaining application. I.e. ducking bass/guitars to kick in a clean way.

[ChampionSound]

The stock compressors are cool for side-chaining application. I.e. ducking bass/guitars to kick in a clean way.

Exactly. For normal compression the current stock compressors are pretty bad, but for sidechaining they are great. Very light on DSP. The only bug is that you have to use it on its own before going into the mixer and not as an insert, otherwise the sidechain connection is lost when you reopen the project.

[garyb]

the stock compressors aren't "bad", unless you want them to be an 1176. they're not spectacular, either. i don't use them, but i know at least one competent engineer who likes them and they were the stock channel compressors on the Fairlight($250,000) afaik, so....

everything has a use to somebody.

[ChampionSound]

Hi Gary, Now that I read my previous post, it does sound a bit negative (well only the word "bad"), so let me rephrase what I mean.
The current stock compressors are the only ones that don't fit my needs. Personally I don't like the compression algorythm and can't get the desired result out of it, where most of the other 3rd party comps are easier to control. I like the resulting dynamics better of the other comps too. So I meant that the stock comp doen't work for me, but it's great for ducking/sidechaining purposes though (for me again). I'm sure those other engineers you talk about use those comps on different material where it can be used just fine. No offence intended

[garyb]

hey, no harm to me, that's for sure!

i don't know, i don't really prefer the stock ones either, they're a bit hard for my tastes. yes, i prefer the 3rd party comps myself. i also like the Vinco. the stock comps work fine, there's just nothing "special" about them. as you say, they're less intuitive than many other available comps, as well.

i was most definitely not taking you to task!(even if i did key in on the word "bad")

[maky325]

t- racks is very good. Especially opto and fiarchild. They are not better or worse then scope compressor plug-ins . The are jsut different and for 99$ (singles) you can't go wrong. Try the demo and hear for yourself. Why listening for someone other opinion while tastes are very different.

[firubbi]

i found Kompressor (wolf) and optimaster interesting.
also DAS has some good compressor too.

[katano]

I know a big studio here in switzerland (2 Million Euro facility, without equipment!) where some of the famous swiss bands (at least in Switzerland) produced their album. i know the sound engineer very well and he once told me that they use t-racks for 90 percent of their mastering jobs. if the customer wants to use some highend analog outboard gear, they can, but it will be more expensive however, i'm quite sure i'd do a better mastering job within scope (compared to t-racks) if i had that facility, respectively that control room

[dawman]

I have the old DBX 1066 and have tried using it on external tracks and it doesn't do as well as a couple of the DAS compressors I have learned to use.
Their recent Gate and Live version of the 1610++ w/ SideChaining is so pleasing to me, I was mixing drums and vocals w/ VDAT tracks and really giving it a nice polish.
Sidechained vocals over cymbals, and kicks over Bass really shaped up our live mixes.
I can't believe I actually got by w/o having them for the first few months.

[firubbi]

2 Million Euro facility, without equipment! ____they use t-racks for 90 percent of their mastering jobs.

t-racks ! they prefer t-racks!! what a waste of money they could do more studios with that much money or for 2 million euro you can buy 740 xite :lol

[bill3107]

i have all the DAS comp and i am very happy with them... I know the Sonnox quite well( a friend of minbe has a powercore X8) and i can tell you that - when it comes to the sound - the DAS comps can give you all what you need... some GUI are better than others and you still need to get accustomed o it. Scope always rocks for the sound, period. I have some vstFX with a nicer GUI (Nomad Factory) which can be considered as .. crap. I do not know the T-racks ones... The price of many scope plugins is a steal...that's why the hardware is really worth the money to me.

PS : the comp AI cannot be as fast as others but it sounds really great to me.

[maky325]

2 Million Euro facility, without equipment! ____they use t-racks for 90 percent of their mastering jobs.

t-racks ! they prefer t-racks!! what a waste of money they could do more studios with that much money or for 2 million euro you can buy 740 xite :lol

What so strange there? T-racks is just a tool for shaping sound. Scope also have a lot of tools to shape your sound. Experienced mastering/recording engineer will always use tool which he know best, which work for him no mater how hard you are trying to tell him that there are other "great things" out there (indeed there re so many great things there including xite).

Don't get me wrong i am not forcing t-racks or putting down scope, but i think that somehow you think that somehow there is strictly one common branch of plugs/fx which work best for task xy - while in fact you would be surprised to see what kind of weird fx/plugs chains engineers run to achieve "that" sound.

Tool is just tool. Someone can make really fantastic things with tool xy while someone other really can't make anything useful with same thing. Funny indeed...

[bill3107]

Someone can make really fantastic things with tool xy while someone other really can't make anything useful with same thing

I agree ... Many plugins (native or DSP based) sound very good but especially for "transparent" tools... On the other hand, i think that - when it comes to "add" something to the matter (some comp, many FX, ...) - then many plugins sound bad or sterile too. Just because you are asking the plugin more than mathematics. Should you use the filters from SPACEF and you will know Medhi is very good on filters for instance : just listen ! Many EQs from DAS add life to the sound although but digital tools. I love Scope but you need to buy 3rd party plugins as soon as you want magic in your mix ... The same occurs for native plugins... there are bad, medium and excellent plugins. But I agree : when you get used to it, it is easier to get the best from it .. but with its limits.

[dawman]

Well I didn't even ever Side Chain w/ a compressor until last year.
Knew what tricks I saw when I was recording back in the 80's & 90's, and tried applying them to new tools.............Nice.
I have learned alot from such debates and sharing.
Recently got the DAS Comp AI, Master It EQ and the Gate..........Nice..
To me if I want to color something I can use a certain mixer, plug or outboard analog mixer/effect.
I like the quality of audio I get from SFP 5.0, so unless I want to change it, transparency is a very desirable feature, and the 3 newest DAS plugs are transparent and surgical.
I am not sure if they were a gift or not, but if they come w/ SFP 5.0 you're in for a treat.