Real Talk - McDSP Compressors

[K1TTENM1TTEN]

Good afternoon everyone! I know I made a previous thread about McDSP's EQ's but I wanted to keep these two separate for others and myself to quick reference later. I was curious about the McDSP compressors and had a few questions for you all. 

1) Who is using them? 
2) Why these over Softube, Cakewalk, Red Rock Sound, etc?
3) How exactly are these different from any other compressor on the market?
4) How are you using them in your tracks and on what?

[Dave909]

I have the 670 and Mootube. I prefer the 670. It just sounds great and puts a great shape on stuff. I have the cakewalk one too but i never use that one. I like the 670 on everything. Its transparant in sound but it shapes stuff like no compressor i ever used. Its taste of course but i know a lot of people like the 670. It just sounds gooood

[mbfrancis]

I have the 670 and Mootube. I prefer the 670. It just sounds great and puts a great shape on stuff.

Thanks for responding, I'm interested in this too - what kind of tracks are you using it on?

[Concep]

I put them all up against Red Rock's C1-L1, and I strongly recommend you save your money and just buy C1-L1.  I have Moo Tube, which is so gentle that I can't find a legitimate use for it.  Also, you get a bass boost when you lower the threshold, which I don't like.  If they removed that bass boost, I might like it more.  C670 is missing many of the loved features of a fairchild, meaning the mid side usage.  You can do that with C1L1, and frankly, you can get the same or superior sound with C1L1 than with C670.  

[Dave909]

I use it in my HipHop productions on about anything. Drums, bass, vocals, you name it. Its so easy to just slap it on a vocal track while recording. Helps tons to get the sound right thru right away. Again its personal taste as always but i know i would trade all my other compressors just to keep it

I have the 670 and Mootube. I prefer the 670. It just sounds great and puts a great shape on stuff.

Thanks for responding, I'm interested in this too - what kind of tracks are you using it on?

[Dave909]

Dont want to spam but i used the 670 thruout my album:

https://dave-909.bandcamp.com/album/de-conclusie-lp

It's on 80% of the vocals and used extensively thruout the instrumentals i produced

[Ostermilk]

^^^Hi Dave nice to see you around... ^^^
_______________________________________

I just picked up the bundle at €39 for that money they are a complete no brainer.

I like to have options with compressors as all of them provide a different way of dealing with different material.  I've never bothered with RE comps up until now, I've just be relying on the stock compressors so it's a bit of toybox time for me just checking these out.

Already though I can hear that these are going to get a lot of use as they are a pretty diverse trio without too much overlap with what Reason already provides.

The simple controls make it quick to work out whether they are a good choice for what I'm doing or not.  The FRG is a monster with huge amounts of reduction and make up gain available it would be hard to find a situation where you couldn't get this to do something you liked.  The 670 is a nice simplified take on the classic and probably the one I can see myself using often, whereas the Moo is a more subtle animal I'm likely to be pulling out for two-stage setups and for taming stuff that isn't too wild to begin with.

Currently @ €13 per device if you don't already have them it would be hard for me to find an argument against them.

[Dave909]

thanks man!! Its good to be here Not sure how long my next album will take me now though, lol

[gak]

I don't agree completely about the red rocks one being able to replace all of them. It's good, and I'm glad I've got it but the mcdsp ones are starting to win my over.

One thing about the mcdsp is they are dramatically less hungry cpu wise. So where you you might just add one instance of the c1, you can add the different flavors w/o taking up too many resources (slam the snare with the frg and then have the more subtle 670 on the kick if desired)

Not all comps work the same. I tried the ssl/one is all you need approach and then remembered "oh yeah, they are all different"

Since there is ample time left, it's a good time to demo up. 

[K1TTENM1TTEN]

It's on 80% of the vocals and used extensively thruout the instrumentals i produced 

What mic are you using, if you don't mind me asking? The vocals are very smooth and I am curious if that is more of a mic or thanks to the compressor

[Dave909]

All my vocals have been recorded thru a Rode NT-1 which i would say is a pretty balanced mic. The features i dont know what mics were used but i know i slapped the 670 on them too

It's on 80% of the vocals and used extensively thruout the instrumentals i produced 

What mic are you using, if you don't mind me asking? The vocals are very smooth and I am curious if that is more of a mic or thanks to the compressor

[mbfrancis]

I'd be interested in what people think is the most unique one that provides something that stock compressors don't.  I have FET, BusComp, and ChanComp, and will most likely only buy one.

[Theo.M]

for $29 a piece there's some value there. I am not a huge fan of the mcdsp reason stuff as I find compressorbank and others in their vst world superior, and I also have that issue with EDM missing the first transient therefore creating an uneven compression. But for the master buss on other styles I get a little use from either the moo or the fairchild. I am absolutely not a fan of the frog and would use fxpansions Channel or the softube FET over it any day.. now remember the fxpansion is the same price and can do parallel, oversampling and the bias control which can be quite insane in taming the characteristics.. it can go into full blown destroyer mode if wanted LOL. The softube is just in a different league to all fet plugins IMO. That's the rolls royce if it's in the budget. (note the Fxpansion does not have a S/C input so just for that some might prefer the mcdsp).

As gentle mix levellers the moo and fairchild are quite lovely but i have never used them on indi channels.

[challism]

I already have the C1L1, Selig Leveler, Valley People, DCAM Bus and Chan.  Do I really need any more compressors?  I want to say no, but you guys have always talked so highly about these McDSP comps.  I know if I try, I am way more tempted to buy.  I think I will just keep my finger away from that try button this time.  My rack is compressor heavy as it is.  But I am always tempted to add more toys to my toybox.

[tumar]

I demoed Softube (silver one, not blue) and DCAM effects. I didn't like DCAM compressors (totally!); Softube was nothing fancy for me. Sellig Leveller did job too, but it was too sterile for my ears (it's good for surgeon ). I tried FRG once and it was great on drums and bass. Thanks to God and my tendency to procrastinate I didn't buy FRG then, so I hit whole bundle on sale.
FRG is my base compressor now. 670 is not so good as other Fairchild recreations (IK Multimedia or Nomad Factory). And I still haven't find use for Moo

[marcuswitt]

I can say that i like all of McDSP's compressors, each of them is very useful. I've put Moo in the Master Channel's Insert. Its Attack and Realese rates are set to Slow for doing some smooth gain riding of about 1 to 2 dBs. From my point of view, the FRG is great on Brass sections to make them 'slamming' and cutting through the mix. The 670 does a fantastic job on Vocals, E- and Accoustic Pianos as well as on String sections.

[deankay]

for $29 a piece there's some value there. I am not a huge fan of the mcdsp reason stuff as I find compressorbank and others in their vst world superior, and I also have that issue with EDM missing the first transient therefore creating an uneven compression. But for the master buss on other styles I get a little use from either the moo or the fairchild. I am absolutely not a fan of the frog and would use fxpansions Channel or the softube FET over it any day.. now remember the fxpansion is the same price and can do parallel, oversampling and the bias control which can be quite insane in taming the characteristics.. it can go into full blown destroyer mode if wanted LOL. The softube is just in a different league to all fet plugins IMO. That's the rolls royce if it's in the budget. (note the Fxpansion does not have a S/C input so just for that some might prefer the mcdsp).

As gentle mix levellers the moo and fairchild are quite lovely but i have never used them on indi channels.


Hey Theo, since you use Dcam chan comp, can you tell me if you find that the attack and release knobs do anything at all. Apart from visible gain reduction I find that these knobs do absolutely nothing, it doesn't change the sound 1 iota.
Just wondering if anyone else experiences this?

[challism]

I'm not a fan of the DCAM compressors at all.  I've also found that the ChanComp attack/release knobs do nothing.  I own both DCAM comps, but only because they were included in the rig bundle I bought.  I would never have purchased them outside of the bundle.  Of the comps I own, I find myself only using Leveler and C1L1 (surprisingly I don't use Valley People much, but it is really good).

[Concep]

I already have the C1L1, Selig Leveler, Valley People, DCAM Bus and Chan.  Do I really need any more compressors?  I want to say no, but you guys have always talked so highly about these McDSP comps.  I know if I try, I am way more tempted to buy.  I think I will just keep my finger away from that try button this time.  My rack is compressor heavy as it is.  But I am always tempted to add more toys to my toybox.

Nope.  You're good.

[Theo.M]

Hey Theo, since you use Dcam chan comp, can you tell me if you find that the attack and release knobs do anything at all. Apart from visible gain reduction I find that these knobs do absolutely nothing, it doesn't change the sound 1 iota.
Just wondering if anyone else experiences this?

yes they change the sound drastically here. Total control. Not sure what is happening over there. Let me check with latest R8.2 and dcam though as i haven't used it in a while.

[Theo.M]

Ok, the release knob works just fine, but there is indeed a problem with the attack. And there is no oversample. I am sorry but I was confusing it with the AU version with the sat button, which I use all the time. I really haven't used the RE but there was no reason for me to imagine it wouldn't be working, but i have it cause it was so cheap and i do use the AU... but yeah, the attack seems to do absolutely nothing even at extreme compression... i can definitely confirm the release is working though but if the attack is not, it makes the product kind of useless. Fxpansion do release RE updates and fixes so there is no reason not to bring this to their attention. I will do some audio comparison of the AU at identical settings on identical audio playing at the identical level, and send them to fxpansion for proof something is wrong.

BTW, I absolutely love the Dcam bus comp and can not find ANY issue with that one. It has a tad of latency but that doesn't matter on the final mix and isn't noticeable when monitoring instruments through it. I use that in every EDM project.

[Ocean of Waves]

The RE670 is like Bacon, good on anything!

[submonsterz]

The RE670 is like Bacon, good on anything!

Euuww tastes nasty on Wheatabix trust me on this ....

[Theo.M]

Ok i did extensive tests since my last message, and I confirm that the fxpansion channel comp attack knob is completely broken and doesn't alter the sound.
What a shame.
The range of attack is very small, between 0.2 and 1.2 ms i.e always fast,, but it is very easy to hear it in action on both the vst and the AU.
That could explain those who got poor results from the comp. I am doing some drums now with the AU and it's fab.
I matched the release of the AU and the RE to sound the same. Fast release with large GR resulted in crushing, slower in smoothing, just as expected.

[GRIFTY]

It's sad that such an old device has such a glaring flaw and it's only just being brought to light. Is anybody but us buying RE's???