Rack In Review Update: McDSP Compressor score change

[Fretless Fingers]

So I finally got some time to really dive into the McDSP compressor bundle and came to a realization. Once I started comparing these RE's to my other compressors, my findings forced me to change my score

Once again these things are available until 6/30/15 so jump on them ASAP if interested

https://youtu.be/rLAohLt3pgU

[decibel]

what was your initial rating and what is it now ?

[gak]

I'm glad you changed it. These are in a class of their own. I'm currently demoing the FET and though it's a nice comp (with all of it's own character) I haven't pulled the trigger because I'm not convinced I can't do exactly the same thing with these (and I do have some mixer/comp presets since they don't have parallel and I'm not a big fan for whatever reason of using a comp/100% wet in a send in reason....really not sure why)

But at 49 bones, it's a steal. I bought everything. I demoed the daylights out of them. The eq's are not as sexy. Love the moo, neutral on the 670, don't care much for the frg. But I figured why pay 29 just to have the moo when for 20 buck more I have all of them just in case (how's that for justification )

[Wook]

I bought Futzbox and compressor bundle. I'm not really sure that I'll use Futzbox but it's good to have. I bought these to support Colin's efforts. He seems like a great fellow. EQ bundle is itching my fingers. Can anyone give me that final push to buy them?   Are they enough to finish a mix eq wise? 

[Theo.M]

I'm glad you changed it. These are in a class of their own. I'm currently demoing the FET and though it's a nice comp (with all of it's own character) I haven't pulled the trigger because I'm not convinced I can't do exactly the same thing with these (and I do have some mixer/comp presets since they don't have parallel and I'm not a big fan for whatever reason of using a comp/100% wet in a send in reason....really not sure why)

But at 49 bones, it's a steal. I bought everything. I demoed the daylights out of them. The eq's are not as sexy. Love the moo, neutral on the 670, don't care much for the frg. But I figured why pay 29 just to have the moo when for 20 buck more I have all of them just in case (how's that for justification )

You can't really copy the FET with these, sorry to say. You may get closer with fancy combis that emulate some of the fet functions though.

Functions the FET has you can emulate with combis : wet/dry, and input gain, and detector frequencies (it's a broadband compressor but you can fine tune what frequencies actually trigger it), as well as using those 2 filters for the incoming sidechain and the sidechain level, and finally the output meter. (i'd really rather have it all in one plugin when I do need those features).

The reasons why you will never be able to get the mcdsp to emulate the FET sound no matter what is:
1) No  look ahead - the FET can be made to crush what the mcdsp misses, the look ahead simply makes it much more versatile with control on your transients and no unexpected POP surprises

2) No ALL in mode - 20:1 is not the same as the FET's insane all in mode.

3) The special analog signal path modelling Softube did with the FET, from a real 1176 they took every precise measurement of. The MCDSP is more of their "simple take" on it, an approximation - sure a nice compressor but a different thing really.

The things that MCDSP does that the softube never will

1) Zero latency
2) Almost zero cpu usage

Put it simply though, the versatility of the FET (imo) is far superior to the MCDSP. 
I would use the analogy of say, M class limiter vs Ozone - they do the same thing but one does it much better and more comprehensively (proper output ceiling with ISP control, megabit dither, smoother limiting, etc).

The biggest regret of RE purchases I have had this year (there have only been a couple regrets) was paying $119 for the mcdsp compressor combo as I honestly prefer their classic compressorbank and wish they had ported that.
So far the mootube and fairchild have been used once each, that's it.

The EQ's are very nice preset curves so more worthwhile IMO, and futzbox is a monster - great filter, SIMulation, distortion, crushing, gate and more.. and once again very cpu lean with every part having an on/off switch to save even more cpu. Very versatile as a mixing plugin as well as a special FX plugin, the futzbox is.. i kind of consider that one a like "OMG every reason user simply has to run to the shop and but this asap" plugin.

Anyway that' just my take but i guess it's well known amongst my friends here that i am not a huge fan of the comps.

Oh BTW, Colin indeed is an absolutely stellar, amazing guy. And caring of his customers.
A a company, i love to support them, so in that respect, paying the top price for the comps is not a big deal since i got such a score with futzbox and the EQ's so cheap on the ale
They got a bit of extra money from me but they are an indi dev and we need to support these devs and get them to spread the word that RE is a viable money making platform, to get other big indi devs on board  

[Rice]

EQ bundle is itching my fingers. Can anyone give me that final push to buy them?   Are they enough to finish a mix eq wise? 

Let me know when you're ready to make that purchase my friend, I've been on the fence about getting these (bundle)...we can push the buy button at the same time  :s0230:

[gak]

I'm glad you changed it. These are in a class of their own. I'm currently demoing the FET and though it's a nice comp (with all of it's own character) I haven't pulled the trigger because I'm not convinced I can't do exactly the same thing with these (and I do have some mixer/comp presets since they don't have parallel and I'm not a big fan for whatever reason of using a comp/100% wet in a send in reason....really not sure why)

But at 49 bones, it's a steal. I bought everything. I demoed the daylights out of them. The eq's are not as sexy. Love the moo, neutral on the 670, don't care much for the frg. But I figured why pay 29 just to have the moo when for 20 buck more I have all of them just in case (how's that for justification )

You can't really copy the FET with these, sorry to say. You may get closer with fancy combis that emulate some of the fet functions though.

Functions the FET has you can emulate with combis : wet/dry, and input gain, and detector frequencies (it's a broadband compressor but you can fine tune what frequencies actually trigger it), as well as using those 2 filters for the incoming sidechain and the sidechain level, and finally the output meter. (i'd really rather have it all in one plugin when I do need those features).

The reasons why you will never be able to get the mcdsp to emulate the FET sound no matter what is:
1) No  look ahead - the FET can be made to crush what the mcdsp misses, the look ahead simply makes it much more versatile with control on your transients and no unexpected POP surprises

2) No ALL in mode - 20:1 is not the same as the FET's insane all in mode.

3) The special analog signal path modelling Softube did with the FET, from a real 1176 they took every precise measurement of. The MCDSP is more of their "simple take" on it, an approximation - sure a nice compressor but a different thing really.

The things that MCDSP does that the softube never will

1) Zero latency
2) Almost zero cpu usage

Put it simply though, the versatility of the FET (imo) is far superior to the MCDSP. 
I would use the analogy of say, M class limiter vs Ozone - they do the same thing but one does it much better and more comprehensively (proper output ceiling with ISP control, megabit dither, smoother limiting, etc).

The biggest regret of RE purchases I have had this year (there have only been a couple regrets) was paying $119 for the mcdsp compressor combo as I honestly prefer their classic compressorbank and wish they had ported that.
So far the mootube and fairchild have been used once each, that's it.

The EQ's are very nice preset curves so more worthwhile IMO, and futzbox is a monster - great filter, SIMulation, distortion, crushing, gate and more.. and once again very cpu lean with every part having an on/off switch to save even more cpu. Very versatile as a mixing plugin as well as a special FX plugin, the futzbox is.. i kind of consider that one a like "OMG every reason user simply has to run to the shop and but this asap" plugin.

Anyway that' just my take but i guess it's well known amongst my friends here that i am not a huge fan of the comps.

Oh BTW, Colin indeed is an absolutely stellar, amazing guy. And caring of his customers.
A a company, i love to support them, so in that respect, paying the top price for the comps is not a big deal since i got such a score with futzbox and the EQ's so cheap on the ale
They got a bit of extra money from me but they are an indi dev and we need to support these devs and get them to spread the word that RE is a viable money making platform, to get other big indi devs on board  

Allow me to try and be clearer. What I meant was that with let's say "FRG" you can set up a little combinator where you can have the dry/wet that isn't currently available with mcdsp right now. Also, I have a little set up that has the mixer 14:2 with all three that can again be used with a dry/wet. 

I realize it's not going to be "the same" but I might be able to achieve the effect I'm looking for w/o the softube.....then again....... ... You know I'm going to buy it anyways 

[Wook]

EQ bundle is itching my fingers. Can anyone give me that final push to buy them?   Are they enough to finish a mix eq wise? 

Let me know when you're ready to make that purchase my friend, I've been on the fence about getting these (bundle)...we can push the buy button at the same time  :s0230:

:s0801:

Although I have the funds, I'm gonna wait for two more days until my May paycheck comes. Did you push the button already? 

[Fretless Fingers]

what was your initial rating and what is it now ?

My initial rating was 4 1/2 out of 5. Definitely not bad but in looking back I can clearly see where my complaint of extra cost was invested.

I'm glad you changed it. These are in a class of their own. I'm currently demoing the FET and though it's a nice comp (with all of it's own character) I haven't pulled the trigger because I'm not convinced I can't do exactly the same thing with these (and I do have some mixer/comp presets since they don't have parallel and I'm not a big fan for whatever reason of using a comp/100% wet in a send in reason....really not sure why))

The thing that make the FET 1176 sound different is the emulation of the transistor's. There is some subtle distortion that cant be recreated with the McDSP devices. Much more so when looking at the All buttons ratio and fast attack times which the character and sound is only available in a proper 1176 emulation. You can attempt to add in the missing features in a combinator (not hard to do with two Thors and the Melon Crossfader) and get a good deal of control but it will never sound the same as the very particular sound that the FET has

[alex]

The thing that make the FET 1176 sound different is the emulation of the tube's. There is some subtle distortion that cant be recreated with the McDSP devices. Much more so when looking at the All buttons ratio. This overdrives the tube emulation giving heavy distortion which is a sound only available in a proper 1176 emulation. You can attempt to add in the missing features in a combinator (not hard to do with two Thors and the Melon Crossfader) and get a good deal of control but it will never sound the same as the very particular sound that the FET has

Wait, I don't want to sound fussy, but I knew that FET/UREI 1176 has no tube at all, at least in the audio path. FET should stands for Field Effect Transistor and its widely recognized and well appreciated distortion/character, AFAIK, is due to really fast attack/release time (20 microseconds and up) and other non-linear behaviours related to circuitry design.

[Fretless Fingers]

The thing that make the FET 1176 sound different is the emulation of the tube's. There is some subtle distortion that cant be recreated with the McDSP devices. Much more so when looking at the All buttons ratio. This overdrives the tube emulation giving heavy distortion which is a sound only available in a proper 1176 emulation. You can attempt to add in the missing features in a combinator (not hard to do with two Thors and the Melon Crossfader) and get a good deal of control but it will never sound the same as the very particular sound that the FET has

Wait, I don't want to sound fussy, but I knew that FET/UREI 1176 has no tube at all, at least in the audio path. FET should stands for Field Effect Transistor and its widely recognized and well appreciated distortion/character, AFAIK, is due to really fast attack/release time (20 microseconds and up) and other non-linear behaviours related to circuitry design.

Your absolutely right. I don't know why I wrote tube, as I've looked into what it would take to do a build of one of these. I stand corrected