Most audible / least transparent compressor RE

[deigm]

What in your opinion is the most audible / least transparent compressor in Reason?

I'm trying to better learn how to hear compression.

I thought I'd had an 'ah ha' moment using the C501 compressor in ModularRE where i could clearly hear the effects of the attack knob. But on a different day with different source material I'm again hearing a vague difference at best.

I tend to follow the advise from the book Mixing With Your Mind and slam down the threshold and up the ratio to exaggerate the affect of the attack knob in order to better hear it. But it's still sometimes in "am i imagining that" territory and i end up going back and forth with the knob over and over again until I've lost all perspective.

So, are there any RE compressors you feel feel are particularly audible?

[deeplink]

Not to sure if it qualifies, but I think the SQUASH parameter on the Pulveriser has a lot of character / does some weird things.

[Enlightenspeed]

Not a RE but the original Reason compressor, the half-rack COMP-01, is pretty audible - give that a try

[motuscott]

A comp setting may have an audible effect on one source and do almost nothing to another source. Mixing w/ Your Mind is a good guide. Also check your make up gain after every tweak to A/B.

[deigm]

Not a RE but the original Reason compressor, the half-rack COMP-01, is pretty audible - give that a try

I've definitely overlooked this one. Thanks for the heads up!

[guitfnky]

you don't really need a specific compressor to learn how to hear compression--just crank the settings on any compressor and you'll hear what it's doing. it's also arguably the best approach because 1) you're not limiting your ear training to one or two color compressors, and 2) it's not going to cost you anything.

[zabukowski]

Check FXpansion DCAM chan and bus comp.

[selig]

To follow the Mixing with your Mind approach you need a compressor with the basic four parameters, which means you can’t just use ANY a compressor.
I would use a compressor that is the most generic you can find. I also feel using a compressor with extended ranges can be helpful, such as a wide range of attack/release times and the full range of ratios rather than steps.
With that in mind, I’d suggest starting with the MClass compressor - not because it’s the best sounding, but because it has all the basic controls and is easy to understand IMO. And I because it DOESN’T have a “sound”.
More importantly is the SOURCE you are sending into the compressor - I’d wager some of the problem you have had is using varying sources. some sources just don’t react as much to compression as others, such as sounds with little dynamic range such as an organ or simple synth preset.
In fact, when learning compression I’d stick to a limited set of test audio so you are well familiar with the material. I always start with the old College Drums for compression testing (Dr Octa REX preset). Drums are good for learning to hear time constants, especially when you loop one beat so the source isn’t constantly changing (important to do when learning/testing).
Make sense?

[dvdrtldg]

Check FXpansion DCAM chan and bus comp.

Definitely Chan Comp, that thing's a beast

Also Softube FET compressor, which is modelled on the same sort of hardware. Push to extreme settings and you'll really hear what it's doing

[huggermugger]

Except for distortion/saturation characteristics, no compressor is more "audible" than any other. It's the settings that make it audible. You've already noticed you can hear it with extreme settings. Get to know that sound. Then dial back the settings to make it more subtle, and get to know that sound. You'll reach a point where you can't really hear it anymore. That's when the meters are helpful - and that's why compressors usually have gain reduction meters - so you can see if something's happening even if you can't hear it.

Engineers sometimes say that if you can hear the compression, you're overdoing it. While this isn't always the case, it's sometimes the case.

[rootwheel]

What in your opinion is the most audible / least transparent compressor in Reason?

For stock, try the Pulveriser. Reset the device and then just use the squash knob to hear a really obvious kind of compression that smashes all transients.

For REs, there's Softube's FET which really has the power to alter the sound of a track with compression. There's also Softube's Valley People Dyna-Mite; this is a limiter, although that's still essentially a form of compression just with a fixed infinite ratio.

Hope that helps! Good luck

[nooomy]

What in your opinion is the most audible / least transparent compressor in Reason?

I'm trying to better learn how to hear compression.

I thought I'd had an 'ah ha' moment using the C501 compressor in ModularRE where i could clearly hear the effects of the attack knob. But on a different day with different source material I'm again hearing a vague difference at best.

I tend to follow the advise from the book Mixing With Your Mind and slam down the threshold and up the ratio to exaggerate the affect of the attack knob in order to better hear it. But it's still sometimes in "am i imagining that" territory and i end up going back and forth with the knob over and over again until I've lost all perspective.

So, are there any RE compressors you feel feel are particularly audible?

This video teaches you how to listen to a compressor. It totally changed my way of how I use compressors. Definitely the best compressor tutorial video I watched.
Use studio headphones when you watch it, to really understand and hear what he is doing.

My favourite compressors are the stock mclass because it is super transparent.

And the SSL master compressor because it is super fat!

If I want more character I use the tube-tech.

[deigm]

What in your opinion is the most audible / least transparent compressor in Reason?

I'm trying to better learn how to hear compression.

I thought I'd had an 'ah ha' moment using the C501 compressor in ModularRE where i could clearly hear the effects of the attack knob. But on a different day with different source material I'm again hearing a vague difference at best.

I tend to follow the advise from the book Mixing With Your Mind and slam down the threshold and up the ratio to exaggerate the affect of the attack knob in order to better hear it. But it's still sometimes in "am i imagining that" territory and i end up going back and forth with the knob over and over again until I've lost all perspective.

So, are there any RE compressors you feel feel are particularly audible?

This video teaches you how to listen to a compressor. It totally changed my way of how I use compressors. Definitely the best compressor tutorial video I watched.
Use studio headphones when you watch it, to really understand and hear what he is doing.

My favourite compressors are the stock mclass because it is super transparent.

And the SSL master compressor because it is super fat!

If I want more character I use the tube-tech.

Yes! That video is actually one of the things that led me to trying to up my compression game recently.
Part of the reason I made this post searching out audible compressors is because in that video the results of his tweaking are clearly audible, but when I try to recreate these results I find myself wondering if the attack or release knob are even doing anything. My conclusion was it must be the compressor but it could be the source, or me. That's more or less what I'm trying to get to the bottom of.

Lot's of people here are suggesting one-knob compressors. I appreciate all of the help but when I said 'compression' I was talking more about shaping the character of a sound with the attack and release knobs like this video demonstrates. I'm familiar with the difference between 'squashed' and 'not squashed'.

[deigm]

I’d wager some of the problem you have had is using varying sources. some sources just don’t react as much to compression as others, such as sounds with little dynamic range such as an organ or simple synth preset.
In fact, when learning compression I’d stick to a limited set of test audio so you are well familiar with the material. I always start with the old College Drums for compression testing (Dr Octa REX preset). Drums are good for learning to hear time constants, especially when you loop one beat so the source isn’t constantly changing (important to do when learning/testing).
Make sense?

This has proven to be good advice so far. Need transients for that attack knob to grab on to. I suppose the rest is down to practice. Thank you!

[nooomy]

This video teaches you how to listen to a compressor. It totally changed my way of how I use compressors. Definitely the best compressor tutorial video I watched.
Use studio headphones when you watch it, to really understand and hear what he is doing.

My favourite compressors are the stock mclass because it is super transparent.

And the SSL master compressor because it is super fat!

If I want more character I use the tube-tech.

Yes! That video is actually one of the things that led me to trying to up my compression game recently.
Part of the reason I made this post searching out audible compressors is because in that video the results of his tweaking are clearly audible, but when I try to recreate these results I find myself wondering if the attack or release knob are even doing anything. My conclusion was it must be the compressor but it could be the source, or me. That's more or less what I'm trying to get to the bottom of.

Lot's of people here are suggesting one-knob compressors. I appreciate all of the help but when I said 'compression' I was talking more about shaping the character of a sound with the attack and release knobs like this video demonstrates. I'm familiar with the difference between 'squashed' and 'not squashed'.

I can hear the things he is doing with the M-class and the SSL master compressor.
Try to crank up the gain reduction so it takes a bigger bite.

The only thing you get with a compressor with more character is similar to dirt and squash like the pulveriser.

If you want to use a two knob compressor you can use the Pulveriser Squash and release button.

Also use studio headphones helps some.

I also did a couple of compressor settings that you can try and hear the difference.
Listen to how the drums and the compressor grooves. It easiest to hear on the high hats and the snare tail.
Use Accustic drums Pwp01_College_130

Use the bypass button and flip in back and forth so you can hear the difference. It is important that you copy all the settings on the M-class.

A important thing alot of people miss Is to gain balance. You do not want the compressor to effect the peak level only the dynamics. So always compensate the added or lost gain so you get the same peak lvl as before you added the compressor and then flip the bypass back and forth to listen to how the compressor is effecting the dynamics.

[Djstarski]

I used to listen for compression . Then i decided to close my eyes and feel the effect more . That`s when i could really understand what compression was doing to the source material .