Round of applause for this

 

Though should I really add them, do we have actual users of them? I'm not sure if that just clutters the Polls (like I have witnessed with other polls).
Purafied maybe since it got recently cracked but idk about the rest.

mpressor is a VCA comp afaik. Let's keep it to FET topology for now.

Added DAW Stock plugin emulation.

.... Which is one of the reasons why I made this thread, you can get a community based overview on which 76 comps are good without having to get Spark or UAD hardware.
I knew UAD was the winner in terms of being close to the source when I made this.

No, I would actually say that this is the opposite of clickbait because it gives you an insight about other engineers workflows.
It's needless to say that none of these comps will pass a nulltest with another model, and those differences will often times probably be drastic.
So look at the Waves CLA-76 for example, it's in my ears not the best, not even in the top 50% of 76 emulations yet a lot of users here use it. Why? Because it's already good enough that it doesn't make that much of a difference.

How is that clickbait? If you use your head you can gain a lot of information by reading the poll results.

 

Last edited: Jan 1, 2023

I gotta admit, I'm surprised TrackComp doesn't get more votes. I wonder if it has to do with the not-hardware-looking GUI.

 

I voted for TrackComp, TimP is actually better sounding but the DMG plugin is just extremely versatile and very easy to set up in contrast to said acustica library.
I don't think that it would've been more popular with a GUI like Presswerk, it's the compressor plugin market that is oversaturated, and I'm fairly sure that virtually all of the listed plugins doesn't sound like shit or have any gamebreaking flaws.
It's just an overlooked very convenient compressor indeed, and it's in my default track template.

 

Last edited: Jan 3, 2023

I particularly like the Zener mode on the TrackComp. I think it sounded really good, more controls with a little more clarity than the Softube Zener Limiter. I rather use the (not so) clean TrackComp and add saturation plugin, fine tune it rather than use the Softube version that has its saturation/distortion built in. The Softube version tends to muddy up the sound and it clouds the sound a bit especially on crowded program material, atleast that's what I feel.

I never used the 1176 mode inside TrackComp. Not sure why, I remember I've tested and nothing is wrong with both of the mode, but didn't get a "feeling" of using a 1176 with it for some weird reason. Overloud GEM 76 was my long time favourite for the Harmonics control alone, where you can control the amount of smack you want from it and it comes in handy when mixing and speed up my work. Dual controls for Input and Output also really useful for gain staging. It has no real weakness.

 

For track I use T-RackS Black 76 or Waves CLA-76 but for mastering : Shadow Hill from Alliance

 

Last edited: Jan 2, 2023

TimP was my favourite for a long time, but it can be a little hard to dial in sometimes because it's so sensitive to even the slightest moves, and level matching isn't a seamless process. When you get it right it sounds awesome though. I remember when i first started using it i had a huge grin on my face thinking i'd found my secret weapon. It is a particular sound though, more "pumpy" and "grabby" than most 1176 emulations.

I haven't used UAD myself, but from the comparisons/shootouts i've heard on youtube it sounds the best to me. Phat n juicy without being overly obvious about it.

IK Multimedia, Arturia and Overloud have gotten use from me over the years too when i've wanted something quicker and easier than the TimP 76. They sound good/adequate but they're not quite there. The IK Multimedia one is probably my favourite of that bunch, followed by Overloud and then Arturia.

Honestly still trying to find my go-to 1176 in plugin world, still trying to find something as good as UAD. I've tried just about everything in the poll except for the Black Roster one, maybe i should give that one a shot.

Hopefully Tone Empire gives an 1176 a crack. I reckon they'd nail it

Shadow Hill is an opto comp

 

an a VCA too, it's two compressors with different topology stacked in series. 1176 is FET, it's entirely different animal.

I wish they will make a REV A, the blue one for a long time. Arturia too. The one now is the LN REV E/D version, never quite like it for vocals because it is too clean in a way, even though the black works well with percussive elements, the blue one with all the artifacts and noises just awesome for vocals, it enhanced the natural ambient of any recordings. I can't think of exact word for it, the closest I could think of is "radiant", it makes vocals glowing in a way. Plus the blue one is known for smacking harder.

T-Racks Black 76 is a step better sounding than the CLA Black version IMO. It depends one the usage I think, what people really want from the compressor. These days there are like thousands of processing options. Compressors used to be all-in-one magic box back in the days where you could manipulate it to do a lot of things instead of just compressing.

 

very very under rated set of plugins, along with the EQ series, I find them one of the best set of plugins

 

I just discovered the Sknote F76 and i REALLY like what it's doing to the drums in this video:

 

Presonus Fat Channel. Purely because of the fact that it uses 0% CPU, is zero latency, included with the DAW (and thus compatible with all collaborators who have Studio One, without forcing them to buy Waves/whatever), and with integrated mini view in the mixer. Honestly, everything sounds good these days so you might as well pick the one that's most easy to work with and convenient.

 

Sknote make great bit of kit will check this one out

 

WavDSP is absolutely horrible. Worse than Waves

 

Only ones I've worked with in the list are waves which I used to use as a quick go-to for vocals, Tim Petherick's and UAD's.

I really like the results I get out of Tim's 76, nebula's processing as a whole just seems to put a "different" kind of feel to whatever I use it on. Never used analog gear before but based off the research I've done and how this shit dogs my CPU, I imagine that's what I'm hearing as the difference. Could be placebo though.

Tried UAD's recently after hopping on the Spark train and it's definitely my favorite out of them. Extremely clean and I like how it handles the frequency range. Not too savvy in regard to terminology but it seems to handle the transients (especially in the low end) better than any others such that it makes them sound pillowy in comparison. It could be just that I'm able to dial in better results quicker, I don't really A/B vsts like I probably should. I used to only use an 1176 on vocals before but I'm using it on drums as well now, getting a much better grasp as to the intricacies of what this thing is doing besides just compressing. I currently use it to help glue and pull everything together at the end of my signal chain on my microphone for discord/games/stream. For those curious, it's after gullfoss but before tr5 sunset reverb which is just for subtle presence and then finish off with invisible limiter. Got my AT2020 sounding like an SM7B, shout out Waves Clarity Vx Pro.

Mind you I have at least 80% of this list as a plugin whore, just haven't taken the time to experiment with them all yet. I'm just now starting to reach that phase where I'm learning what an 1176 even is and all these other hardware units. What's the difference between dbx120 and an 1176? Idk but they sound good as hell in different ways lol.

 

I have been using the IK Multimedia Black 76 for years now and I really don't see the need of switching up anytime soon. The Black 76 does exactly what I need it to do every single time and its a permanent part of my work flow. I have tried many other 1176 plugins and I always come back to the Black 76

 

Which one are these?

 

same reason i now only use plugins from the 90s

 

I'm a big nebula/Petherick fan. imo check out his varilevel or summit for vocals, and his ssl for glue on the bus.

ooh- also, if youre dumb like me and rendering everything cause it's nebula.... if I understand correctly because nebula has a mono/center env follower which is what it reads to apply the dynamic harmonics basically you're getting extra distortion when you feed a stereo sound in. I don't want to write a novel out like I normally do, but from what I can tell after experimenting/researching is that duplicating chains and running them dual mono is more accurate to the hardware sound. I can expand on this if needed, but give it a try.

 

Last edited: Jan 3, 2023