MJUC MK1 and CLA76 Bluey
Because colors!

 

Logic Pro X "Silver Compressor" ¡

 

I use CLA-2A or Renaissance compressor on vocals. I like the sound

 

Waves Renaissance Vox and Renaissance Compressor Opto Mode

 

Anyone here using BlockFish?

 

klanghelm mjuc, IK white 2a, NI VC2A, Vertigo VSC-2 - simply these are the best vocal comps non uad

most cpu friendly : vertigo

 

LA-2A emulations are my go to when it comes to vocals

 

Which is the best one or every one of them brings something different when you use many?

 

I use OPTO for the mic and FET for the bus

 

Hardware, plugins, what models?

 

I am saving for a Warm Audio WA76. I feel it a good idea to mellow peaks of the source before it hits the converters of the sound card. Everything I have heard said about it has been very positive, it sounding incredible from the clips I have heard and hitting way way above it's price point of approximately 599 dollars, a little bit more in francs here in der Schweiz. If I don't go on vacation in October it is a definate possibility.

 

Kush UBK-1 for me.

all the other suggestions are just as worthy though.

 

Lindell 1176

 

depends on what im looking for. all vocals tracked at my studio go through my 1176 and or distressor. in the mix i ask myself if i need additional compression and if im going to use hardware of software to achieve the sound i want. some plugins can give me the sound but no la2a plug sounds like my real sta-level.. but i really haven't found a plugin to come close to my dangerous compressor which i use a lot for all different sources.
the sta level adds a thicker tone to all vocals and keeps the vocal in a pocket. im a true beliver in using your ears rather than looking at the gain reduction. sta level, la2a, cl1b ive many times had 10 db of reduction that sounds great.. i careless about looking at the meter vs hearing the record.

 

by far my favorite combo,

Cla 1176 from waves and la2a from cakewalk is a golden combo....

cla 2a from waves is a very bad representation and fore-fills no use...

below is how I set up most brainstorming party's with a dynamic mic, or as a starting point when mixing.
This even sounds quite satisfying when mixing with no outside gear!

On every seperate channel:
first a auto tune ( if you into that )
Cla 1176 mono-> preset in your face vocal......

On the group:
Waves H-Delay Stereo -> Rap modulation (Dial down the mix button in your DAW until it satisfies)
Cakewalk ca2a -> double click gain.... (this will work as a ducker for the delay)
and then maybe a light zero latency re-verb of choice ( I like breverb, beeing ' lightweight' )

 

Last edited: Oct 25, 2015

By the way as an update, got the WA76 from Warm Audio and it sounds pretty awesome. I was a tad disappointed in the build quality as the knobs are as cheap seeming as cheap can be and were all wobbly and askew upon first inspection after unboxing as well as the ratio buttons feeling overtly hollow and flimsy. It has been 0-2 on the build quality with Warm Audio as the Tonebeast I first bought had a bad opamp that was quicky replaced by Brice (cannot fault his speedy and personalized treatment), the man behind the products. Also one screw holding the preamp together will not screw back in since I opened it while replacing that opamp. They both have stellar sound quality though, but since their price-points are so inecpensive I guess this is just the way it needs to be. As soon as I can find new knobs to my liking, more sturdy in the fingers with some weight behind them for this great sounding 1176 clone, I will be a much happier camper.

 

i considered buying one but i'll probably get another distressor for a stereo pair that i can use on the mixbuss and other things but i wondered how the build quality was. i own a purple audio mc77 and a 6176 for my 2 hardware 1176s, neither sound alike.
i want to test the Warm audio EQP-WA b/c i need a hardware pultec..i have tons of pultec plugs but nothing like having the hardware imo...tone, character, harmonics, saturation just doesnt compare

 

@Hybridstudios...Yea, get the other Distressor for your mixbuss, that's what I would do. The WA76 sounds totally awesome but I literally feel the build to be flimsy and not going to go head to head in the physical longevity department with the Purple or the Distressor. Inside the box it is tidy and tight, and the sounds that I can coax out of it stellar to my ears.

 

Hybridstudios
i want to test the Warm audio EQP-WA b/c i need a hardware pultec..i have tons of pultec plugs but nothing like having the hardware imo...tone, character, harmonics, saturation just doesnt compare
The ChannelX bundle (VST/AU/RTAS/AAX)
comprises the 6X-500 preamp and filter plugin, the 7X-500 FET compressor plugin and the PEX- 500 passive EQ plugin, plus a fourth plugin - ChannelX - that combines all three in one 'rack' with an adjustable signal chain.
Channel X package comprises three: a mic preamp, a passive EQ and a compressor
inspired' by the Pultec EQP-1A and Urei 1176
Have you tried them ?
I finaly know what they mean with the analog feel....
Do not have dough for Hardware.....
Lindell Audio changes everything for me....

 

yea ive tried them, damn good plugins. my nebula plugins sound better imo but the channel x doesnt come close to a real pultec. now it actually may compare to the warm audio unit but a real unit like the pulse technologies units.. none of the plugins come close, especially the mastering editions.. my mastering engineers has the eqm-1s3 and meqm-5.. small adjustments make huge differences. especially on the lowend. 1-1.5 db is equal to like 6 with 2db cut on the waves puig.

as much as i love plugins for easy recall and 80% of the sound when it comes to the hardware units theyre meant to emulate they lack just a bit when use to the hardware. like a CL1B.. the uad version has the attack and sound of the compressor but doesnt have the harmonic or tonality the unit has just having audio pass through it.. no compression at all simply in the chain its adds a tonality and nuances that the plugin doesnt do.. i can make the compressor sound the same but doesnt feel the same and doesnt fit in the mix the same way..
thats why i love my dangerous compressor so much.. i feel like its the rcomp of hardware compression.. i can make it sound great on any source