Greetings, my name is Ian Vargo and I’m here at the Art Institute of California, Inland
Empire. And for today’s tutorial for The Pro Audio Files I’m going to be comparing
the master buss compressor on the SSL Duality to the Waves plugin version of that compressor.
Firstly, let’s learn a little bit more about the master buss compressor.
On the hardware version of the compressor we have control over the threshold, attack
with a range of .1 milliseconds up to 30 milliseconds, ratio, make-up gain and release with a range
of .1 seconds up to 1.2. And some sidechain and surround options.
So here we see in Pro Tools, I’ve got an uncompressed version of this song which is
Black Widow by Ugly, Ugly Words — Make sure to check it out on iTunes. And then various
printed versions of the analog compressed song. Ok, so let’s take a listen to the
version with no compression whatsoever.
[song without compression]
So, it’s sort of a loud rock and roll tune with a lot of screaming and electric guitars.
And of course the SSL compressor like many other compressors will behave very differently
depending on the source material. So now let’s take a listen, these are all the different
analog printed versions right here. And I took note of the settings as I printed them,
ok. So, first let’s take a listen, we’ve got with a 10ms attack time with an auto-release.
[song + compression: fast attack (10ms), auto-release]
Generally, I like to keep slow attack times, especially on the master buss and the auto-release
does a really good job on both the analog and digital versions of the compressor. I
try to keep the threshold set in such a way that I’m only compressing between 1 to 2
maybe 3 dB at most. Because as you will hear, once you start compressing more, you really
compromise the transient of the kick and snare drum and it really brings up the room of the
drums and the vocals and other instruments in a way that is not always pleasing. Ok,
so now let’s take a listen to version 30ms attack time with auto release.
[music + compression: fast attack (30ms), auto release]
So very similar to the other version that I played and really not that much different
than the version without much compression. I sort of just like using the SSL compressor
for subtle color and gluing instruments together. Now we’ve got a very fast attack and slow
release, so what you’re doing to hear is the kick and snare drum really being compromised.
[song + SSL buss compression: fast attack, slow release]
It does however do a cool thing to the electric guitars, so what you could do is just send
your electric guitars and bass and maybe vocals through the SSL compressor and leave the drums
out. K, let’s check out now fast attack, slow release.
[song + buss compression: fast attack, slow release]
It does sort of get rid of the transients but brings up the rooms in sort of a cool
way. Here we have totally slammed, fastest attack, fastest release.
[SSL buss compressor with fastest attack, fastest release]
So while it does give a sort of explosive quality to everything, let’s take a listen
again to the uncompressed version and you’ll hear, we sort of miss out on the kick and
snare drum.
[uncompressed vs compressed versions]
And something that I often use is a setting sort of with a very slow attack and fastest
release if not auto. And once again only about 1 to 3 dB of compression. Ok, so now let’s
take a listen to the digital version and we’re going to open up this plugin right here. There
are some differences between the hardware and software versions. Different ratio, release,
and attack settings and this special fade out feature. So let’s take a listen, I’m
just gonna poke around here.
[music + Waves SSL G Master Buss Compressor]
That would be a pretty safe setting for me, I might even use a slower attack time, let’s
try auto-release.
[music + Waves SSL Compressor w/ auto-release]
Sort of lifts everything, brings everything forward and adds a little bit more intensity.
Let’s change the threshold here.
[song + Waves SSL Buss Compressor]
And turn up the make-up gain. If we wanna really go overboard let’s go with a fast
attack. And as you can hear the kick and snare drum are almost totally lost. Let’s try
the fastest release and a little less make-up gain. And try the different ratios.
So overall, if I were to compare the analog and digital versions of the master buss compressor,
I would say definitely you get a cooler vibe out of the analog version, perhaps, you know,
you don’t need to recall when using the digital version, but truthfully if I had the
amount of money — the several thousands of dollars it costs to purchase the analog
version — I would probably just go with other collections of plugins or other outboard
gear. But it does have a cool gluey sound, it brings everything together and makes a
more cohesive mix. But overall, I would not say it’s one of my top go-to compressors.
Thank you for taking the time to check out this tutorial for The Pro Audio Files. Make
sure to check out Ugly, Ugly Words on iTunes. And we have open houses here at the Art Institute
of California, Inland Empire if you’d like to know more about audio production and the
SSL Duality. Once again this has been Ian Vargo. Thanks!