OK, here is a comparison of several compressors all slammed pretty hard using the same settings on a drum loop (unquantized MIDI created by a professional drummer triggering the Superior Drummer2 NY Hit Factory samples). No, I did not try to match the levels, nor did I try to get the same amount of gain reduction because I wanted to demonstrate the differences in gain reduction and sound between them at the same levels. The release scales varied on some comps, so I did try to get them all to be in the same ballpark.

Settings:

Attack: very short (0.2-0.5 mS, depending on the minimum allowable value)
Threshold: -18dB
Ratio: 20:1
Release: moderate (~350)
Makeup: 0dB (i.e., none applied)

http://www.cryophonik.com/files/cry...ressor_test.wav

The first loop is the raw (uncompressed sample)

The remaining loops are processed by (not in this order):

Drawmer DL241
Waves Rennaissance Channel (compressor module only)
FabFilter Pro-C
Sonitus Compressor (bundled with Sonar X1)
Waves C-1
Waves SSL 4000G (compressor module only)
Sonar X1's Pro Channel track compressor

There are definitely differences. Which one's which? Raphie - I'm counting on you to ID the Drawmer - it's the only hardware compressor in the bunch.

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Last edited by cryophonik on Feb-10-2012 at 03:03

Thanks for doing that. I don't personally use acoustic drum sounds, but they definitely all sounded different to me. The attacks sounded different, the amount they sounded compressed sounded different and I think the release was the biggest difference.

I thought the best sounding ones were 1. the third one (third one after the first uncompressed one so fourth one out of all of them) and the 2. fifth one (i.e. the sixth one out of them all).

I have no idea which one is which though.

Last edited by jayxthekoolest on Feb-10-2012 at 04:14

quote:

Originally posted by jayxthekoolest I have no idea which one is which though.

If I didn't make it, I probably couldn't tell which one is which, either. That said, the character of the SSL 4000 really jumps out at me, so I'd probably guess that one right, and the Pro-C is one I use the most, so I might recognize it, but I wouldn't bet on it.

And, yeah, the release really makes a difference, particularly in the effect that it has on the overhead, far room, and ambience mics - some of them really get pulled forward, depending on the release. BTW, there is no reverb on these drums - you're just hearing the effect on those three mics.

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The qualitative differences between these is actually a little startling. Brilliant idea for a thread and well executed too, Cryo.

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quote:

Originally posted by Looney4Clooney and the Pulitzer for best short story / witticism goes to Cryophonic. I wish i could write. And Eddie just knocked it out of the park. Writing is so much cooler than music. Like , writing is the only art where doing meth is like not really a bad thing. He's a writer. Musicians are just frustrated writers that can't actually put into words what they want to say.

As a writer since the mid 90s, I feel just the opposite. Anyone whose well read, has a decent vocabulary and a little life experience, can assemble a workable string of words to evoke a given response. Some more than others. But to get that same response without actually 'saying' anything with words is genuine talent.

Not that I'm slagging my own profession. "Great" writing is an art form in itself. But I think that meaningful music is something far harder to create.

quote:

Originally posted by EddieZilker The qualitative differences between these is actually a little startling. Brilliant idea for a thread and well executed too, Cryo.

Thanks! I was actually a little shocked to hear them myself. If you download the wav and look at the waveforms in an audio editor, you may be even more surprised.

quote:

Originally posted by Normie As a writer since the mid 90s, I feel just the opposite. Anyone whose well read, has a decent vocabulary and a little life experience, can assemble a workable string of words to evoke a given response. Some more than others. But to get that same response without actually 'saying' anything with words is genuine talent. Not that I'm slagging my own profession. "Great" writing is an art form in itself. But I think that meaningful music is something far harder to create.

I do a LOT of writing for my job (probably 100+ of pages a week, on average), but it's all very technical scientific documentation, or proposal writing for bids. I've never been a very creative writer and lyrics are particularly difficult (impossible!) for me. I have a very hard time separating my technical mind from my creative mind when it comes to the written word, for some odd reason. Music is just the opposite - the creative part (writing melodies, etc.) comes pretty readily for me, but I don't enjoy the technical side nearly as much. Weird.

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quote:

Originally posted by cryophonik Thanks! I was actually a little shocked to hear them myself. If you download the wav and look at the waveforms in an audio editor, you may be even more surprised. I do a LOT of writing for my job (probably 100+ of pages a week, on average), but it's all very technical scientific documentation, or proposal writing for bids. I've never been a very creative writer and lyrics are particularly difficult (impossible!) for me. I have a very hard time separating my technical mind from my creative mind when it comes to the written word, for some odd reason. Music is just the opposite - the creative part (writing melodies, etc.) comes pretty readily for me, but I don't enjoy the technical side nearly as much. Weird.

At my 'peak' in the late 90s/early 2000s I did a pretty simmilar amount...but 'creative/technical'. Race reports, product reviews, land use articles etc. The easy part was having a lot of raw material to condense it from.

I was fortunate to be a co-writer on the book American Motorsports (did the off-road section). It's out of print now but Amazon has a few posted still. Then I did my newspaper/reporter stint till 2008ish.

Very different styles and some easier than others. But they can be learned. Now a pure fiction work or lyrics, That I'd have to work on since aside from a couple half-hearted attempts I've never really tried. But as a whole writing came easy to me. Music does not. Maybe that's why I think of it like I do. Yea, I got some awards and such so someone seemed to like what I wrote, and yea, I am 200% grateful for them. But There's not a lot there to stand the test of time. That kind of writing is soon forgotten. But a great song, like a truly great (and oh so rare) book is eternal.

Now at the risk of sounding like an ass kisser, having listened to the tunes you have on your site, I'd definitely call it art. Not in a Bach sense, but in an 'I like this, it moves me' sense. I am glad for having heard them.

And that's not even counting the harem

I can't write. I am pretty awesome at editing, but my prose is clunky and uninspired, and I could never come up with an interesting story or characters for fiction.

quote:

Originally posted by Normie Now at the risk of sounding like an ass kisser, having listened to the tunes you have on your site, I'd definitely call it art. Not in a Bach sense, but in an 'I like this, it moves me' sense. I am glad for having heard them. And that's not even counting the harem

Thanks....ass kisser.

And, keep your hands off my harem.

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Cryo, are you going to eventually post which one is which for that audiofile?

quote:

Originally posted by jayxthekoolest Cryo, are you going to eventually post which one is which for that audiofile?

Yup, after Raphie eats his words (or, more likely, comes up with some lame excuse after realizing how ignorant he sounds).

quote:

Originally posted by Raphie And my point was not that software can't beat hardware, one vanilla compressor is more than enough. definately on moderate settings, on more extreme settings all software plugins sound shite...

I posted extreme examples of a variety of software compressors ranging from bundled freebies to expensive Waves and FabFilter products, and one hardware unit that is widely used and considered a standard in the industry. Should be a no-brainer, right?

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so cryo, do you have an opinion of which ones sound best to you?