One of the interesting features of the plugin is its ability to treat the left and right channels either as a stereo pair or independently. This audio example shows how the compressor has brought out the low end of this drum and sub groove, hugely increasing punch without sacrificing detail: The ‘flood’ (brick wall/limiting) ratio setting in the discrete stage will even happily smash the living daylights out of your signal if you ask it to. It’s just as capable of taming peaks as it is gluing elements of a mix or increasing overall loudness. The combination of the optical and discrete stages also makes the plugin extremely versatile. Attack time is fixed and release time is programme-dependent ( according to Shadow Hills, “80% is recovered quickly, while the last 20% takes over a second, depending on the amount of attenuation applied”). The discrete section offers the standard threshold, ratio, attack, release and make-up gain controls. The optical stage takes the tried and tested LA-2A approach to user controls, offering nothing more than a threshold control and a make-up gain setting. The dual compression stages allow huge flexibility in terms of dialling in musically appropriate settings of gain reduction, attack and recovery (release). One particular highlight is its ability to treat a drum bus. Further use reveals its ability to process a wide range of signals. Masters of the universeĭon’t let the presence of the word ‘mastering’ plastered across the front of this plugin fool you into thinking it’s a one-trick pony. On that front, it would have been nice to see an adjustable mix setting to allow parallel processing without the need for any further routing in the DAW. The combination of a relatively subtle optical compression circuit routed in series with a more aggressive discrete (VCA) stage allows for a range of effects, from light dynamic control through to aggressive compression more suited to parallel compression techniques. That’s perhaps needless to say given Universal Audio’s track record, but for those who aren’t familiar with the sound of the original, what does the plugin offer? To cut straight to the chase, the emulation works like a dream for stereo mix bus treatment or light cosmetic touches to the final master. The Shadow Hills unit is widely considered one of the finest mastering compressors available. In developing the plugin, UA joined forces with Shadow Hills’ Peter Reardon and occasional collaborators Brainworx (who dipped their toes into the water of circuit modelling just over a year ago with their emulation of Vertigo Sound‘s VSC-2 compressor). Shadow Hills Industries’ highly coveted – and equally highly priced – Shado Hills Mastering Compressor is the latest addition to the long list of classic studio hardware offered in software form by Universal Audio. Is this circuit-modelled plugin only fit for mastering? We put it to the test. Another excruciatingly expensive hardware compressor gets the Universal Audio emulation treatment.
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