Slate FG-Grey vs Hardware 4k Bus Compressors

Which do you prefer?

  • 1

    Votes: 8 53.3%

  • 2

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 3

    Votes: 5 33.3%

  • 4

    Votes: 2 13.3%
  • Total voters
    15
  • Poll closed .
Damn. I haven't logged in for 2 days and the poll is already closed?

Well, now I'm a bit biased but I preferred 4. It's the most even, solid and strong for me. Possibly more compressed than the rest.

Then, number 1 was very good, too. I liked the drums snap, they sound 3d and cohesive.

Number 3 was a bit louder than the rest but I liked the decay of the drums.

Finally, number 2 is quite flat here and 2D even if it's the loudest of the batch and not so compressed to my ears.

Overall, I'm shocked at the difference with the previous shootout made by Sacha considering that the Dramastic Obsidian is considered the "best" of the SSL style buss compressors, including the actual SSL's.

Ermz, did you match volumes and GR in the VBC by ear or with the help of meters?
 
Ermz said:
While we wait for everyone to chime in, I'll say that I was impressed by the Prime. Even though it was just slapped on after the mix was built through another unit, it still brought the goods and presented the mix in a balanced way. Still bummed that I was too late to buy it, as it would've been a perfect complement to the outboard rack here. I enjoyed that it retained a sense of separation and high-end clarity over my unit, while still keeping the lows beefy.

I'm a bit hesitant to build another GSSL blindly, as I found out with the unit that Chris has (originally built for me). That unit just didn't work with my mixing style at all. I remember struggling with it for months before finally doing a swap back for my original. Chris of course took to the new one like wildfire and it complements what he does great. Likewise my unit has me back within my comfort zone. I do however need another, cleaner sounding SSL style 2-bus comp for mixing more technical material, and for mastering purposes, but doing another DIY build would just be tossing dice and hoping for the best.
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting again Ermz. I must +1 the Prime, really impressive compressor (oddly though, to me less SSLish sounding). Also I am very pleased that VBC was in my top picks, I have strongly believed in VBC from the get-go. It really is a remarkable plugin.
 
I'm surprised that I greatly preferred the VBC in Sacha's blind shootout and that I disliked VBC in your shootout Ermz. I want to stay ITB completely anyways and I think VBC sounds great.
 
This confirms what I heard in other shootouts and my own testing. While VBC (especially the new version of the grey comp) sounds quite good it just isn't quite in the same league as analog yet. The IK multimedia buss compressor sounded a bit closer in actual compressing behavior but it's eq curve is less sonically pleasing to me than the new Slate comps (and it seems to be much heavier on CPU in oversampling mode). Would be interested to hear VBC pitched against the Duende buss compressor.
 
mr.L. said:
This confirms what I heard in other shootouts and my own testing. While VBC (especially the new version of the grey comp) sounds quite good it just isn't quite in the same league as analog yet. The IK multimedia buss compressor sounded a bit closer in actual compressing behavior but it's eq curve is less sonically pleasing to me than the new Slate comps (and it seems to be much heavier on CPU in oversampling mode). Would be interested to hear VBC pitched against the Duende buss compressor.
Click to expand...

I've tested duende heavily against vbc and grey. Still preferring duende. Thanks for the test Ermz.
 
Just putting it out there that I've yet to try VBC for myself. For this test it was dialed in by Andrew, after I told him what the unit parameters on the original were. I matched the RMS values between clips as closely as possible. Please also bear in mind that the 3 hardware units compared were run through different converters, which would factor somewhat in the tonal difference.
 
Ermz said:
Just putting it out there that I've yet to try VBC for myself. For this test it was dialed in by Andrew, after I told him what the unit parameters on the original were. I matched the RMS values between clips as closely as possible. Please also bear in mind that the 3 hardware units compared were run through different converters, which would factor somewhat in the tonal difference.
Click to expand...

Yep, matching compressors is a PITA. Even more if they are matched by different people and different converters.

I would also like to hear those against the IK bus comp (quite good), Waves (a classic most of us know already) and my IGS S-type 500.
 
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