FabFilter Pro-C

So I finally - after more than a year of dithering - bought Pro-C. I'd downloaded the demo last year and liked it a lot, but couldn't bring myself to pay $200 for a compressor. After all, I already had 30 compressors in my toolkit, something for every occasion. Surely, I didn't need one more...but of course it turns out that I really did.

To borrow from Tolkien, this is the one compressor to rule them all. No need to have 30 of them anymore, because this one does everything. I could probably delete all of them now and wouldn't miss any of them. (Well, I'd still keep the Kjaerhus Classic Compressor just because nothing else is as CPU-friendly. But Pro-C ain't bad either.)

I had an extra $200 in gig money this weekend, so my plan was to buy the IKM White and The Glue. (One of the things I didn't have was a really good opto, and I was thinking The Glue might be good to put in front of Ozone.) But then I remembered Pro-C had been on my wishlist for a while and decided to give it a go. To my delight, I realized that it works well as both an opto-style vocal compressor and as 2-bus glue. Two birds, one stone.

Actually, it was more than just two birds. I put it on an acoustical guitar that was too "spikey" (if that made-up word conveys anything). It was a problem track I'd been experimenting with for weeks, one that had a lot of picked high notes. It was overly bright, thin and not enough body. I was able to use Pro-C's sidechain filter to trigger on only the most ear-piercing transients, while increasing sustain and getting a fuller tone overall. Yes, I have other compressors that can do that, but Pro-C made it surprisingly quick and easy to dial in just the right effect. And no bussing required.

I'm currently applying Pro-C to a project with lots of vocal tracks. I've got an instance on each individual track and one on the vocal bus. CPU usage is just slightly higher than it was with the Kjaerhus Classic Compressor that I'd originally used. 12 instances of Pro-C only added about 6% to the CPU meter. Yay.

The only application that didn't wow me was Pro-C on a drum bus. But I'm sure that's only because I'm not doing it right. Should have that solved by morning, I think.

Since I'm diving deep into this plugin with the intention of fully grokking its every nuance, I'd love to hear anyone else's experiences and tips with Pro-C.

Welcome to the wonderful world of FabFilter Bit, ol pal.  Where everything is...well...fab:-)

Yorolpal
I have just gone 64bit X1 and have started to reload software etc - some nasty shocks about what is supported and what's not and what are free upgrades etc.
Anyway, cut  a long story short, I am looking at rationalizing all my software and in fact do away with as many different types as possible and just use a few. I am going to post a new subject here in the next day or so re software / hardware that has recently been withdrawn / gone bust / disappeared (good examples NI Kore, TC Powercore etc etc) - I do think as users we should discuss this more.
Anyway one of the "new" suppliers I have looked at is Fabfilter - I've tried a friends copy of timeless and the filter which I thought were both really good.
So I am thinking of changing to them and getting the total bundle.
Any thoughts re the other products in the range? - also I don't suppose you want to recommend me do you? Apparently I get a 10% discount if you send me a tell-a-friend discount coupon  and as they say, every little bit helps!!
Thanks
Nigel

I have had my eyes on the Fabfilter Pro bundle for some time.  Been waiting for a sale or for some extra $$$ in my pocket.  The tutorial videos are the best and I have learned so much about the use of gates, compressiors, proper Eq, etc even though I do not own them.

Does Fabfilter ever have sales?

Cecelius2

Does Fabfilter ever have sales?

No, they don't. And they've been pretty adamant that they never will. However, they do give healthy discounts when you buy additional plugins, with the discount based on how many plugins you've already bought from them. yorolpal probably gets his for ten bucks apiece.

They also have a program wherein existing customers can get credits when they refer a new customer to FF. So if Doghouse Riley recommends you and you buy a product, then I guess his price drops from 10 bucks to -4 dollars and they start paying him to download plugins.

Also keep an eye out for short (15 days) summer sales (they don't announce it in advance). They did it this summer on the bundles.

Yup...sorry Bit...but they do have sales, though very infrequently, so keep an eye out for them as they don't last long at all.

Not to rain on the Fab Pro parade here (Because I do think they're among the best plugs out there)...

But they may have some serious competition from a new company:

http://www.dmgaudio.com/index.php

I'm demoing bundles from both developers, and quickly coming to the conclusion that I really couldn't go wrong with either.... which of course isn't helping my decision-making- LOL.

And no, I'm not affiliated with DMG Audio (Except that I may become a new customer soon).  
 

Gee, Bit - it's about time you got the Pro-C LOL.

As you know, I'm a HUGE fan of FabFilter products.  The only one I don't have is their Gate/Expander.   (I'm covered well enough in that area).

"Expert Mode" in Pro-C is incredibly useful, as I'm sure you've discovered.  There are so many uses ....  widening, limiting, compression (of course), bass management, centering, and much more.

One thing I've learned with Pro-C is to allow a moment (or three) for things to 'kick in.'   Making adjustments seems to take a moment to settle in, so to speak;; not a bad thing, just something I've noticed.

Pro-C and Pro-L are an unbelievable combo ...  transparent and solid indeed!

Billy, I am a FabFilter fan because of you! I'd definitely have Pro-L too if I could afford it, as well as the gate and the delay. Good stuff. I'm still waiting for them to make a multiband, which I'd probably sell a grandchild for.

Actually, Pro-C's advanced mode has already found an application in which a multiband had been previously employed, namely taming a low-frequency resonance in a vocal track. I think it would make an excellent de-esser, too.

bitflipper


Billy, I am a FabFilter fan because of you! I'd definitely have Pro-L too if I could afford it, as well as the gate and the delay. Good stuff. I'm still waiting for them to make a multiband, which I'd probably sell a grandchild for.

Actually, Pro-C's advanced mode has already found an application in which a multiband had been previously employed, namely taming a low-frequency resonance in a vocal track. I think it would make an excellent de-esser, too.

It's always my fault LOL ;)

But seriously -- the Pro-L is so transparent, I don't know how they accomplished it.  I have some other great mastering limiters (Xeon, Ozone, etc) but Pro-L just blows them away.

Hmm, it would be really sweet if FF did a Multiband!   I wonder why they haven't yet.
Darn, even I would sell your granchildren for that