C165a VCA Compressor with sidechain

The compressor features an "auto" mode that manages time constants for an easy, smooth and effective compression.
The VCA compressor is great for immediate punch and smooth sustain, on percussive and sustained tracks and on full groups/mixes.
C165a is equipped with an internal (switchable) limiter which is very effective for increasing rms, controlling peaks and, when pushed hard, adding a nice saturation for creative effects.
C165a includes a "sidechain unit", which comprises sidechain filters (low, mid and high frequency ranges) and a sample-aligned mix knob for easy and precise parallel compression.
A three-led meter gives control on the unique extra-smooth compression knee, while an input/output/gain needle meter gives control on the resulting compression.

Looks like a nice versatile compressor, with all the essential bells 'n whistles for thirty bucks. Says it's "hardware modeled" but doesn't say what hardware was used as the model ("VCA" means it's probably not an LA2A, 1176 or 670).

Haven't tried it since there isn't a demo available. Assuming it's based on the dbx 160.

carl


Haven't tried it since there isn't a demo available. Assuming it's based on the dbx 160.

dbx 165a is the presumed hardware.  As for demos, Quinto's thing is that his stuff is so cheap that providing demo versions would not be cost effective.  Although I've heard that if you buy something and decide you don't like it, he'll give you a refund. 
 
My experience with his plugs is that they're very good at what they do, and they're tremendous bargains, but they're a little flakey in use.  I use StripBus a lot, and love what it does, but have found that it sometimes loses settings and occasionally will crash Sonar when, for example, copying an instance from track to track.  But I can live with the quirks -- StripBus does so much good that I can't take it off my mixes.  And what a deal: multiple console emus, versatile EQ, a cool ducking function, and five (so far -- you get free updates) nicely done compressors for thirty bucks.  Can't complain about that.
 
Cheers,
Eddie

I agree about the flakiness of his plugins. I have the GTS-39 comp and Roundtone. Roundtone I like and works pretty well. The GTS-39 does give crashes occasionally. I don't use much at all now mostly because I've gotten other "character" comps fairly recently I like better.

Jimbo21


I agree about the flakiness of his plugins. I have the GTS-39 comp and Roundtone. Roundtone I like and works pretty well. The GTS-39 does give crashes occasionally. I don't use much at all now mostly because I've gotten other "character" comps fairly recently I like better.

Would be interested to hear what character comps you like better ... thanks!
 
One other thing about the Sknote plugins is that the GUIs are pretty bad, at least on the ones I've tried.  There is a learning curve involved with most of his stuff, which a more intuitive interface would help with.  But for a small operation, Quinto & co. seem to be doing pretty well.  If his plugins' functionality and pricing could be combined with, say, FabFilter's GUIs and stability, that would be fantastic ... one can dream.  :-)
 
Cheers,
Eddie
 

I got the CLA compressors a couple of months ago. The LA2A and LA3A are really nice. I've been using the CLA76 or the Softube FET comp followed by either the 2A or 3A on vocals lately with just a little bit of gain reduction on each. I also just got the NI VC160 and so far in limited use it hasn't knocked my socks off, but it could be my own lack of expertise, though I do like smashing the heck out of a bass track with it and using the mix knob for parallel compression. ................ I do like Roundtone and almost sprung for Stripbus, but got the Slate VCC and didn't look back.

Good choice on those CLA compressors.  I like them, although I preferred NI's versions by a small margin for their smooth sound.  Just a matter of taste.
 
Speaking of the CLA comps, there's a crazy price for that bundle at plugindiscounts.com right now.  I don't want to post it because it seems too good to be true, but check it for yourself -- just enter the password "mvp" to see the current sale prices.
 
Cheers,
Eddie
 

in case you missed that , here's my first contact with the beast ;)

http://www.youtube.com/wa...jR3FY&feature=plcp