MeldaProduction

MeldaProduction
MTurboComp €199
On the surface, you get the usual Threshold, Ratio
and detector EQ controls. Measuring their values as
percentages is a strange choice, but this is easy to
overlook once you see what’s lurking beneath ‘easy
mode’: a panoply of controls for what is probably the
ultimate in compression customisation in this round-up.
With an astounding
four envelope followers and another
four processors to match, plus post-compression EQ and
Saturation, this is a dynamics processor that hears the
phrase ‘less is more’ and punches it into the ionosphere.
For example, not content with simply offering Attack,
Release Minimum and Maximum, Peak Hold, RMS
Length, Delay and assorted other controls for each
of those four detectors, each also offers a further
‘Settings’ window, featuring custom-drawn Attack and
Release Shapes (editors open in yet another window),
Psychoacoustic Prefiltering, Spectral Smoothing… the
list goes on! If you’re a super-dooper compression nerd
par excellence, this
could be enough for you. And if it’s
all a bit too much, you’ve still got the Easy Mode to fall
back on.
meldaproduction.com
VERDICT 8.9
Pro-C 2 doesn’t quite take it as
overboard as the other compressors
in this round-up, remaining focused
and restrained in its implementation
of compression. The options it does
give you, though, are all stunningly
easy to use, immediately available
and intuitive. Other than that, the
best thing about this one is probably
its waveform visualiser, running by
alongside the knee so you can
immediately see how your changes
are affecting the compression.
fabfilter.com
VERDICT 9.0
DMGAudio Compassion
£150
Starting off in a similar way to your
average compressor, Compassion
offers Threshold, Ratio, Attack and
Release dials. The first sign that the
plugin goes above and beyond is the
negative ratio settings, which bring
the signal down further than the set
threshold. Expand the interface,
though, and you’ll find the advanced
controls in a fold-out panel. Features
like auto release behaviour,
hysteresis, ceiling and expansion
controls are here, giving access to a
world of microtweaks to get your
compression in any shape you can
conceive. The result is an eminently
customisable plugin, although the
interface isn’t as immediate as it
could be, resorting to menus and
separate views too often.
Compassion’s Mods button is an
interesting touch. Mods save and
load similarly to presets, but they
only change certain parameters
within the plugin, letting you try out,
say, an Opto or FET compressor type,
settings prepared specifically for
vocals or bass, or different noise
floors, mid/side configurations and
expansion types. With your other
settings retained, loading a mod
instead of a preset is a good way to
manage the web of settings in the
plugin as a whole.
dmgaudio.com
VERDICT 8.6
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Super-compressors | Roundup
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FMU342.rev_roundup.indd 97 2/20/19 3:56 PM