SSL G Bus Compressor Shootout 2023 (Hardware vs Plugins)
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- Опубликовано: 4 июл 2024
- 🔥 Do SSL G Bus Compressor plugins sound as good or better than THE BUS+?! In this video, we compare 16 of the best SSL G Bus Compressor plugin emulations to my SSL G Bus Compressor hardware! Includes the new Softube Buss Processor along with all your other favorites from Waves, UAD, SSL, Acustica Audio, Cytomic, DMG Audio and more!
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SSL G Bus Compressor Plugins compared:
Timecodes
0:00 - Intro
0:41 - Test details
1:37 - Southern Sunrise by The Latest - THE BUS+ Bypassed
1:47 - Solid State Logic THE BUS+ Analog Hardware
1:55 - SSL Native Bus Compressor
2:12 - Overloud GEM Comp G
2:29 - UAD SSL G Bus Compressor
2:45 - IK Multimedia TR5 Bus Compressor
3:02 - Waves SSL G-Master Buss Compressor
3:19 - Slate Digital VBC FG-Grey
3:35 - MCDSP Channel G
3:52 - DMG Audio TrackComp2
4:09 - PSP BussPressor
4:26 - Softube Buss Processor
4:42 - Native Instruments Solid Bus Comp
4:59 - Cytomic The Glue
5:16 - Nomad Factory AS - Bus Comp
5:32 - Ableton Glue Compressor - Free in Ableton Live
5:49 - Analog Obsession's BUSTERse - Free
6:06 - Acustica Audio SAND3 COMP
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Finally someone who knows what he's doing and takes the time to properly compare stuff
@JohnSk82 I appreciate that! ✌🏼
This is probably the best bus compression shootout on RUclips. Thank you so very much!
Probably? It's hands down the best, most comprehensive, most professionally done out there.
@arthur.monticelli and @petercrowe2560 thanks so much guys!
Love the way you set this up with continues flow makes it so good to hear the difference! The Bus + won every time, it's just more viby and gluey. Considering getting one actually
@simmermusic3894 Yeah man! That's one of the reasons I started this channel. When I was getting into analog gear and watching RUclips videos on gear, everyone would always play the songs straight through switching back and forth. But the problem for me was, I couldn't tell the differences when it was going from one section of the song to the next. So I just started buying the gear and doing my own tests looping one section. I find it to be the best way to truly hear the differences so, it's kind of my thing. 🙂 Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave a comment. I really appreciate it. Glad it helped! That's what I'm here for. ✌🏼❤️
*Super test, without unnecessary bla bla .. very effective .... thank you very much for your effort and please keep this style ... subscribed :-)* ..... by the way , a number 1 hit can easily be achieved with all the pluings presented here ... other factors are much more important ...
@uniquetune0101 Thank you for watching and for the kind words. I really appreciate it. And I agree 💯 regarding achieving a number one with plugins only. 100%! But for us audio guys who are curious and may not have access to expensive hardware, it sure is nice to hear what the analog equipment sounds like in comparison isn't it?! That's one of the main reasons I make these videos.
Thanks for the follow-up SSL Bus comparison video, good job!
@danielkisel5661 You're welcome! Thank you!
I like your comparison videos, straight to the point, thanks !
@carlosp.1846 You're welcome! Thank you very much for watching and for your message. I appreciate that!
Awesome shootout!
I want the hardware.
And the chorus in the test is super!!
Woooooow.... Sooooo great job done... thank you good man for your time showing and comparing beauty of Buss+ to the plugins. My plugin win is Softube one, very snappy and transients friendly, also DMG was very good with groove and transients. Huge work done! 👏👏👏👍👍👍
@maxborosiuk3570 Thank you so much for watching and for your kind words. I appreciate that! Yes. The new Softube Bus Processor is excellent and DMG had alway been one of the best. Two great picks that you can always rely on for any genre. Thanks again! See you out there!
Great video. Nice way to get a feel for the various plug-ins. What would be interesting is to do proper ABX testing - pretty sure it would be quite hard for many to consistenly pick out any of the variations, including the hardware.
Great video!!
@losangelescountyprocessserver thank you!
Sir, you got a new subscriber! I got my hands on some UAD plugins, and so far I'm testing with what I've got from Waves, T Racks, Arturia, and so on. So far so good, UAD plugins are top-notch for me. I hope to see more videos like this. And yes, I'm looking to get my hands on UAD SSL Bus Comp too.
Sir maybe it's too late, but UAD's SSL version is weird. It does weird stuff to the low-end.
Well, not it depends what you want exactly. I even delete my Arturia account. Form some, are perfects. Different tastes. Anyway, I will test demo if it will be needed.
@@RaducuGabriel-dl1hj I have a Spark subscription & enjoy other UAD comps a lot, but they just missed it with the SSL Bus IMO.
very amazing how uad, Acustica, and TR5 perform very close to the hardware, it's a very good video, thank you!
i have downloaded the files, did a nulltest and added the delta signal to the files with the ssl bus+, the results are pretty amazing. softube and dmg performed nearly identical to the hardware, with a 0.1db lufs difference, this is not audible. sand had 0.3db lufs, which still is pretty good. waves suprised me the most, 0.2dblufs. the uad was 0.2db lufs as well. the native strip had 0.5db lufs difference, though is sounds different to the hardware (i dont think it sounds worse though, just different). the other comps i didnt measure. cant argue against numbers. uad, dmg and softube are pretty much the hardware with that settings. waves, slate and sand are still close enough.
thanks for that shootout. the levels are perfectly matched. i wish other "youtubers" would do tests as good as this one!
I want to point out, that those results are only valid with the settings used. It might be very different with shorter attack und release times, harder compression and so on.
@azamat19 Thanks for watching and for taking the extra time and effort to further compare! Those results are interesting. For me, it just confirms my theory and philosophy. If I'm not around my analog hardware, I have zero problem using plugins. But if I'm home, and since I already own the hardware, I'm always going to use it. For me, it's like using an Edison bulb vs an LED bulb. I can get an LED bulb that can put out the same amount of light and color temperature as a traditional light bulb, but will it be the same? On paper, yes. But the experience will be different. In either case, the use of a plugin or hardware isn't going to make or break a hit song. For people coming up as recording artists or mixing engineers, I think that's the most important thing to understand and accept as truth.
Softube sounds so great, nice test !
@rafaelpanoramikud9328 It's good one! Thanks for watching! ✌🏼
Thanx for your work man!!! Hardware sounds very good but Acustica & Softube are so good, then FG Grey. You made me consider to buy SAND3 but need to dig deeper with softube bus processor before. Already love it.
@ok-fd7gq you're welcome! Thanks for watching and for your comment. And yes, the Softube Buss Processor is excellent and can be dialed in to match the hardware more closely by playing with the Saturation knob.
@@LesVegasMusic would you suggest to get sand as well? It’s on sale now. I have softube’s comp.
@ok-fd7gq I don't know man. I feel like you'd just be doubling up on something you already have. Plus, I find the AA stuff to be so CPU intensive that I end up not using it. Maybe save the cash and put it towards something completely new and different? Something that will really help level up your overall mixes and masters like a good mastering EQ, stereo width plugin like DrMS, or high quality reverb like Seventh Heaven Professional or TC Electronic VSS4 HD Native. The God Particle by Jaycen Joshua is on sale for $79. Slap that sucker on your mix bus and watch everything go through the roof! 🤯
@@LesVegasMusic yeah i have it. Love it. But always want to add some salt and pepper to it
Great video, thanks. This is how to do a shootout.
@teddym2808 Thanks man! I appreciate that!
thank you very Much, Many thanks
@AlaaFahmyofficial You're very welcome! Thank you for watching and for your message. Please stay in touch!
For me the Softube was closest to the hardware and once you use the saturation on the softube it probably gets even closer.
Hi @roberteismann1929! Thanks for watching and for your comment. Agreed the Softube plugin needs the saturation to compare more closely. I tried it, and it did help. But in this test, I wasn't trying to get the plugins to sound the same, I was just keeping all the settings the same, matching loudness and seeing how they compared. I bet if I did a video showing how closely I could get the Softube Bus Compressor to match to my hardware, I could get it so that it was either indistinguishable or very close. However, that's saying something about the hardware since I can just turn it on and get the sound I'm looking for vs having to tweak it a bit. Thanks again!
Yeah not easy to beat that hardware, but few of them kinda sounded like they would give me that what I'm looking for in SSL style bus compression.
The Softube Bus Processor replaced the Native Bus Comp V2 for me and the Bx TownHouse as well.
Yes that saturation on Softube one sounds awesome I like to engage both knobs on that saturation it gives nice even harmonics with no aliasing whatsoever and put the tone knob to the left to give more low end punch and density. Then I like to use that stereo widening section to put that wider around 111% plus a tad of the high frequency boost.
Save as preset, and then it's just a matter of using that headroom slider in hidden bottom menu to push more or less level into it to find the sweetspot and desired amount of compression.
Btw. did you notice that there is already new SSL bus comp plugin directly from SSL, but this time it's multiband, yeah I know this never ends...😅
@@danielkisel5661 Yes. I did. And no. It doesn't. Sadly. 🙂I'm going to give your Softube Buss Processor preset a try!
The hardware still is much more 3-D, and definitely has more around the snare. That’s what I was missing from the other plug-ins. Surprisingly, the Waves, slate, digital, and PSP bus pressor still hang in there.
@@kelleykelley3153 Yeah, certainly had more weight to it. I think you can achieve a closer sound with some additional saturation - a little from the softube unit and a bit from others like the blackbox plugin. I actually preferred the way Softubes plugin added more clarity to the soundstage somehow.
Fantastic video. Thank you very much. Clearly the hardware sounds best, I could pick it out every time in blind test. For an audio pro the price is definitely justifiable For amateurs, the UAD and softube and even the T Racks version sound pretty amazing and somewhat close to the hardware. There is something about the blooming of the low-end that no plugin can make happen.
Thanks, the hardware sounds lovely in all aspects. The plugins usually tick only a few of the boxes. I liked DMG's Trackcomp the best, with Cytomic and Softube second. AA Sand sounded weird. Could you do TimP L-Bus also?
Recording sounds really great man. Catchy as hell too.
my favorite setting was the bypassed one at the beginning.
If I had to pick a processed sound, the hardware would be what I'd use.
The rest are all kinda meh to me. I'm not a big SSL bus fan though. I've never gotten into them even though I've used a few over the years. Bypass is probably my favorite setting for those too.
I focused only on three plugins that I own and use, the SSL Native 2, Sand3 and Waves. To my Sennheiser ear phones, the Waves sounded most close, with the SSL Native being dull, and the Sand lacking depth.
@thanos6767 I agree 💯! I'll have to give this one more listen, but I'm pretty sure I remember thinking Waves was the one I thought sounded closest to the hardware. That's not always the case for me, but with this song, I believe Waves was the winner.
Just a tip for BUSTER SE ffrom Analog Obsession: To make it behave more like the original you have to switch on Turbo mode.
@Mansardian Ok. Great! Thanks! What does Turbo mode do exactly?
For those wondering, I looked into it and this is what the Turbo mode on the Analog Obsession does. From Analog Obsession: "TURBO : Turbo Mod *Turbo mod will help the compressor to affect whole signal range. Otherwise, compressor will focus on mid frequencies. This mod added to keep original sign of hardware." Thanks to @Mansardian for pointing that out!
It doesn’t make any reason to spend such amount of money to barely if any feel the difference with the hardware.
We need to embrace technology and progress and understand that our best investment is to level high the skill to make great productions, great mixes and masters IN THE BOX.
People don’t hold up to the believe that a product will make your mixes better. you guys MUST make them great , be patient and repeat til you became a Master.
@danyavilaoficial Thanks so much for watching, and for your comment. Personally, I find I can get excellent mixes and masters 100% in the box. But I really like having a good selection of preamps and/or channel strips for the recording process, and I find having just a few key pieces of hardware for the mix bus and mastering process along with top of the line converters is a good spend. Again, we're talking about sound here. Not music. Hardware (or plugins for that matter) is not going to make a good song. Good song first. Plugins or hardware to record, mix, master and getting it sounding the best you can with what you have is second. I certainly wouldn't discourage anyone from buying hardware to record, mix and master their music, just as I wouldn't discourage anyone from recording, mixing and mastering their music 100% in the box. I feel like we have to be open to both or a combination of approaches. I'm glad there are people like you out there advocating for working 100% in the box though. That's how I came up. Now, as I get older, with 30 years of experience, and resources to pricey hardware, I can see and hear the differences and appreciate the advantages. But ask me to do a mix or master 100% in the box, and I could certainly do it. And if I mixed and mastered for a living, I would do it 100% in the box 100% of the time for the sake of recalls alone. But primarily, I work on my own stuff, in my private studio, so I can take as much time with my plugins and hardware as I like and share my explorations in sound with others through RUclips. I really enjoy that. Thanks again!
the next chris lord A. is coming ahaha
Imo, your SSL+ buss compressor is worth every penny. The openness, the width, the warmth, the gluey, the silkiness, the depth, the low-end tightness no plugin does it better than the real thing
@RANGDAP Yeah man. Thanks so much! Are you thinking of getting one?
@@LesVegasMusic Hi! I'm from the corner most part of India and from a low income family. But I like music. it's a special gift to me. I will have to settle with the plugin only and it's alright as long as I can create good music 😊
@@RANGDAP Absolutely. 💯 Which plugin do you like the best?
@@LesVegasMusic I'm planning to buy Softube Townhouse
@@RANGDAP Plugin Alliance Townhouse. Oh yeah. That's a good one. Especially for rock! Feel free to share your music here in the comments section anytime! I would love to hear it.
Acustica closest 3 D analogue for me then Slate and Mc , Love these Videos , I'll bet a blind test would throw it out there even more !
@blandee Thank you! And great suggestion. I might just start sorting out the best way to work in a blind test to these videos.
Thanks
@user-oq4vt4xi4d You're very welcome! Thank you!
When the buss + come son every time I notice it being brighter and more open
On most of the plugins, things feel more brittle on the bottom end
Could you make a comparison sight the original SSL G comp rack?
@alstontyler4788 there was a typo in the last sentence. What was it that you'd like me to compare?
First SSL Bus+, supraises from, TRacks and Slate Digital and the plugin with out the gui.
@hakangurdol Thanks for watching and for sharing your thoughts. Yes! TRacks, Slate Digital and Ableton Glue hang with the best of them!
Hardware wins every time. Claritiy, imaging and punch are way better. Thnx for video👍
@prolik2 You're welcome! Thank you for watching and for your comment. I really appreciate it. ✌🏼❤️
Not an acustica fanboy typically, but I thought Sand sounded almost identical to hardware. McDSP surprised me too with an excellent emulation. UAD great as always.
it's like choosing a good microphone, you listen and you know...
I was using poor speakers and only Softube didn’t loose the second part when the vocal went a bit quiet. Hardware of course is the winner.
@lukassbeataddicts Thanks for watching and sharing!
killer song
@robgracia509 Thanks so much! It's scheduled for release this October.
You say you are using the 'latest SSL Native Bus Compressor 2' but it looks like an earlier version, it hasn't got the oversampling or additional ratio, attack and release times of the version 2. whether there is a sonic difference between the older version and version 2 I don’t know, so it might make no difference in this comparison
OMG! Yes! I cannot believe I did that! The SSL Native Bus Compressor 2 actually has a totally updated UI, and it really does have a sonic difference as well. I can't believe I missed that! I really wanted (and intended) to include it in this video, but I mistakingly inserted an instance of the old plugin thinking I didn't even have the older version installed on my system anymore! That's so upsetting to me. I went ahead and updated the description. Nothing I can do about what I said in the video though. Well, I guess I'll just have to do another video with just the SSL Native Bus Compressor 2. The good thing about that though is that with only one plugin to compare, I'll be able to compare it to THE BUS+ AND the 500 Series G COMP hardware. That might be fun. And I'll be able to try it on multiple songs, with multiple settings without the video getting too long. Thanks again, I'll be sure to be more careful going forward. I really appreciate you pointing that out.
AA Sand sounded the closest. Same 3D sound missing from the other plugins. Softube and Cytomic sounded good, but 2D.
why did you use legacy version of SSL BUS compressor? On new version there is up to 4x oversampling that makes it sounding much better
@whataniceday Thanks for watching and for your comment. I know it! It was a mistake. I intended to use the latest version in this video. I wasn't even aware that I had the older version installed, so I didn't think anything of it until after I posted the video! Sorry about that. I'll make another video comparing the latest version along with another SSL G Bus Comp plugin that has been released since this video. Thanks again!
Without looking at the comments can already predict - there will be lots of vague descriptors thrown around like ‘openness’ ‘depth’ ‘3-d’ etc etc. in reference to the hardware - and if you switched the audio racks around without telling anyone, they’d still say the same things🧐
The UAD version and Softube version sounded amazing.
@savbeatz_ Totally! Those are both great emulations of the hardware. Can't go wrong with either of those picks. Thanks for watching and for taking the time to leave a comment. I really appreciate it. ✌🏼❤️
@@LesVegasMusic no problem! Great video.
UAD FAN BOY , no bruh uad ssl really sucks , other plugins are very good but even waves is better in this case
@@Il-Cane I didnt like the UAD myself either. I'm a uad fanboy myself but man, it felt like a step backwards for me compared to some other ones. Kinda a hard pill to swallow. Appreciate the video though!
@all-Cane and @JamesStMichael that seems to be the consensus, even amongst the most savvy and successful producers I know. I remember the first time I heard a shootout between the X Logic 500 Series SSL G bus compressor and the UAD plugin, I felt the same way myself.
The hardware was better by a surprisingly larger margin than I was expecting. The plugin that was least flat and 2D was the McDSP, but it is doing weird things to the highs.
@patrox247 I felt the same way about the hardware. Quite surprising actually, but to be expected right? That's why I feel like doing tests like this are so useful. I've always done them for myself, and then one day I said you know, I really should start sharing these experiences with people who really want to know or may never have the chance to get their hands on gear that's costs $2k or more. Yeah, I was disappointed by the MCDSP but, that was the only plugin that didn't have the Auto release setting so, I set the release time mathematically according to the BPM. That was the best I could think to do for that one. So, I'm certain that had something to do with it. I hope Colin over at @McDSPTV will consider adding Auto release to Channel G soon. Thanks for watching and for your comment. I really appreciate it.
@@LesVegasMusic What I wonder, don't you lose the gains with an outboard by the extra AD/DA conversion, even at 192kHz?
Hey @@harveyspecterdj6661! Thanks for watching and for your question. What do you think would be lost? Also, what do you think is extra AD/DA conversion? You have to go out of the DAW to go into any piece of analog equipment, and then come back in. I'm using some of the best digital to analog audio converters available by going out of the Apogee Symphony I/O and straight into the SSL G Bus Compressor. That processed signal has to get back into the computer somehow. So, that analog signal is sent out of the SSL G Bus Compressor and directly into my Dangerous AD+. That converts the processed analog signal back to digital audio in the absolute cleanest possible way. There's no extra AD/DA conversion in this scenario. The audio goes out once, and back in once. I hope that helps, but if you still have questions or I'm not understanding something, please let me know. Let's keep the conversation going. We definitely don't want to be losing anything or adding more processing or conversion than necessary! And if I've got something wrong here, I definitely want to correct it and do it right. Thanks again!
@@LesVegasMusic Hey, If you would stay in the DAW and use a plugin you stay completely digital. If you use the outboard you need to DA to get into The Buss and then AD again to record that result. You do lose there;
I used to own an SSL4000 and had Prismsound ADA 8 XR converters. I did a test once:
- Record an outboard synth over the console. So the synth went in the SSL, the SSL out went into the Prism. At 24 Bit 192kHz.
- Next I compared that signal playback vs the synth live on the console. So the recorded one had the AD during recording and DA for the playback while the 2nd channel was the synth on the SSL. So a live vs a recorded track you could say.
I was not expecting that much difference. You do hear it. Which triggered the question here. I felt the differences in your great video were rather small if we compare the better plug ins against the hardware. It was just a question. I love SSL. Great products. In the end studios with digital mixers use ADDA all the time for interconnecting outboard and so far nobody complained 😀
@@harveyspecterdj6661 Yes, I see what you're saying. It would certainly be preferable to stay 100% digital and in the box so there is zero loss of fidelity. And I would do just that, as long as I could achieve the same sound and character of analog equipment. With some things, I can do it easily. But with other things, I just can't get the same result with modeled plugins as I can with the hardware equivalent. In either case, I always just choose whichever sounds and feels the best for each song. Having worked 100% in the box for 35 years, it never matters to me if the hardware or plugin wins and whatever minor degradation in fidelity I may lose by using analog equipment. I just feel blessed at this time in my life to have both options to try and use. If my mix is exactly where I want it and I didn't need to patch in one piece of gear, than I'm ecstatic. However, in my experience producing, recording and mixing my own stuff, I found having analog equipment in the recording/tracking phase, and just a couple of well chosen pieces that can be used for mix bus and/or mastering applications really took my sound to where I wanted it. But, with that said, my ear for sound as it applies to recording and mixing has also immensely improved and refined during that time so, at this point I'm not quite sure if it's the gear or the ear. Maybe a combination of both? All I know is I wasn't getting the results I was after without it, and now I am. And I find myself using a lot less plugins now which has really freed up my system resources so that I can record and mix with ease and less issues. I could go back to being 100% in the box for the mixing stage, but I don't think I could go back to recording without at least one good channel strip. I'm confident I can get the sound I'm after with just one good hardware preamp, compressor and EQ.
Hi, amazing shooutout but in some cases the auto release works clearly sluggish (for ex: The Glue, Sotube). It's kind of pity because both are great quality and in this example it seems like they would get pretty well. But thanks for the stems, so we can fix and retest this by ourselves. No doubt the shocker was the Ableton's stock plugin which does not sound identical but sounded great and better than waves and UAD, I would say. Analog Obsession (which is insanely free) was the best for me withouth a doublt, and I'm sure it would kick some a... with the oversampling and turbo settings switched ON. The other surprise for me was that I can hear some phasy thing going on in the vocals with the Acustica Audio plugin. BTW, there is nothing like the hardware, sounds great, my friend. Amazing piece of analog gear. Greetings!
@bestok Thanks so much!
The hardware does sound better but in a blind test I don't think I could faultlessly pick it out of all the plug ins tbh. The question is: is this small difference worth the 2500k which is a bargain for what you get tbh....
Really interesting shootout! But it appears the links to the files are broken now - if I go to your dropbox link it says that the files have been deleted.
@timc3 Thank you! OMG. Thanks for heads up on the broken link. I'm sorry about that. That has since been fixed and are now available to download at www.dropbox.com/sh/wui1cbwp735yzds/AABTpJ6PBxvG_vZ2KR0053XOa?dl=0. Thanks again!
McDSP wins for me, then Sand second for a different vibe. It's all about the drum transients. Shame the Native plug, which I have, seemed to all over the place.
Really liked the McDSP too, I've been using the gate for 10+ years but never considered using it on the mix bus lol.
Bus pluss is mean machine! plugs is cool if im stranded with no hardware! thanks
@khalilroukoz Yes Sir! Thanks for watching and for taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate that.
@@LesVegasMusic Of course, I enjoy the channel, you got content that counts !! Many thanks,Cheers!
You're the man! Thank you!
@@LesVegasMusicYessir 🙌You are Very welcome!! likewise much appreciated!!🙌
I was really surprised by the fg grey
I know it. That's a good one! I've actually been even more surprised by it on other songs.
It’s not worth being $2500 more for one single song, but if you take Audio serious and plan to do thousands of songs, it’s well worth it
@alstontyler4788 thanks for watching and sharing! I subscribe to that logic.
Great comparison! The main problem for me having owned both Duality and AWS consoles… the modern SSL stuff doesn’t sound that good. :(
Making the same comparison to a vintage console or FX G384 would be awesome…. But at the same time would be nothing that’s available to the average consumer so pretty uninteresting.
@thepanicroom Thank you! Yes, that's the thing. Interesting to compare against the vintage stuff, but more applicable and beneficial to compare against the latest stuff that's easily available. Also, just good to see which plugin(s) you best. I try not to dwell on the old stuff. Like Jaycen Joshua always says, if you want to make modern sounding records, you gotta use modern tools. So, though I love the vintage stuff, I like that logic as well.
Hi Plec! Which currently available hardware do you feel comes the closest to the old SSL? I'm currently on a Smart C2, but I've never used a vintage one. (or tried this Bus +). Thanks!
@@MaximumLevelAudio-BrianKnop my preference would be Smart but if you want the sound of the vintage units you need to get a build using the classic dbx gold can VCA’s. I have a custom unit with that and that’s how you get that iconic snap and punch that sounds fat and smooth while if you compare to pretty much anything else modern it sounds kind of flat and pointy even though the SSL circuit is correctly implemented.
It would be nice to hear how Tim Petherick ssl compressor compares to the hardware.
@ilkeleafs Oh, man! I know it. I've been wanting to compare it but I just haven't been able to bring myself to spend $400 for N4.5 because having the hardware, I know I won't use it. I tried contacting Acoustica and they can't hook me up with an NFR or trial of N4.5 for the test. I've been keeping an eye open for a good deal on the used market for N4.5. Just as soon as I get my hands on a copy I plan to do an updated comparison with TIMP L-bus comp v2, SSL Native Bus Compressor 2 and Antelope Audio COMP-4K-BUS. Thanks for watching!
For everyone thinking about the TimP : this one has as insane depth, punch and snap, glues everything together in a really nice way, but you can easily hear that Nebula is a sampling machine and not an algorithmic one.
TimP L-Bus shifts the stereo image in a very "analog way" : you're getting a quite different mix image, that you don't have any control over. In fact, this is why people love "hardware's depth", but also why we love plugins : to be able to control everything. Using TimP's SSL is like using the AD/DA conversion and analog machine of someone else : it REALLY feels analog, with its own qualities and downsides. The mix gets brighter, punchier, super open but also less wide. In mono sidechain mone (=dual mono), soundstage gets narrower but the mix gets some vertical separation which can benefit your sound..or not.
It's kinda like using impulse response on your whole mix : I mean why not if you sample a good ADDA conversion ?
Don't get me wrong : this is the best SSL plugin I ever used, but this made me realize : "do I really need SSL compression ?". Sometimes, especially on poorly mono sounding material, its musicality gives me quick and good results, but on projects I've been working on for a long time I'm always asking if I'm not messing everything up using it..
It is snappy and "pro" sounding, so I dug the internet to find alternatives that I now use as much as the TimP :
- DDMF Magic Death Eye Stereo (in Laura Mode) can give this snappy glue compression with a solid low-mid thickness (super useful when I find TimP harsh on some mixes). This is probably my favorite software compressor ever : guitars, vocals, drumbus, mixbus.. I try to use alternatives to avoid every track sounding the same ahah
- RRS 609 compressor, which is almost as punchy as the TimP, maybe less "analog" and lacking auto-release, but a very good choice for when I need just a touch of glue with snap (way better than Arturia and UAD 33609). I prefer it over almost any SSL emulation.
- Molot GE, which is less open but whom attack (hammer ?) curve is super special and can give a lot of character to a mix
I'm using these 4 the most, but when I use TimP or RRS, I almost always add the DDMF MDE after. You can't go wrong with this one, it's just simply stunning.
To compare with other I tried :
- Analog Obsession has this 4-5k harshness that almost all his plugins have, and the meter is off. This is known by years and the guy doesn't update it.
- UAD is nice and I could easily work with it, but there are better and cheaper options IMO
- Softube is dull and lacks character in an already crowded market.. what a miss
- SSL and DMG are super nice. One of these would be my SSL plugin if the TimP wouldnt exist. One issue : hardware sounds better ! ahah
- IK is too saturated, as well as most of their analog emulations. It's not glue, it's distortion ! Put it in plugin doctor lol
- Native Instruments is made by Softube, and combine lacking SCHPF and sounding meh
- Overloud and Waves are plastic
You should have added the very popular L-bus module for Nebula by Tim.P . I don't own the hardware but compared to all my other plugins it's noticeably better.
@chrisvanloo1007 I know it! I really wanted to, but I don't have Nebula and it's $399! I contacted Acustica and requested a time limited trial or NFR for N4 Commercial and they denied the request. I even told them I would pay for the subscription, but they said it was unavailable at this time. They offer a trial for N4P, the player, but TIMP L-bus comp v2 doesn't work in N4P. I tried everything I could but, I just couldn't justify $399 plus $25 for L-bus comp v2 for a one-time use on a free youtube video. But believe me, I thought about it! 🙂 I'm very sorry I was unable to include it. I'll keep trying to get my hands on a copy.
@chrisvanloo1007 Also, after further consideration, I thought maybe it's best if don't include it anyway because I heard Nebula isn't supported on anything past Monterey on Mac right now so... at least for Mac users, it seems they can't use it anyway on newer systems. I haven't tried it, but according to Acustica's site it says "Compatible with MacOS 12 Monterey" and doesn't say anything about Ventura. It's such an old plug-in, one of Acoustic's first I think, so I'm just not sure how much longer it will be supported since they don't seem to be keeping up with support for it.
@@LesVegasMusic I worried about that too but i'm on a new mac mini m2 in the studio and i purchased the L-bus for my nebula a while ago . after some contact with Tim.P it still worked. he included different files. all you need to do is put them in the correct folders and you are good to go.
So far , i have tested it and i find it excellent! compared it to the buscompressor from ssl new version which i also own and the newer bus processor from softtube. So far i prefer the L-comp from Tim.P on all audio i tested them on. cheers
Alright! Great to hear! Thank you for the update. Are you on on Ventura? If so, I'll keep trying to find a cost-effective way to get my hands on Nebula so we can do a shootout with it and this time, I'll include Frost and the CORRECT version of SSL Native Bus Compressor 2! 🤦🏻♂️
@@LesVegasMusic There is also a little bug with analog obsession's version of the buscomp where the reduction on the meter is wrong for some reason. if you want 4db of reduction you need to compress until the 8db mark on the meter. kind of weird but yeah.. otherwise i loved the shootout. great job.
Having most two-way monitors, including the Yamaha HS series, horizontal limits their lateral accuracy. It's better if you turn them upside down if you want to align the tweeters with your ears.
@Hexspa Yes. Thank you. This is true. I don't use them. They're basically just there for looks right now. I primarily use my Sennheiser HD-600's for mixing and mastering these days and am finding very good success with them. I will be upgrading my monitors to the Dutch & Dutch 8C's soon!
@@LesVegasMusic awesome! Cheers
It would have been a good idea to have used Acustica's Frost
Frost (18.5) - Solid State Logic Collection #2 (maybe)
• EQ: Fixed Q, two shelves and two sweepable mid-bands. Based on SSL curves.
• Compressor: VCA Buss Compressor from SSL The Bus+
• Dynamic Equalizer from SSL The Bus+
• Two brickwall limiters by Acustica (not "Sand")
• Vari-mu (tube) preamp/saturator/clipper
@fwuzeem Yes! Thank you! I just found out about that one. It would have been a good one to include. Although, I think they modeled it on the cleanest setting (with no 4K applied) and I don't believe there's anyway to adjust the distortion. If that's the case, it would have sounded too clean and wouldn't have compared well since I had 4K mode on level 5. I don't know this for sure, but Austica's press release for Frost says "A ‘Sand-style’ (pun intended, considering the AA world) VCA Bus Compressor providing fast, relatively clean, and detailed compression with oversampling rate buttons (1x - 2x - 4x - 8x)." 'Relatively clean' being the keyword there.
@@LesVegasMusic yeah, I wonder if the saturation has anything on the 4k sound. Would be interesting, and looks like the only plugin attempt at a Bus+ specifically
@@Fwuzeem I know it. I think it would be interesting. And yes, I'm sure playing with the saturation would help match it with the hardware quite closely. If I can ever get my hands on a copy of Nebula, I might do another one of these videos and include TIMP L-bus comp v2, Frost and the CORRECT version of SSL Native Bus Compressor 2! 🤦🏻♂
@@LesVegasMusic definitely grab it when they have a sale. It was the best purchase I've ever made
Oh, good to hear! Yeah, it rarely goes on sale. I think I remember seeing for like $80 or something close to that one time and I passed it up. I don't think I'll use it for anything but I'd pay $80 for it just to include it one of these shootout videos!
Analog sounds best but the MCDSP is very much on my radar right now. Shocked at how good analog obsession sounds for a free plugin for sure! That might have to be my temporary solution!
Great shoot out, I thought the Cytomic Glue Compressor was the actual code behind the Ableton Glue Compressor though, be interesting if they sound different!
@wearenorthcolour Thank you! Cytomic has always been a go-to plugin for me over the years. I really like it. It's true Cytomic makes the Ableton Glue Compressor as well. I don't think it's the same code as their own plugin though. I do know the Ableton Glue Compressor has been modified for Ableton and its requirements to work within the DAW. It's not the same, but close! I think the Ableton plugin held its own with the hardware!
Now if you got 6 hardware units, set them the same, would they sound exactly the same, of course not. so why would we expect plugins to sound exactly the same. Can we tweak the settings to get them to sound really close, yes. Don't forget, when they model a hardware unit for a plugin, it is generally just one unit they are modelling. What would be great to see ( highly improbable) is a comparison between the Plugin and the Hardware unit they modelled it from.
@andrewbetinsky5596 Thanks for watching and for your comment. I completely understand what you're saying and agree. This video is more for people who are interested in purchasing the hardware, but are wondering how much difference there is from their much less expensive plugins. I think the comparison is good for that reason. Thanks again!
Softube needs a Soft Knee setting at around 12 o'clock, the Hardware SSL is a soft knee compressor. Idk why Softube's default preset has soft knee at 0.
Aah. I know what you mean. The thing is though, with the Softube compressor, they're not claiming it to be a 1-1 emulation of the SSL G Bus Compressor. They're claiming it to be like one, plus more. So, they're giving you the option to have a knee, or not. Along with other things... I rather just have a G COMP 500 Series and be done with it. I think if I sold all my SSL G Comp plugin licenses, I'd be half way there towards to cost of one anyway! 🙂
@@LesVegasMusic Sure, but it's still a weird choice to have the Default Preset value for Soft Knee at 0 and not halfway up at 5.
It's like you release the music from prison when it switches to hardware SSL BUS+ haha. More open, wider, free, fresh etc.
@b.hornetiii.6771 Haha. I like that. Damn plugins trying to hold our tunes down! Unleash the beast! Let our music speak! And with VIBE my brutha!
Acustica was nearest. But I hear an rare texture from the SSL Bus +, that i can´t hear on mine (Hardware). What kind of converters You use? Its almost to much grit.
@mistermusicenterprise3148 I've got Apogee Symphony I/O and Dangerous Music Convert AD+ converters here at 96k. Pretty crystal. Could just be the level 5 distortion on 4K mode with this particular track.
@@LesVegasMusic Thats so good converters. Congratulation.
I do the 4K mode almost never on a master. For drums, guitar and bass. Great Video. Thanks!
Thanks so much! Yeah, I love the Apogee. I really want the latest Apogee Symphony MKII SE 16x16 or 32x32 now. If I get that, I'll probably end up selling my Dangerous Convert AD+. I'll have to shoot them out first to be sure though. Yeah, good call keeping the 4K Mode off on masters. I like it on the mix bus. No compression for me on the master because I apply all I need in the mix when working on my own stuff.
@@LesVegasMusic Thats interesting. I am on UAD Apollo and was thinking about the Apogee.
The Bus + on Master I like. But only 1-2 db for glue with FB in.
I have an Apollo here too. I like the Apollo stuff, we'll anything UA makes I like, but I'm starting to get picky with converters and Apogee just knows how to do it with all their years of experience. Plus, they're so modular you're never stuck. They have every connection available and every I/O option you could possibly want and you can change it at anytime without having to get a completely different interface. I like that ability to expand and change if needed plus the sound is crystal clear. It helps me to hear everything. Even the most minor and minute differences. I find that really helpful of course for mixing and mastering, but for these audio demos I make for RUclips too. When I switched from Apollo to Apogee, my world became clearer and I started hearing things I've never heard before. Now with the new SE modules, they're suppose to be even better and I heard they're using the same ADC chip as the Lavry Gold so... yeah. It will definitely hang with the best of them.
the 2bus+ with ssl fusion mad combination......i have others unit, many others , but this 2 togheter oh man
@DnBLand81 Good to hear! Yeah man, I feel like you don't need much to get great sounding results today. I find having just a couple of key pieces of gear like that for the mix and/or mastering stages can really help level up your mixes and masters and those two together are an intentionally excellent combination.
@DnBLand81 I also made videos comparing the Fusion and SSL G Bus comp hardware to the plugins. They're getting pretty close today! Have you tried A/Bing your Fusion and Bus+ to the plugins on a mix yet? If so, what did you think?
@LesVegasMusic I did of course for curiosity...yes you can get close but the way the real deal add saturation make the difference and even the way sound more wide and open.....I think the limit in the plug in is still on the saturation.. actually my other unit on mid side in ssl fusion and bus+ is elysia nvelope....with this 3 I don't feel needed anything else....then after I go straigth on mastering chain
@DnBLand81 Yes! Agreed. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience with us. It's very helpful to those that are trying to decide if they want spend thousands on hardware or stay completely in the box.
@LesVegasMusic for me ssl fusion and 2 bus + are to consider like 1 unit ...is what I did and I never felt so good to spend that money......it worth in the end of game
To a mix or mastering engineer, the hardware sounds better. But luckily, 99 percent of the general public listening on earbuds, laptops, and cellphones won't notice any difference. This kinda stuff is for giving the engineer confidence more than making any night and day difference to the average listener.
I'm sure the "Bus Plus" is awesome but you can't magically have 10 of them if you want. I have to admit, at least in my control room that hardware is MURDERING the plug-ins. It's worse than I'd hoped. "Checking . . . Sweetwaaaater . . . . for . . . .prii . . . oh my."
@indivisibleman Haha! That's right! That's the beauty of plugins isn't it? I love that. However, I'm noticing with an SSL G Bus Compressor, I only want one instance of it on my mix bus. So for me, it actually works out only having one of them for that purpose. And I know it, there are a couple of plugins that I thought came really close with this song though. Plugins that haven't been close on other material so, that says something. The hardware always works on whatever I put it on. The plugins are a hit or miss for me. I think for me, there's something to be said about the reliability of the hardware in that way as well. Thanks so much for watching and for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate that.
@@LesVegasMusic I want to applaud your demonstration too. It was a great "this/that" example. Hearing the same portion of the song was also brilliant. Now I need three grand for this crazy contraption. I'm gonna watch it again to see if UAD was included . . . It's gonna hurt my feelings but I guess I gotta see that one be slain as well. Again, excellent work. I'm gonna explore your other material now.
@@LesVegasMusic And by the way, with the UAD SSL G Bus Compressor, I have noticed that I cannot apply it anywhere beside the master output because it introduces latency. Same with the Precision Multiband. They're great for the last stage but trying to apply them on an individual aspect of a mix destroys it. I don't know why it happens but I'm game to learn if anybody can explain it.
Oh man. Thank you! I really appreciate that. It means a lot to me. Yeah, the UAD was close! I thought it was the winner for a while, but I feel like some came even closer. There were about four plugins that I thought were really quite close. I'll start sharing which those were after a bit more discussion in the comments. I don't like sharing my thoughts too early at the risk of influencing others opinions unnecessarily.
Really? I've never experienced that with the UAD plug-in. I experience that all the time with the other plug-ins, but never with the UAD SSL G Bus Compressor. I'll pay more attention to that next time, and see if it's happening for me on a large mix. I do have a Thunderbolt solo and an octo for a total of nine processors dedicated to UAD plugins though so, that may be helping.
Acustica Audio Win
Uhm... where's the SSL Native Bus Compressor2? You showing the old version V.6
OMG! I cannot believe I did that! I really wanted (and intended) to include the latest version of the SSL Native Bus Compressor 2 in this video, but I mistakingly inserted an instance of the old plugin thinking I didn't even have the older version installed on my system anymore! That's so upsetting to me. I went ahead and updated the description. Nothing I can do about what I said in the video though. Well, I guess I'll just have to do another video with just the SSL Native Bus Compressor 2. The good thing about that though is that with only one plugin to compare, I'll be able to compare it to THE BUS+ AND the 500 Series G COMP hardware. That might be fun. And I'll be able to try it on multiple songs, with multiple settings without the video getting too long. Thanks again, I'll be sure to be more careful going forward. I really appreciate you pointing that out.
@@LesVegasMusic no problem. I missed all the time. But your review showed me that the Bus+ is the way to go.
I check with inexpensive earphones during these tests, just like the average user.
Acustica Audio gave the most favorable impression of attack and stereo spread compared to the hardware.
Next in line were DMG and UAD.
Third place goes to Nomad Factory.
However, Acustica Audio sounded a little more loud than the hardware. Not similar, but like the actual equipment.
Somehow I think the converters you are using are very good.
Because of that, none of the plug-ins can beat the hardware. LOL
But I felt that the plug-ins are closing that price gap more and more.
Maybe if I listened in a better listening environment I'd get different results.
@reboootlove5926 Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed analysis. Much appreciated. Yes, I use the Apogee Symphony I/O and Dangerous Music AD+ converters. Both are excellent. Extremely transparent and detailed with no added coloration. There are some really great plugin emulations here. I'd be happy with any of my top three picks, but for as long as I can have the analog hardware sitting right here beside me, I'll continue to use that on the mix bus.
I don't consider it a fair shootout, my learned brother, unless it contains the universal audio plugin, which is the only company that I know of that physically models every wire, resistor, capacitor, Etc in the signal path, and then does blind A/B tests with all the top, "Golden Ears", producers in the industry like Bruce Swedian, Frank Filipetti, George Massenburg and the like. When these "Golden Ears" can't tell the difference, they know it's ready for release. That's the shootout I want to see my friend. Love every one of your videos!! You and all your videos are awesome!!
@mlsvirtualtours8492 That's right! Thank you! ✌🏼❤️
I feel the test is flawed. Every plugin sounded smaller yes, stereo image and sustain of sounds was better on the hardware however it was noticeably louder to me.
Hi @pac0re! Thanks for watching and for taking the time to comment. How do you feel the test was flawed, and what can I do better next time? You just feel like the hardware was louder? That could be the benefits of perceived loudness from the hardware. You can see that each recording was level matched not by ear, but by Integrated LUFS measurements all measuring precisely at -14.4 LUFS. If it's loudness that makes this test flawed, what would be a better way to measure loudness and make sure each recording is perfectly level matched next time?
the glue auto release isn't good since the beginning even on some forum where dev was writing someone wrote it, and it's a choice they did, but not best emulation. the Native instrument the 30ms attack is a 60ms in reality, the 10ms is a 30ms,.....
After all aren't model from the same but on all these example if you do measurement it's not larger or anything else, cos it's a clean compressor in freq response harmonic distortion and don't compress in mid side so will not increase the stereo except if the model gets a problem.
most sound the same, cos at one moment it's lot of psychoacoustic effect, most do the thing we ask, so not worth to spend so much money for this, exept if we want do to work only out of the box.
cos it still important EQ work to do on the track, so which ssl to use it's the least problem
@bobpaker430 thanks so much for watching and for your comment!
Merci pour ce comparatif, mais l'utilisation de n'importe lequel de ces compresseurs ne changera pas la vente de votre titre musical, ni la diffusion en télévision et radio, et encore moins l'écoute sur internet ou par une clé USB en MP3, WAV, etc. !
Aucun public ne verra la différence...
Merci! That's true! However, this tool is for professional audio engineers who want the best tools possible for their craft. Not for recording artists that want to get their music heard by as many people possible. No piece of gear will do that right?! We're talking about sound here, not music and the promotion of it. 🙂
@@LesVegasMusic Ok, mais sans artistes, pas de musique...
@@techniciendushowbiz C'est correct! Les artistes de la musique et de l'enregistrement d'abord ! Son deuxième.
The only perceivable difference was between no compression and all other solutions. They all sounded exactly the same. Better just get a 29$ plugin and that's it.
@youtubevideos415 Haha. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. If only we all had your sound reasoning. 🙂
difference was slightly better on the hardware. that 3D sound that most hardware has is rather hard to achieve on plugins
@treelinekids Yeah man! Thanks for watching and letting us know!
Original >PSP > WAVES SSL > UAD SSL G > SAND3, everything else sounds shit imo
@DubElementMusic Haha 😂. Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts with us!
@@LesVegasMusic thank you for the comparsion! 👾
All these plugins sound lifeless
Real unit has more clarity and punch
Horrible music, I couldn't keep on watching the video
@leondego8445 I'm sorry to hear that. Send me one of your songs, and I'll use that. Please send to lesvegasmusic@gmail.com. Thank you!
Great video!
Thanks William!