CYTOMIC THE GLUE VS UAD PROFESSIONAL

Today вЂ“ computers, software, hard disk space and production technology вЂ“ have made the creative process affordable and relatively cheap. Since studio time and tape were so expensive (and the time the engineers worked), the musicians took their work seriously and showed great readiness for recording. Half a century ago, most of the music was created by a properly set and edited group of talented musicians, and then choosing microphones and preamps, the sound was summarized using a large format console or analog tape. Typically, this refers to the type of processing used on the master bus or on subgroups that helps individual instruments sound as if they are inside a mix.

CYTOMIC THE GLUE VS UAD PROFESSIONAL

The GSSL colored the transients, making them sound smoother at the expense of a loss of overall definition.YouвЂ™ve probably heard of such a concept as вЂњGlueвЂќ from professional mixing engineers. The mid-range depth was more impressive than the rest and made the congas sit very nicely in the mix. The TK Audio BC1 had the best stereo width and made the percussions sound 'alive'. The Waves SSL Compressor made the shaker a bit grainy, while the transients of the timbales got a bit restrained and lost some low-end punch. This came at the expense of some overall definition, but the sound it produced was very nice and usable. The UAD 4k Buss Compressor had a slightly more coloured sound, and it added some low end which was welcome. The oversampled plug-in had a slightly more open sound, most audible on the shaker and the timbales. Both versions of The Glue sharpened up the transients, which worked very well for Latin percussion. With this test I wanted to hear how well The Glue could handle different types of transients - and what could be better than some stray Latin percussion.

Maximum gain reduction: about 6.5dB RMS.

Release: 0.2s (on The Glue) 0.3s (on the others).

Last but not least, the GSSL compressor sounded too colored and lost both low end and stereo definition. The vivid definition of the choirs set it apart from the other sound clips.

Because of its three-dimensional depth and stereo width, the TK Audio BC1 came out sounding 'like a record', which was no surprise to me. The Waves compressor sounded great in the verse, but lost a little bit of low-end definition in the chorus, where it also added a tiny bit of graininess. The UAD 4k Buss Compressor added some low end, which pushed the mix forward in a nice way. Both versions of The Glue packaged the mix in a very nice way, and the only differences were a slightly more defined and firmer low end, wider stereo width and fractionally more open sound in the chorus with the oversampled plug-in. Mix (auto-release)ДЄuto-release is also very useful to glue a mix together, and for this test, I wanted to hear how well the compressors took on bus compression. The GSSL made the transients a bit more gritty, but in a good way вЂ“ at the expense of slightly less defined stereo width and low end. The BC1 made the guitar a bit smoother without losing any definition or stereo width, sounding perhaps a bit more compressed compared to the others. The Waves plug-in, however, sounded flat in comparison, and lacked some stereo definition.

The UA plug-in also added some coloration, making the sound more beefy and sustained, which I also liked. The stereo width and definition was a tad better with the oversampled plug-in but I kind of fancy the coloration of the transients in the non-oversampled plug-in, because it somehow suited the acoustic guitar. I wanted to use the auto-release to tighten up the sound without squashing it too much, and it worked very well on this stereo-dubbed acoustic guitar. Personally I've never quite fancied using the auto-release setting on a compressor, but when the compressor is good enough it can lend you a helping hand when mixing.

Cytomic the glue vs uad