Never fear! With its many potentials and quite a lot of controllers the alpha compressor might look a little tricky at first sight. In practical experience, however, it is a clearly structured tool that is very easy to use.
The control elements are divided into three layers, whereas the left and the right channel sides are absolutely identical to each other.
Compressor section
The upper row contains the dynamic section with the classic parameters threshold, attack, release and ratio. Furthermore, there are some interesting special functions like feedback/ feed forward and Auto Fast that will be explained a little later.
Filter section
The middle row features the Niveau Filter EQ, on the one hand, enabling you to perform subtle changes on the overall tonal character. The other half consists of the sidechain filter which allows frequency-dependent compression when it is switched into the detector path.
Level section
The lower row starts with the gain controller for making up the gain of the reduced signal. Next in line is the mix controller that allows blending between the unprocessed and the compressed, filtered and amplified signal. The last one is the Soft Clip limiter for catching fast transients.
Because of the ability to flexibly combine these modules with each other, the alpha compressor becomes a universal tool for coping with a wide range of dynamics applications. Some of them are described shortly in the following - the detailed explanation for each setting can be found in the manual.
Stereo Linked
This setting is especially useful for tracks in which the instruments are not placed straight in the middle of the stereo spectrum – when a recording has been made by the use of classic stereo miking, for example. If necessary, the mix controllers can be used to apply the effect of the compressor in even finer doses.
M/S Linked
The function of the compressor in linked M/S mode is quite similar to linked stereo mode. However, here the levels of the M and S channel can be set differently, which makes it very easy to perform changes of the stereo width.
M/S Unlinked
The true strengths of an M/S compressor will be revealed not until it is switched into unlinked M/S mode, however. Take a heavily pumping bass drum right in the middle and 100% stable strings in the sides, for example – just try this with any other compressor ;-)
Upward Leveling
Here, only the low signal parts are made louder whereas the louder changes in dynamics stay unprocessed. By adding the original signal the pristine dynamics will be saved, which has the effect that only the quieter signals will be turned up.
M/S Leveling
Now the compressor reacts primarily to the complete signal energy and not so much to single rhythmic accents. If this principle is used on the side and the middle channel separately, a stereo mix will become more compact in an unobtrusive way and everything will sound more vivid.
Groove Compression
In this case, only the rhythmics of the mix are emphasized in order to bring out the groove and therefore giving the track the right kick. The bass drum is used as a trigger for the compressor; therefore the sidechain filter is of special importance in this application.
Vocal Down
If you have a track in which the vocals are too loud, the compressor can be set in a way that it mainly reacts to the lead vocals placed in the middle, resulting in a better integration into the mix. The specialty here lies in the combination of sidechain filter and the attack parameter in unlinked M/S mode.
De-essing
A variation of the Vocal Down scenario is De-essing which is used for reducing unwanted ess and hiss sounds. This application also needs the unlinked M/S mode to assure that only the middle channel is processed (but of course you can still process the sides separately if needed).
Parallel Compression
If a track needs to become truly loud, the alpha compressor can also drive it against the wall – but without the negative effects this usually entails. Mixing a heavily compressed signal to the original increases loudness while saving a great part of the initial dynamics.
Stereo Enhancer
Even when there is nothing to compress from time to time, your productions can still benefit from the alpha compressor, as the combination of the M/S matrix and the Niveau Filters makes a very nice tool for influencing the stereo spectrum.
LoFi Compression
Can the alpha compressor also sound really bad? Of course not, but sometimes it just loves being, well … different. In this LoFi compression scenario the use of the Niveau Filters is the crucial point. By reducing the high frequencies, everything sounds a little darker while the lows experience additional punch.
Extreme Settings
Here is just one of many examples. It is especially suitable for processing drum tracks effectively. The ambient elements now come to the foreground more articulately – it somehow sounds as if the microphones would have been placed a little bit further away in the recording.
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