A green “Magic Eye” at bottom-center in the GUI gives a coarse approximation of peak output level; I wish multi-segment L/R meters and numeric readouts of RMS and true peak levels were provided instead. A piece of gear like this in a mastering studio is really what sets professionals from amateurs, as this is a serious, serious compressor. Brainworx has now updated its model and, through its partnership with Plugin Alliance, has released this for all plug-in formats: VST, AU and all flavours of AAX. When operating as a mono plug-in, both meters remain active so that you can monitor two levels simultaneously – for example optical gain reduction on the left meter and discrete gain reduction on the right meter. If you want a more noticeable effect then the SHMC offers various ways of achieving that, each with its own character. The Optical compressor precedes its Discrete foil and features a fixed 2:1 ratio, slow attack and two-stage release. Update your browser to view this website correctly. Visually, Brainworx has done an excellent job of aping the look and styling of the Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor (let’s call it the SHMC from here on), and has accurately captured the chunky, military-grade rotary and toggle switches found on the original hardware. The 24-step Discrete Gain knob can boost or attenuate the compressor’s makeup gain, and provides unity gain at roughly position 7. Visit our corporate site. My New Squeeze September 25, 2020. By Michael Cooper Published: 04/29/2020 [Editor’s Note: Shadow Hills has released a newer version of its Mastering Compressor, called the Mastering Compressor—Class A, with a few more features, a similar interface and emulation of class A electronics.] The six-step Discrete Recover control produces release times ranging from 0.1 to 1.2 seconds or, alternatively, mimics the Optical section’s two-stage release when you select the knob’s Dual setting. Does Waves’ newest multi-layered modulation plug-in offer us maximum sonic colour? It’s the most wonderful time of the year for your plug-in folder. Modeled Opto and VCA Compressors in One Plug-In. It’s this two-stage release that gives you ultra-smooth, natural-sounding compression. PROS: Includes two compressors: Discrete sounds great for mastering and Optical flatters on select vocals and instruments; three modeled transformers; flexible sidechain filtering and meter-source selection Like most compressors of this ilk, this has a single control to both reduce the threshold and increase the ratio of the compression being applied. Select the steel transformer for the greatest amount of distortion—still mild—and a gentle boost to very low bass around 40 Hz. Time to peer deep at the shifting sonic textures presented by the aptly-named Kaleidoscopes. Spectral coloring and compression-curve ganging in one go! News. WEBSITE: plugin-alliance.com The Optical compressor features two stepped rotary controls: Turn the Optical Threshold control clockwise to lower the threshold and increase compression depth. That said, the nickel transformer sounded sweet on an acoustic country ballad featuring male vocals, acoustic guitar, cello and grand piano, adding a subtle sheen. Raising the toolbar’s sidechain-filter setting to 206 Hz preserved the added bottom-end heft and focused the compressor’s action on moderating peaks in the bright top end, reducing the mix’s glare. Formed around the year 2000 by punk and underground producer Peter Reardon, Shadow Hills Industries is a somewhat mysterious company. The operation manual states that 80 percent of the compression is released “very quickly”—it’s unspecific—with the remainder taking over a second to recover (varying slightly depending on how deeply you’re compressing). Sarah Schachner and Jesper Kyd on how they mixed modern techniques with ancient instruments for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The pinnacle of the Shadow Hills Sound. We head to South Fremantle, Australia, to check the vibe of the young indie-electronic producer's creative space. Slate Digital's new exciter based on the Dolby-A trick is a quick way to add excitement to tracks and mixes. In the original hardware, this stage offers a choice of three different transformers, each created using wire made of different metals – nickel, iron and steel – and each wound in different ways. It would be possible to mimic the SHMC’s two-stage compression using separate optical and VCA compressors, and if you have good examples of these, then it’s worth trying. In each channel, a sidechain filter and separate switch for swapping three virtual output transformers, respectively, alter the compressor’s frequency sensitivity and tone (frequency response and distortion characteristics). In the run-up to the Swedish producer’s next album, Diving For Lost Treasure, he walks us through the emotive and upbeat single. © 2020 MusicTech is a member of the media division of BandLab Technologies. Visually, the SHMC plug-in is a masterpiece that looks almost identical to its hardware counterpart, although this also means that the plug-in’s window is rather large for a compressor (the hardware SHMC is a chunky beast after all). Red For The Master! Dual-mono mode gave me a slightly wider stereo image than stereo mode, as expected. We round up some of our favourite sites for fresh, inspiring samples. Like many dynamics processors, th… This gets interesting in stereo mode (in which both channels produce the same amount of gain reduction): You can, for example, simultaneously view gain reduction (GR) for the Optical compressors on the left meter and GR for the Discrete compressors on the right one. The release section also has a ‘Dual’ mode that mimics the two-stage release of the optical compressor. The discrete compressor’s big, chunky output gain control feeds into the final transformer stage of the processor. But it’s how the processor operates that’s of most interest, and this is what makes the SHMC stand apart from the competition. The optical compressor’s release phase is a two stage, programme-dependent affair similar to that found on the classic UREI LA-2A, creating a natural and transparent release curve. In either mode, switches independently activate the Optical (modeled opto-electronic) and Discrete (modeled-VCA) compressors in each channel, letting you use one or the other, or both simultaneously. Attack and release settings are similarly switched rather than being continuously adjustable, the former from 0.1ms to 30ms and the latter from 0.1s to 1.2s. Visually, Brainworx has done an excellent job of aping the look and styling of the Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor (let’s call it the SHMC from here on), and has accurately captured the chunky, military-grade rotary and toggle switches found on the original hardware.