otiumFX :: Compadre VST

"OtiumFX Compadre Beatpuncher is an easy, yet effective tool and definitely a character plug-in. I must admit I like the sound very much – it is smooth, yet biting and the sidechaining has been implemented in the most user-friendly
and efficient way."
Estrada i Studio, April 2007.

COMPADRE is the result of more than one year of research, development, and countless hours of listening tests. The final product is a quality compressor that not only delivers a highly optimized sonic behavior, but also drips with character.

COMPADRE is designed specifically for use on beats, drum loops, and
other percussive material, and it does this with attitude and flexibility. Use it for subtle enhancements or heavy duty compression. While COMPADRE has been designed with drums in mind, it’s range of flexibility allows it to deliver good performances on most types of tracks and mixes as well.

• Further 9 filter models featuring presets with key frequencies in drum mixing.

• Adjustable low-level controls to fine tune the compression characteristics. ("Snap", "Linearity" & "Envelope").

• Optional extra "Crunch" by enabling a built-in second compressor on the output stage.

Application ——————————————————————————————————————————

COMPADRE is a compressor with an attitude. It has its own unique sound with a quality response optimized for a dedicated purpose - drums. This makes it easy to achieve great results with a minimum of tweaking. While the main purpose is on drum tracks, COMPADRE is flexible and controllable enough to be usable on many other types of tracks and mixes.

The Sidechain ————————————————————————————————————————

COMPADRE features true stereo sidechaining allowing both external key input and sidechain filtering. While these features are well known among hardware compressors, external input to the sidechain is a rare feature in software processors. COMPADRE brings this essential function to the software studio.

Of course you can still switch it off, and use it without the sidechain adjustments.
Confused? Click here to read a bit about sidechaining in general.

You can dial in the setting you need on either the low or high pass filters, or you can use one of the nine preset filter models. By adjusting this signal you have a great deal of control over which frequencies will trigger the compression.

For example; if you have a drum loop but only wish to compress the kick drum, simply select the appropriate filter model ("Just Kick") on the sidechain and voilá! Or perhaps you are looking for a smoother sounding compression, then select filter model "Smooth" and it will filter out the very high and low frequencies which could disturb the compression.

COMPADRE also offers a convenient "listen" function, allowing you to monitor the sidechain and hear exactly what's passing through.

Using the 4 input channel sidechain version of COMPADRE you can activate "Key Input" and thereby let the compression of track 1+2 be controlled by the amplitude level of whatever signal you have routed to input 3+4.

This method is what's often referred to as sidechain compression. It can be used for an unlimited amount of creative and experimental applications, but it also has use for a range of traditional and well proven production techniques; such as "Gating" & "Ducking".

The Characteristics ——————————————————————————————————————

Want to add punch to your drum tracks? The percussion needs a bit more edge and tightness? You want your beats to pump, breathe and bounce? Just looking to tame the peaks, or maybe you want the drum bus crunched beyond recognition?

COMPADRE features several controls for you to fine tune the character of COMPADRE to suit your purposes:

Besides the default "Compressor"-mode, COMPADRE offers a more experimental "shaper"-mode. With this mode it is possible to achieve interesting effects ranging from adding subtle punch to material lacking edge and definition, to wild and funky gated-sounding compression.

COMPADRE defaults to a tight and punchy sounding compression style. If you are looking for a more transparent style of compression, just flip the switch to "Flatten".

The Character controls gives you access to low-level parameters of the compression circuitry and thereby allowing you to fine tune the compression characteristics to your specific purposes. Useful when you are going for a specific compression sound, or when you are facing difficult audio material that requires a special response.

"Linearity": Adjusts the linearity of the transfer function. This controls whether the compression ratio
is constant linear or partly dependant on audio material and settings.

"Envelope": Offers a choice of seven attack/release envelopes for the "Shaper"-mode.

"I was using it on a drum loop, I loved the tightness and thickness that it was giving the track. I tried ALL of my other compressors 1176's, LA2A's, Waves, and the list goes on. NOTHING CAME CLOSE to what the Compadre was doing to the track."

"I have and use many very fine VST compressors, but I have to say that the last time I used a compressor that was this easy to get the sticky, floating sound I like in a compressor was my Summit DCL-200 tube compressor...which lists at $3,500 US! Perhaps not the most versatile, but it is fantastic for "that sound".
(...) This is now my 'go to' compressor when I am looking for 'attitude'! I am lucky enough to own several very nice compressors, and I've got to say... Compadre does some things better and faster than the others... For a heavy, pumping/punching sound this is what I use."

"Compadre will most definately be useful to me.. very much so. It's the only 'radical shaper'
compressor that I've got and I use it constantly on kicks, snares and misc percussion."

"It really does drip with character. Compadre is one of the few comps that can retain the feel of the groove whilst simultaneously compressing the hell out of it. (...) Most comps just squash all life out of processed loops, but I easily got Compadre to pump and breathe spectacularly without losing the feel of all the loops I tried it on. And my acid test of most compressors is how they sound when pushed hard - most s/w ones disappoint me, they often kill a channel...whereas Compadre seems to really liven up when you get up past 5-6 dB compression.
(...) To be honest, I'd reverted back to using my h/w simply because almost all of the other s/w comps were so dull to my ears. Now Compadre has taken over."

"I really look forward to using this as the compression characteristic really is unique and has a type of hard edge that I really enjoy. (...) This is now my favourite plugin for tasty compression effect when
mixing. It has one of the best unintrusive and punchy "hard" compressor sounds. In fact it's the best VST compressor there is for many types of material (and I've tried them all)."

"I have been producing Drum n Bass for 8 years and I have never come across one plugin or hardware compressor which makes my beats punch like this. Moreover, the presets are to die for, meaning that you hardly even have to know how to use the controls! THANK YOU"

"The shaping capabilities of this thing are awesome. A few minutes on a loop and it sounds like I've spent hours slicing and dicing and playing with envelopes. (...) It's a GREAT piece of kit. It's almost a software Distressor, and what higher praise is there?"