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VCA, Opto, Vari-Mu, FET

compressors When to use which
?

As you probably already know, Im a big fan of analog compressors. I

owned several of them in the last few years and I keep rotating and
accumulating them in my rack. My objective was to have at the very
least one of each kind into my rack, an objective I have accomplished
only relatively recently.

Being a fanatic of compressors, I was amazed to hear some people ask

questions like Should I buy a LA-2A or a 1176 ?. I mean, these are
completely different machines. What are you trying to achieve in terms
of texture exactly ?

The truth is that each type of compression will have a distinctive sound
and one of the secret of achieve textures, is by having the right
combination of compressors doing the right things. You cannot
interchangeably switch a LA-2A with a 1176, they have little in
common.
The more I search on the net, the more I realize that people do not
master the differences between each compressor and dont seem to
know when to use which and most importantly, WHY?

I had this guy who bought one of my 1176 recently. This guy is a
freelancer and does a lot of speech recording. He is obsessed with
clean and pure sound. Yet, he wanted absolutely to have an LA-2A for
some reason. Well, its not because one piece of gear is popular that it
suits your needs. LA-2A has a very nice distortion content, which makes
a vocal cut through mixes, but that effect wouldnt really appropriate
for speech recording.

Back to the subject, there are 4 big families of compressors, and I

would like to review each of them with you. I added a picture of the
compressor Im using for each type. Here they are:

VCA

VCA stands for Voltage Controlled Amplifier and its compression

behaviour is based on PEAK, with fast attack and release. We will start
with that one as it is arguably the most used one. Most of the
compression plugins are based on its principle.

This family of compressor tend to react almost too quickly, in my

opinion, as they are very sensitive to micro-dynamics and transients.
VCA tend to be very efficient for some applications and completely
inappropriate for others. Their response curve is generally linear (hard
knee), but some design integrated the soft knee in order to adapt
them to mix bus compression purposes.

When to use it: You should use it when you have transients that are
some order of magnitude out of the dynamic range where they should
be. For example, a very percussive recording will benefit greatly from
having a VCA controlling the peaks as it will do it efficiently and
transparently.

When not to use it: You should not use a VCA when you try to adjust
the average volume of a song. This thing has no macro-dynamic effect
whatsoever. Its good for instantaneous drastics changes and peaks,
and thats it. It doesnt really smooth out stuff neither as would do a
varimu or an opto.
The advantages of using VCAs: It can take care of intense transient
with transparency. It can give a sense of punch and aggressiveness.

The limitations: It will always sound thin. Its rather hard to warm up a
signal with a VCA. It feels sterile. Its also harder to make it feel smooth
as cake. To do so, longer release time are required, but by doing so
feels like covering the speaker with a sheet.

Exemple of compressors using this design: SSL, Neve and API mix bus
compressors, Focusrite RED, DBX 160, Alan Smart C1.

OPTO

Ive recently read a funny quote in book about mastering. The worst
thing is that It was written by someone knowledgeable It was
basically saying something like Since there is nothing faster than speed
of light, the opto compressor acts very rapidly. This makes me laugh,
as the opto is about as slow and smooth as a compressor can possibly
get.

Opto uses photocells as a detector and a light bulb to determine the

gain reduction. As the signal passes through the light bulb, it will make
the light bulb glow more or less depending on the intensity of the
signal. Since the intensity of the light is function of the temperature of
the filament, the light intensity will vary as a smoother version of the
signal. In other words, if the detector in the VCA design sees the exact
signal, the opto one will see an averaged over time version of it.This
makes the opto compression much less sensitive to transients, peaks
and sudden spikes. For this reason, much higher ratios can be used.

In the digital world, the opto effect can be simulated using an RMS
based compressor. As opposed to peak compressors, the detector will
calculate the average (or the area under the curve) over a certain
amount of time and will base its decisions on it.

When to use it : Opto will do a wonderful job at taking care of macro-

dynamics. Basically, it can even out the average levels of a song. For
example, if a song is very quiet at the beginning but quite loud at the
end, a VCA would do absolutely nothing during the first section and
then smash everything during the loudest part, where an opto would
work a bit all the time and even out the song levels without even be
noticable. It also can be used when you want to tighten up a bit the
mix without killing the transient and leach the life out of it.

When not to use it: When you have intense peaks and spikes, it will
simply not be able to handle them. It will let them pass for once, but it
will also make the opto pump in an obvious way. Also, bass heavy
program will make the compressor pump as well. JLM Mac Opto comp
I use has a high pass side chain filter for this purpose.

The advantages of using Optos: Very transparent. Tightens up a mix

without getting noticed. Doesnt flat out the transient.

The limitations: Pumping is really the big issue in presence of low end
content, so make sure you have a high pass filter in sidechain when
you use it on a mix.

Exemple of compressors using this design: LA-3A, JLM Mac Opto Comp,
LA-2A, TubeTech CL1B.

Variable Mu (Tube Compressor)

Although its the earliest compressor design you can find, the Variable
Mu design is still very popular for high end audio application. Manleys
Variable Mu has been used on countless platinum records and is here
to stay. Very few compressors have become an industry standard for
mastering as did the Manley.

(Just to make things clear, an opto compressor with a tube stage at

the end IS NOT a Variable Mu. In the variable mu design, the
compression is actually achieve using the tube itself. )

Variable Mu compressors produces incredibly smooth compression. Its

transfer curve is far from being linear. The actual ratio increases with
gain reduction. That means that louder a transient is, the harder it is
going to be compressed.
Another characteristic of this type of compression is the time constants.
It simply doesnt respond as fast and impulsively as a VCA or FET. The
tube compressor takes its time and never over-react. It has this ability to
glue a mix together like no other type of compressor because of that.

When to use it: When a mix has reach its dynamic coherency, just pass
it through a tube compressor. It will tighten up and smooth it up. The
whole mix will start to blend properly until it become homogeneous. It
can be use to make things softer and smoother. For example, a guitar
that has thin and aggressive sound can be smoothed and warmed up
with a variable mu.

When no to use it: To solve dynamic issues or to get punch. Thats

simply not the compressor for that. The time constants are too slow to
make it agressive or punchy. This type compressor has no
aggressiveness whatsoever in its compression behavior. To be
aggressive is just no part of its character. Its also too slow to handle
intense dynamic problems.

The advantages of using Vari-mu: they have a very warm, rich sound. It
has a sound that simply cannot be achieved using plugins. It brings
depth, texture and definition well probably the sound youre looking
if you like it smooth.

The limitations: Operation without a sidechain filter can be troublesome

as it will kill the bass. This compressor cannot do punchy.

Exemple of compressors using this design: Fairchild 670, Altec 436C,

Manley Variable Mu. I personally use the Manley and the Altec (Edit: I
recently acquired a HCL Varis, which is an incredible unit!).

FET
The last, but definitely not the least, the FET!

I personally love the sound of FETs. To me, 1176 is clearly one of the best
sounding compressor in the history. Not surprised to find a bunch of
them in every studio. Very few compressors can be placed on every
tracks like this one.

So, if you are looking for punch, thats the compressor. What Opto and
variable mu simply cant achieve, this one does. The slowest attack
time available on the FET is usually faster than the fastest attack time on
a variable mu! Yet, its far from being as transparent as a VCA. It
definitely has more character. Usually, when you use a FET, you want to
hear it working, because its a sound we all like. (Think of a typical rock
snare).

(BTW, I personally bought DIY kits of 1176 clone. I went a bit crazy at the
time and I bought 10 of them! Now I have 4 of them in my rack and the
remaining ones are available for sale at discounted rate if youre
interested: http://quantum-music.ca/store.php#!/1176-clone-
Matched-pairs-available/p/48424840/category=12631169)

When to use it: For that punch, a 1176 can be used on drums, vocals,
bass, and everything else that needs bite and punch. Its known for its
Snap on drums. The distortion on this compressor is really rich and
warm. I personally have not tried any other FET models than the 1176,
but I know Slate Technology also produced a version with a side chain
filter (what a great idea!).

When not to use it: Unless you have a side chain filter, I wouldnt
recommend to use it on a mix with the compressor on, unless its the
bass or the kick you want to give the punch to. I personally use it in my
mastering chain, but with the compressor turned off. Thats actually an
old trick, Im not the only one to use it on a mix bus only for its color.
The output transformer sounds very warm, so although its not
compressing, there is a great benefit of having it in the chain as a line
amplifier. It brings the vivid effect so hard to achieve in digital, even
using the best saturation plugins available. The 1176 just does it more
colorful than reality, its that intense.

The advantages of using a FET: They rock The punch is really

hardcore. They have a very warm, rich sound. It has a sound that
simply cannot be achieved using plugins. It brings depth, texture and
definition. Also, best of all, high quality clone of the beast can be found
at reasonable price. I personally use the hairball. While they are tough
and sensitive to calibrate properly, once done well, they will deliver the
sound.

The limitations: Most of them dont have a sidechain filter, so it doesnt

seem suitable for mix bus compression.

Exemple of compressors using this design: 1176 and all its clones!

Conclusion

I hope this helped you have a better idea of what the different type of
circuitry can bring to your mixes. Indeed, the question isnt which one is
best; each of these design have their advantages, strength and
application, but really when to use which. I hope I have done my job
well, if not, let me know if you have any questions.

Now lets finish on a short home made mantra

Stop putting VCAs on everything simply because thats the default

compressor design that comes with every DAW.