Amplified Instrument Processor 06 - VCA compression for punch and presence
Good lord, what is left??? PSP, filters, IMF, FDR, STEREO WIDTH -
Oh, the front panel VCA COMPRESSOR is next!
The compressor is a VCA style compressor with a fairly soft knee and an overall very smooth sound. It is definitely not the punchiest of the Korneff compressors, but at higher settings it can definitely get a bit gnarly, and you can mess with its circuitry a bit.
The AIP VCA COMPRESSOR is one of my favorite vocal compressors, and to me, it can sound very "optical."
You can just set it to PRE, switch it in, and turn THRESHOLD counterclockwise ’til something happens on the gain reduction meter, and this is a fine way to work — this compressor is very forgiving.
I usually take a more analytical approach. I listen to the track in context with everything else and listen for the answer to these questions: “Are parts of this vanishing in the mix? Are parts of this too loud and popping out?"
If the track seems lost and vanishing in the mix, typically I’ll reduce the ratio to under 4:1, set a longish return (say 2pm on the knob), and put the attack around 12:00. Then I pull the THRESHOLD down, so that the gain reduction meter is lit up most of the time, and more when things are loud, and much less when things are quiet. Then I’ll listen to that in context, and adjust from there. The critical control is RELEASE. You want that gain reduction meter moving musically and in correlation to the sound of the track.
If sections of the track seem too loud, like something jumps out every now and again, that’s a good indicator to use the compressor more like a limiter. In other words, rather than seeing gain reduction constantly, we only see that flash of red on an occasion, when something is loud. Start by setting the ratio above 8:1. Pull down the THRESHOLD such that the meter kicks in mainly on loud things. Adjust the THRESHOLD and the ratio to get balance between the loud and quiet aspects of the part. In this sort of application, you’ll typically be setting both the ATTACK and the RELEASE faster, like more towards 11, 10 or even 9:00. When we use the compressor this way we want it coming in fast and leaving quickly.
Pro Hack
Click on the Korneff Audio nameplate to go around back and access the circuitry of the compressor. Find the DISTORTION NULL trim pot. Click on it and drag it to the right to increase the value. You’ll hear a gentle increase in saturation that eventually turns into plain old distortion and fuzz. This is a very fun effect. Adding saturation and overdrive increases harmonic distortion, and adds a subtle brightening to the track.
Often on vocals I’ll set this so that, on the loudest notes, the vocal starts to hint at breaking up. This adds drama: “Oh cool! The singer is so emotional they’re blowing up the equipment!” If a sound source is just sort of blah and uninteresting, a little broken VCA action can add some interest.