Softube compressor shootout: Summit TLA100, Tubetech CL1B, FET compressor

McDsp Ultimate Compressor review

When the McDSP Ultimate compressor was announced it was unique and very interesting to me. 10 compressors in one plugin modeling many famous compressors all for $229 native. To break it down with UC you get a fairchild ($149 from UAD, $320  from Waves) La2a ($149 from UAD, $160 from Waves) 1176 emulation ($149 from UAD, $400 from Waves, which includes the blue and black face model) and 7 more compressors for only $229. You can easily see the value your getting here.

I was going to wait until I found a favorite use for all 10 compressors before I wrote this review but that may be a very long time. The UC in a way is like a sample library to me. You will only use the samples you like. So out of the 10 compressors in UC  I’ve only been using the ones I really like so far. Now this doesn’t mean these others are bad, just means I didn’t find a use for them as quick as some of the others. To be fair I don’t spend 15-20 minutes trying to get good results from a plugin. If I’m not in the ballpark of getting good results in 5 minutes or so I pull up a different plugin and try again. So with that being said lets get into my thoughts.

When I first opened up the plugin my first impression was that it could be a little bigger, I found myself squinting to see some of the setting until I really learned it. The UI is very user friendly and easy to navigate. When you first open the plugin it opens to the U670, made from the fairchild 670. Here are my thoughts on each compressor.

1. U670- This was the biggest reason I purchased UC. I really wanted an emulation of this compressor after all I’ve heard about it. First up lead vocals. The U670 added smooth compression with transparency. Also tried it on background vocals and acoustic guitar with good results.
2. Moo Tube- This is of course a tube compressor emulation. Preformed good on vocals, nice on bass, and well on guitars and background vocals. Did not try drums.
3. icomp- this is one I haven’t found a place for yet but didn’t blow me away on anything I tried it on. However only having two knobs allows for quick and easy dialing in of the settings.
4. Opto C/Opto L- these are La2a emulations and OMG do I love them! I’ve never had a go to plugin for vocals because I’m always switching it up but there is a party going on in my ears whenever I insert the opto C on vocals. This is strange because I never really cared for the hardware version of the La2a (the UA version) that I’ve used in a recording studios. The otpo C really pushes the vocal forward in the mix. This is by far my favorite compressor out of the 10. I used the opto C on a recent mix I did for JaShayla and immediately got great results. The one knob on the compressor makes its really quick to dial in. The opto L is the same, just a limiter instead of compressor.
5. British C- this one emulates a Neve compressor I believe, and its one of the smoothest, if not the smoothest, compressor in the plugin. Even at 12-15db compression I couldn’t hear it working. This preformed beautifully on background vocals, and if it wasn’t for my love for the opto C on lead vocals it would be placed there as well. Because of its smoothness I used it on mix buss once giving my 7720 a break and it preformed very nicely. This is my second favorite compressor of the bunch.
6. Over EZ- This is one of the more versatile compressors to me. I tried it on a variety of sources and it worked well on all. You’ve got the basic compressor setting you can really dial in what you need. If I had to choose a favorite source I would go with bass and snare. Vocals worked well but not as good as the British C and opto C.
7. SST76- obviously a 1176 compressor. This compressor sounded good on everything you’d expect a 1176 to work well on, which is vocals and bass. If you’ve never used a 1176 this compressor can be a little confusing at first with the attack and release labeling, but will be worth it once you get it down. Also an all buttons in mode would have been cool to have. 1176 users know what I’m talking about.
8. FRG444- or the “frog” as Colin calls it, worked really well for me as a parallel drum compressor. Its slightly aggressive tone added a nice thickness when mixed the dry signal of the drums. Kick as well as snare gave good results to.
9. D357- by looking at the layout this is obviously meant to be used to crush drums, and for that it works very well. Never tried this on any other source. This is definitely the most aggressive compressor in UC. It will have you scratching your head when you first open it. Attack, release, and threshold are labeled as min and max instead of fast and slow. The attack doesn’t get super fast, but you typically don’t want a fast attack for drums anyway because you will kill the transients.

Overall I think UC is a very good product that Colin could easily charge $499 for. But with a $229 price tag (and even cheaper with a McDSP sale) I find this to be a steal. I don’t get caught up in the whole “does this plugin sound exactly like the hardware”. To me it just matters if it sounds good or not, and I find a few of the UC compressors to sound great. With UC there is a compressor for everyone, and everything. Highly recommended if you want to add 10 more compressors to your plugin collection without breaking the bank. You can find more info on UC on www.mcdsp.com and in Colin’s corner. After making the Ultimate compressor I hope Colin knows he must now bless us with the Ultimate EQ.