In this particular example I prefer comp1's behavior and overall sound, though comp2 could also have its uses as it's by no means bad.We're currently living in the age of digital audio, and in-the-box mixing within a digital audio workstation is commonplace. Comp2 also feels like it's making the bass sound a bit more wooly and mellowing the high end some whereas comp1 sounds a lot cleaner across the spectrum. Pepper (Reprise) kind of sound and has it's own usefulness. less ducking of cymbals), which can be very handy for that Beatles-esque, Sgt. Now comp2 seems to pump the upbeat better than comp1 (i.e. If you also listen to the section with the three repeated (8th notes) snare hits comp1 is releasing faster and responding much better to the source material than comp2 which chokes a bit there. If you focus on the kick, you can hear that it's way more defined in comp1 than it is on comp2, and overall the high end seems less colorful. Both the low and the high end seem more focused on comp1 as well. The attack on comp1 sounds a bit slower than comp2 while the release feels a bit faster, this is letting in more of the transients on the kick and the snare. I prefer the sound of comp1 in this example.

Thanks for doing this, the drums are well recorded. Here is where it gets really difficult too since your definition of 'best' might be different than mine! It would be cool if you could put up another set of files with both where they sound their best, regardless of the similarity of the settings. For example, if you started with the UA version, and then set the IK version to the same settings, it might put the IK version at a disadvantage, and of course, visa versa. I would prefer that you tweaked each compressor until they sounded good, even if the settings were different. Have you noticed that, or was that comment just from someone that did not like IK Multimedia?Īlso, using exact same settings has *some* value, but we all know that different plugin manufacturer's versions of the same plugin can operate slightly differently. One comment I read (I think on this forum somewhere) is that the IK plugins breakdown when you push them hard, whereas the UA plugins do not. Which makes me wonder if the 'average Joe' listener will be able to tell the difference on iPod earbuds. The differences are either subtle, or my listening environment is just not up to the task of being able to tell the difference. If I was to judge based on my headphone analysis, I would have to say that either plugin would work for this application. I'll try to get them into the studio for a listen later. Unfortunately, on my laptop with headphones, both compressed files sound the same to my ears.

Uad fairchild