PLUGIN MANUAL

mpressor
Welcome!

introduction

FIRST OF ALL... The plugin offers the great functions of the hard-
...thank you very much for using the mpressor ware which can be combined in many ways.
plugin!
Whatever you are looking for – a high grade
The ‘virtual’ mpressor is the as-close-as-it-can- sum compressor, a flexible tool for single instru-
get emulation of our famous creative com- ments or an inspiring dynamics effect processor:
pressor. Its all discrete circuitry and its special the mpressor delivers.
character have been translated into software in
every painstaking detail.... Enjoy it!

The result is an outstanding universal compres-

sor as well as a dynamics effect machine which
will significantly enhance the potentials of your
host software.

manual version UAD 1.0 introduction - welcome! 2

Overview

controls

Floor: switches the emulation of the mpres- Threshold: If the input level exceeds this Release: the return phase of the compres-
sor’s analog noise floor on and off. value, the compression process will start. sor. It controls the period of time that the
compressor takes to return back to unity
Link: left and right channel can be linked on Attack: the transient response of the com- gain after 6 dB of gain reduction.
a stereo track. pressor. It determines the time the mpres-
sor takes to react to a peak. Anti Log: an alternative characteristic of the
Active: sets the plugin from bypass to ac- release curve. Switches from a linear to an
tive status. Auto Fast: a semi-automation. This func- antilogarithmic progression.
tion shortens the attack time automati-
GRL: indicates activity of the Gain Reduc- cally on fast and loud signal impulses. Ratio: the relation between the input level
tion Limiter. and the output level. As a specialty of the
mpressor, even negative ratios can be set
Meter: displays the amount of gain reduc- here.
tion in dB.

controls - overview 3
Overview

controls

EQ Gain: the characteristic of the Niveau x10: shifts the frequency range of the Gain: the ‘make up gain‘. In the mpressor,
Filter. Between the mid and fully counter- Niveau Filter. The printed values from 26 amplification already takes place in the
clockwise position, bass is boosted and tre- Hz to 2.2 kHz are multiplied by 10 to 260 Hz input stage, thus the whole plugin can be
ble is cut (vice versa in the other direction). and 22 kHz. driven harder on purpose.

On: activates the Niveau Filter. In the sig- GR Limit: limits the virtual control voltage. Version: A click on the elysia logo will reveal
nal path, this special EQ is placed after the This innovative limiter is not placed in the the actual version of the plugin you have in-
compressor part, thus it will not influence audio path as usual, but in the control algo- stalled and the people behind the project.
the behavior of this section. rithm of the compressor.

EQ Freq: the center frequency of the Niveau On: activates the Gain Reduction Limiter.
Filter. Around this reference point, the bass
is boosted and treble is cut or vice versa.

controls - overview 4
Threshold

controls

The threshold determines the operating point The complete control range covers a total of 34
of the compressor. If the input level exceeds the dB, offering the complete variety from very sen- dB
value set with this controller, the compression sitive processing up to the most extreme effect
process will start. settings.

The settings of threshold and ratio should al- The figure to the right shows a number of differ-
ways be considered as a couple: If a high ratio is ent threshold points of the mpressor.
applied, the threshold will usually be in the low-
er range in order not to produce an overdone
amount of gain reduction.
dB
However, if lower ratio settings are chosen, the
threshold will be turned more clockwise as a Several threshold settings at a fixed ratio
general rule.

controls - threshold 5
Attack

controls

The attack time parameter is a very crucial fac- This is where the Auto Fast function comes into
tor for the control behavior of a compressor. play. If you engage this mode, the attack time dB
Choosing the right setting is very important, will be shortened automatically on fast and
but depending on the dynamic progress of the loud signal impulses. The compressor reduces
source material this can be a difficult task. the signal quickly and prevents it from slipping
through.
If a very short time is chosen, the compressor
will be able to catch the short peaks, but on the Then the attack time directly and automatically
other hand the sustaining signal will also be returns to its original setting. This way the com-
processed, which might result in audible distor- pressor can be very fast, but only if it is really
tion. Longer attack settings reduce distortion needed. The attack parameter is influenced on sec
significantly, but then the compressor is too short and loud impulses only; in all other cases
slow for fast impulses. the controller setting is given priority. Standard attack (dark) and Auto Fast (light)

controls - attack 6
Release

controls

The release parameter, on the other hand, has But if intentionally striking and creative com-
a strong influence on the character of the com- pression as well as producing new and inter- dB
pression being obvious or unobtrusive to the esting sounds are the sought-after goals, it
ear. As a general rule, linear or logarithmic re- definitely makes sense to turn the established
lease curves will be employed if a discreet per- approach upside down. For this reason, you can
formance of the compressor is required. switch the release curve of the mpressor from
linear to antilogarithmic.
It is characteristic of a logarithmic release that
the time constant shortens when the gain re- Compared to a logarithmic release curve, the ef-
duction raises. The advantage of this is that fect of the Anti Log option behaves just the oth-
short and loud peaks (e.g. drums) have a fast er way round: If the threshold point is passed, sec
release time, while the remaining material is the release time will no longer be shortened at
processed with a slower release time. first. If the input signal starts to decline, howev- Standard linear release (dark) and Anti Log (light)
er, the release time will become faster.

controls - release 7
Ratio

controls

The mpressor is a typical hard knee compressor, The louder the input signal becomes with a
which is easy to see in the diagram to the right. setting like this, the lower the output level be- dB
Compression directly starts with the full ratio comes – perfect for groovy compression effects.
in the very moment the input signal passes the
threshold point. To get a grip on the extreme ‘destruction’ this
can cause, engaging the Gain Reduction Limiter
Compared to a soft knee characteristic, this kind is just the right idea.
of compression is more on the noticeable and
audible side. This special capability of the mpressor might
seem a little hard to understand in theory. Just
The mpressor also features negative ratios – but give it a try with some drum samples and you dB
what exactly does this mean? At a negative ra- will understand what this is all about...
tio, the characteristic curve bends and returns Different ratio settings including negative values
back down after crossing the threshold.

controls - ratio 8
Niveau filter

controls

This filter is specialized in changing the overall

sonic character of a track with ease. dB dB

Its main function is to change the proportions

between high and low frequencies. The prin-
ciple is similar to a pair of scales: Dependent on
the gain setting around a variable center fre-
quency, the high frequencies are boosted and
the low frequencies are cut (or vice versa).

The characteristics of the filter change in the Hz Hz

extreme positions of the EQ Gain controller: the
full counter-clockwise setting will produce a EQ Gain settings between 0 and Hi position @ 500 Hz EQ Gain settings between 0 and Lo position @ 1.5 kHz
low pass filter (full clockwise = high pass).

controls - niveau filter 9

Gain reduction limiter

controls

A specialty of the mpressor plugin is the Gain

Reduction Limiter. This limiter is not placed in dB dB
the audio path where you would expect it, but
in the control path of compressor instead.

The effect: No matter how high the input level

or your threshold and ratio settings become –
the amount of gain reduction will never exceed
the value which is set with the GRL controller.

Loud parts in an arrangement can keep their sec dB

dynamics, and special effects like ducking or
upward compression can be achieved by only Compression progress at different GRL settings Input to output ratio at different GRL settings
reducing the quieter signal parts.

controls - gain reduction limiter 10

Gain

controls

The gain controller is used to make up the dif- amplitudes. It clearly shows how the original
ference in level between the original and the sine form is shaped with an additional edge re- V
compressed signal. As you might already have minding of a square wave form. This produces a
expected, there is something special about this rich sound by generating additional harmonics.
‘standard’ controller on the mpressor, too:
If you want your signal to stay clean, you should
The higher the amount of gain it is, the more take care not to use lots of make up gain, but
harmonics are produced. In the mpressor, this use a simple gain plugin from your host soft-
function is located directly in the input stage, ware directly after the mpressor instead.
therefore the added harmonics will be pro-
cessed by the complete compressor algorithm. However, if added harmonics are just what you sec
are looking for, apply a good amount of make
The diagram to the right shows the saturation up gain with the mpressor and use a following Saturation characteristics at several amplitudes
behavior of the mpressor plugin at increasing gain plugin to reduce the overall level.

controls - gain 11
FLOOR | LINK | active

controls

FLOOR that generates separate ‘virtual control voltages’ ously not available. The link button is semi-
This button switches the emulation of the for left and right channel with the same control- transparent in this case to indicate it is not avail-
mpressor’s analog noise floor at -96 dBFS on ler settings. able.
and off.
But why would this make any sense? The an- ACTIVE
LINK swer is that by running a stereo compressor in There is no big secret behind this button: It
In link mode, the mpressor uses the informa- unlinked mode you might benefit from a more switches the mpressor into the signal path
tion of both the left and the right channel to vivid feeling of your track. This is because both (white control light on) or bypasses the plugin
generate one combined ‘virtual control voltage’ channels are compressed differently from each (light off ).
which is then applied to both channels (a true other (as a result of different signals in the left
stereo compressor in this case). and right channel). By the way: On a hardware mpressor, the gain
reduction meter stays active even if the unit is
If the link mode is not active, imagine the MONO in bypass mode. The software version does not
mpressor plugin as a dual mono compressor On a mono channel, the link function is obvi- have this feature because of technical reasons.

controls - floor | link | active 12

Standard compression

settings

* *

Because of the well-balanced adjustment of its Keep in mind that the mpressor is a hard knee Realize that the mpressor gives you an ample
parameters, the mpressor is suited perfectly for design. This means that if you are looking for range of possible settings, which like the super
many applications in everyday studio business. subtle compression, you will need to use mod- fast attack times or the negative ratios can lead
erate settings to get there. to very extreme compression results.
The settings shown in the above figure provide
a good starting position for ‘normal’ compres- Depending on the source material, the EQ sec- While this can be very cool in lots of cases, it
sion jobs like vocals, choirs, guitars, drums, key- tion can be used in addition with great benefit. might not always be what you are actually look-
boards and so on. It definitely pays off to spend some time on ing for. With the mpressor, you get what you set.
getting to know this interesting feature of the Take some time to find out which settings work
Moderate ratios from 1:2 to 1:5 and release mpressor and what it can do for your sound. best for you.
times around 300 ms make a good basis for fur-
ther parameter variations. The threshold con-
troller is used to adjust the desired amount of
The Gain Reduction Limiters offer completely
new possibilities, too, and therefore should be *to You will need to adapt all suggested settings
your actual source material. This is especially
gain reduction. given a try soon by all means. important for the threshold and ratio controls!

settings - standard compression 13

Big drums

settings

In this case, a complete drum mix is processed more and more extreme. You can use the Gain If you ask us, this pretty much nails it. Make sure
with the mpressor. The intensity of audible tran- Reduction Limiter to use such settings without to give it a good try with some drums you re-
sients is determined by the attack time. If this producing too wild results in order to get very ally like - this is not only about compression, it
parameter is very short, only the first millisec- energetic drums. is about ambience, transients, sonic structure,
onds of the signal will be emphasized, whereas too...
longer settings will come closer to its original Drums like these are very punchy, with beauti-
structure. ful attacks that can really shine in a mix. An in- So many attributes you can influence with the
creased amount of ambience is generated on mpressor plugin... just go ahead!
The release controller can now be used to ad- top of it, resulting in a loud and massive sound.
just the loudness. Shorter settings will produce
louder signals, while longer settings can influ- We have received lots of good feedback from
ence the groove of a track in a nice way. our hardware mpressor customers, and one
comment is mentioned time and again: “The
If high ratios are applied, this effect will become mpressor is killer on drums!”

settings - big drums 14

Smashed drums

settings

If the drums are supposed to sound extremely phones: few transients, lots of ambience and Remember that setting high amounts of make-
compressed and loud, this setting can be used long sustaining toms and cymbals. up gain also adds harmonics which can contrib-
to limit almost the entire signal in a way where ute to a powerful sound.
nearly no dynamics remains. Just play with this a little and find out that you
can use the mpressor almost as a reverb proces- If you are processing a stereo track, just try de-
The Auto Fast function for the attack param- sor. Do not be afraid of extreme sounds! You can activating the Link button. The result will be
eter makes sure that the mpressor works fast always keep things under control by doing the that the left and right channel will not be com-
but without distortion, and fast release times of following: pressed exactly the same anymore, which can
about 50 ms are responsible for the loudness. breath some new life into a heavily compressed
Route the compressed signal to a separate buss track.
The ratio controller is set to 1:10 which makes and then mix it with the unprocessed original,
the mpressor act like a kind of fast brickwall and the result will be the typical parallel com-
limiter. The drums now sound as if they had pression which is very popular for this kind of
been recorded with a focus on the room micro- application.

settings - smashed drums 15

Reverse sounds

settings

This is so cool! Because the mpressor also fea- The Anti Log mode should also been given a try sor at the same time. Try the suggested settings
tures negative ratios, you can perfectly use it to on top of this, as it will even increase the inten- with some percussive material like drums or a
create weird and really way-out effects: sity of the reverse effect. slap bass guitar - did you expect it could sound
this different?
Signals sound like if they were played back- A good balance of the threshold, release and ra-
wards and become louder in their progression. tio parameters is very important for this effect. The mpressor plug-in is perfect for mangling
Very loud input signals are reduced by large A setting like this can easily produce an amount samples! Just add some modulation, distortion
amounts which creates the reverse effect. of gain reduction which exceeds the 20 dB mark and delays to taste ;-)
frequently, therefore adequate settings of the
The Auto Fast function for the attack parameter gain controller have to be made for compensa-
is used to perform the control process fast and tion.
without distortion. The position of the release
controller determines the character the sound Again, the mpressor shows that it is not only a
will get louder with. dynamics tool, but a powerful effects proces-

settings - reverse sounds 16

Transient enhancer

settings

A special task is to emphasize the transients at nal will be boosted by 6 dB at its beginning and specific parameters relate and you will be able
the beginning of a tone, chord and so on. The will then be held at 0 dB during its further prog- to use the mpressor not only as a compressor,
Gain Reduction Limiter is of special importance ress. but as a creative envelope shaping tool, too!
in this scenario. The chosen parameters result
in a rather strong amount of compression with If for example an organ is processed this way, And once you got your envelope right, do not
fast release times and negative ratios. it will sound tighter as its transients receive an forget to check if the Niveau Filter can give an
accentuation. And no matter if a single note or a additional kick to the processed signal...
Without the limiter, the signal would be com- full chord is played – the output level will always
pressed way too much; 10 to 15 dB of gain stay the same, so that the result does not sound
reduction would occur quite regularly in this like typical compression.
case. But here the limiter reduces the maximum
amount of gain reduction to 6 dB. This example shows that the mpressor can have
a strong influence on the complete envelope
If now the gain controller is set to 6 dB, the sig- of a signal. Take some time to find out how the

settings - transient enhancer 17

Distorted compression

settings

By using very fast time constants, the mpressor increase the amount of total harmonic distor- wonderful LoFi style. Especially bass and drums
can also be abused to create special distortion tion (THD) which can be used to push this effect are ideal instruments for being processed in this
sounds. To do so, set the attack controller to its even further. way.
minimum of 0.01 ms and the release time also
to its fastest value of 5.0 ms. If this causes too much output gain for the These characteristic sounds can be the perfect
following stages, just add a simple gain plug- twist for Ambient Music, Trip Hop and all styles
Now the compressor becomes so fast that it in from your host software directly after the of electronic music in general.
compresses and twists almost every single mpressor to get it right.
wave form separately! The result sounds similar
to a distortion unit, but without the usual draw- Now you can also use the Niveau Filter to shape
back that the noise floor of the input signal is the distortion sound you have just generated.
amplified.
If the filter is used in its low pass position, for
Remember that a high makeup gain setting will example, everything will start to sound in a

settings - distorted compression 18

Delay loops

settings

Delay and compressor in a loop – does that Now send a signal from any source into AUX 1. If ter controllers during this process results in a
make any sense at all? Absolutely, because this the gain controller of the compressor is set in a shift of the frequency response with each rep-
combination is a truly rich source for lots of cra- way that the delay sound becomes louder with etition of the delay.
zy sounds! every repetition, it will finally fall into a feedback
loop which is kept steady by the compressor. If you are familiar with feedback loops, you will
To create them, assign an AUX buss (let’s say not have a hard time setting this up. If it feels
AUX 1) to the input of the mpressor. Send the If the Niveau Filter is used in addition to bend difficult at first, though, never surrender: it takes
output of the mpressor to the input of a follow- the frequency response, very noisy, pumping some experiments at the beginning to get it
ing delay, which has to be set to 100 % wet, so and breathing sounds that keep changing con- right.
that its output carries only the processed signal. tinuously will be the result.
Make sure to check the demo sounds both for
The output of this delay is what you will listen Very short delay times between 5 and 30 ms can the mpressor hardware and the plugin on our
to, but at the same time you send the output of even generate oscillating sounds that instantly website in order to get an idea how this will
the delay to AUX 1, too! remind of synthesizers. Turning the Niveau Fil- sound and what you can do with it.

settings - delay loops 19

Mix buss

settings

The mpressor also proves of great value when If you use the mpressor plugin straight on from drums louder as usual so that they dominate
used as a high class mix buss compressor, es- the beginning of a mix, it is very likely that you the compression process. All other instruments
pecially when it comes to the more vehement will automatically adapt your mixing to the which are quieter in the mix now groove in con-
genres like rock and electronic music. sound this produces. formity with the drums and become very vivid
thereby.
We even have some clients who are using the The proportions between the levels of the sepa-
hardware for mastering applications. If you are rate tracks will be attuned perfectly to the ac- From here on, feel free to experiment with the
aiming to do so, though, always keep in mind tive compressor. This kind of mixing especially mpressor plugin in any way that comes to your
that the mpressor is a hard knee design and that makes sense if the complete basic sound is sup- mind. There are lots of options and interesting
applying lots of gain also increases THD. posed to sounds different from the ‘standards’ sounds to be discovered. We wish you lots of
of other productions. fun finding them!
If you want to achieve gentle results, gentle and
careful settings are the inevitable basis to get If you want a complete song to sound very
there. groovy and pumping, for example, just mix the

settings - mix buss 20

 MORE?

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