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Hatsubai « Tube and transistor compressor »
Published on 06/27/11 at 19:48The H-Comp compressor is a tube and transistor compressor built into one little plugin. It's a very unique idea to try to get the warmth and dynamics of a tube compressor with the precision and predictability of a transistor based compressor. The plugin itself is very simple to use, but you can do quite a bit with it. You have knobs for the ratio, attack, threshold, punch, release, output, mix, analog signal, a button to allow for it to act as a limiter, the ability to side chain and a sync button. Waves has tons of compressors, and this is one of the better ones. However, it can get a bit overwhelming with just how many compressors they have. I still have trouble choosing certain compressors at times with how many they offer in the Mercury bundle. There were no compatibility issues with this, and I can't comment on the manual as I never read it.
SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE
Waves has a fairly strong reputation out there for making some of the most stable plugins out there. Most don't take up too much memory when using them, and this is no exception. The biggest issue this plugin has is that it's not 64 bit. While it doesn't really matter for me, it might matter for others. I'm lucky enough that Logic Pro has a built in bridge to allow the application to run 32 bit plugins inside of a 64 bit DAW. I'm not sure if other 64 bit DAWs have that with OS X, though. You'll have to contact the company and make sure. I never experienced any crashes, and I don't really expect to since everything runs so smoothly. Then again, I have a Mac Pro with OS 10.6.x, and these machines are known for their stability.
OVERALL OPINION
With so many compressors out there offered by Waves, it's real easy to get compressor overload. This basically combines analog and digital compressors all into one to give a really cool sound to the overall mix. I like using this on the master bus to get some unique tones, but I still gravitate towards other compressors at times. Be sure to check out its limiter and side chain features, too.
SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE
Waves has a fairly strong reputation out there for making some of the most stable plugins out there. Most don't take up too much memory when using them, and this is no exception. The biggest issue this plugin has is that it's not 64 bit. While it doesn't really matter for me, it might matter for others. I'm lucky enough that Logic Pro has a built in bridge to allow the application to run 32 bit plugins inside of a 64 bit DAW. I'm not sure if other 64 bit DAWs have that with OS X, though. You'll have to contact the company and make sure. I never experienced any crashes, and I don't really expect to since everything runs so smoothly. Then again, I have a Mac Pro with OS 10.6.x, and these machines are known for their stability.
OVERALL OPINION
With so many compressors out there offered by Waves, it's real easy to get compressor overload. This basically combines analog and digital compressors all into one to give a really cool sound to the overall mix. I like using this on the master bus to get some unique tones, but I still gravitate towards other compressors at times. Be sure to check out its limiter and side chain features, too.