Warm Audio introduces a VCA Stereo Bus Compressor

[KevWind]

At NAMM Warm Audio (known for making very aggressively value priced decent quality Pro Audio) introduced their new Stereo Bus Compressor (called "Bus-Comp")
It is designed using a classic VCA style as the basic design format and added some new features.

If it performs anywhere near the quality of the unit it is designed after , At a MSRP of $699, It may well get some hardware feel into the hands of people formerly entirely ITB

[Bob Womack]

If this is what rumor has it to be, an SSL 4000 console stereo bus compressor clone, at that price point it will be a no-brainer. Having spent years mixing on the 4000, I learned that the SSL bus compressor was just one of those "make better" tools for mixes. As Mitch says, it tends to glue the mix together in a really cohesive way. It is also just the the thing for compressing a program where you have established stereo imaging and don't want to damage the imaging by differential compression. If they pulled it off, this is quite coup.



Here's the 4048E/G I loved for years. I've got a meter turret and a collection of faders from it that I'm going to frame up one day.

Bob

[jim1960]

Warm Audio is kinda hit and miss. I've heard some files of their 1176 clone and at identical settings it's noticeably off from a real 1176, and their LA2A clone is so lacking in character that some folks have developed mods for those units. Also, they really cut corners are pots and switches. That doesn't bode well for long term use, imo.

Chad Kelly was a mic designer at Warm for a couple of years. A friend of mine who has had some conversations with him told me that he left out of frustration that the lowest price possible became king and the integrity of his designs was sacrificed over and over again. Chad went out on his own as Signal Art Electronics and now has his own line of mid-priced clones, plus he does modifications to the Warm mics he designed to bring them back in line with his original designs. He has a blog on that website which is very interesting if mic guts excite you.

I know I keep promoting Audio-Scape and I swear I have no affiliation. They just make incredibly excellent gear for very reasonable prices. They also make a G Buss compressor. I own it and it's excellent. There are a bunch of YouTube reviews for anyone wanting to check it out.

[gwlee7]

I also have no affiliation to Audioscape but I will second Jim’s recommendation as a very satisfied customer. I have three different compressors from them and couldn’t be happier.

[KevWind]

Thanks guys, Interesting. I have not used any Warm Audio products. Simply read reviews and I believe Glenn Willow is pleased with his U 47 clone.
Honestly currently I am pretty well set for gear.

But we are contemplating a possible second house ( much further south for a warmer winter season). So I am simply (gassing at this point) and investigating a second, very simple and less expensive studio system.

So I will put Signal Art and Audio- Scape into the Check out file

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by gwlee7

I also have no affiliation to Audioscape but I will second Jim’s recommendation as a very satisfied customer. I have three different compressors from them and couldn’t be happier.

The Audio-Scape Bus Comp looks interesting is that one of your 3 ?

As I noted, currently have an IGS Tubecore 3U Mastering Edition tube Vari-Mu style and am sold on hardware for master Bus compression. I realize either the Warm or the Audio Scape are different animals being SS for starters but given they are both 1/4 the price they have potential for my scaled down studio


And I have to admit the Signal Arts sm 57 mod looks interesting also

And if Signal Arts clones (or perhaps more accurately. vintage design based offerings ) are as good as the ADK Z-Mods, they are a definite value bargain. For me exact replication is not the issue, it has only to with flavor and quality

[gwlee7]

Originally Posted by KevWind

The Audio-Scape Bus Comp looks interesting is that one of your 3 ?

Yes. I have an LA2A, an 1176, and then the stereo Buss comp from Audioscape. All three are stellar pieces of equipment.

The reason I became interested in their products is because of jim 1960. He has been kind enough to speak with me via email outside of message boards and we have been talking about all sorts of gear. He likes the sound and value of audioscape gear and turned me on to their products. You would not be disappointed in my opinion with any item purchased from them.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by gwlee7

Yes. I have an LA2A, an 1176, and then the stereo Buss comp from Audioscape. All three are stellar pieces of equipment.

The reason I became interested in their products is because of jim 1960. He has been kind enough to speak with me via email outside of message boards and we have been talking about all sorts of gear. He likes the sound and value of audioscape gear and turned me on to their products. You would not be disappointed in my opinion with any item purchased from them.

Thanks they are on the list

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Thanks they are on the list

Hey Kev, I have the Audioscape version of an 1176 Blue Strip and I really like it.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

Hey Kev, I have the Audioscape version of an 1176 Blue Strip and I really like it.

Good to know thanks.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by KevWind

The Audio-Scape Bus Comp looks interesting is that one of your 3 ?

I forget which comps gwlee7 owns, but I own four Audio-Scape comps ...well six actually, but that's including two pairs:
Opto (LA2A clones) x2
76A (1176 clones) x2
Buss Compressor (SSL clone)
V-Comp (Sta-Level clone)

The UAD LA2A plugin has always been one of my favorites. I was curious to know what kind of improvement I'd get with a real LA2A but with an outboard LA2A selling for around $3800, owning a pair was out of reach. I investigated clones for a long time and I found some with mixed reviews and too many of the positive reviews were from people who impressed me as not knowing very much. At some point good reviews for the Audio-Scape Opto starting showing up and, more importantly to me, the good reviews were coming from people who knew what they were talking about. I decided that for $700, I'd take a gamble.

On the day it arrived, I invited a couple of friends who have their own studios to come over and hear it with me. They both brought tracks they knew well to run through the box. We did a comparison with the UAD plugin. All of us had used the UAD plugin and all of us liked the UAD plugin but the Audio-Scape Opto did something very musical to the top end of the tracks we ran through it. There is a smoothness and a sweetening that the Opto imparts that really makes it stand out from the plugin. It impressed me enough that I ordered a second Opto so I'd have a pair. One extremely cool feature of the AS Opto is that they moved the High Frequency adjustment from the back of the unit to the front, and they made it a knob rather than something that needed a screwdriver.

Since the Opto impressed me so much, I gave their 1176 clone a shot and it impressed me equally as well, then the same for the Buss Compressor.

The one piece I wouldn't want to be without is the V-Comp. Singing vocals through that comp is just amazing. Even when you're only lightly touching the vocals, the V-Comp imparts a wonderful character that I can't get from anything else I own. I heard one of the AS guys describe it as "Johnny Cash in a box." He wasn't lying.

Originally Posted by KevWind

As I noted, currently have an IGS Tubecore 3U Mastering Edition tube Vari-Mu style and am sold on hardware for master Bus compression. I realize either the Warm or the Audio Scape are different animals being SS for starters but given they are both 1/4 the price they have potential for my scaled down studio

Yes, different animals for sure. Mine just sits on my 2buss and anything I mix goes through it. It provides that metaphorical glue we always hear people speaking about, but what it does not do is make it sound like someone threw a wet blanket over the music. And again, it just sounds better than the UAD version. I don't know how those guys at Audio-Scape are doing it, but I've yet to hear anyone complaining about anything they make.

I also like how they run their business. They don't take any money from you until they have the unit you want to buy ready to ship. If you contact the owner, Chris Yetter, ahead of time, he'll invoice you directly when the unit you want is ready to go, but otherwise you have to grab them quick when they go up on the website because his stock never lasts more than a day. Just a small company building gear the right way.

They're going to have a couple of new products on the market this year. They showed a 500 series version of an LA3A at NAMM last month, and Chris told me a mastering EQ should be ready sometime late in 2020. I'm interested in the LA3A but I'm probably more interested in the mastering EQ because I'm getting quite a bit of mastering work lately.

Originally Posted by KevWind

And I have to admit the Signal Arts sm 57 mod looks interesting also

And if Signal Arts clones (or perhaps more accurately. vintage design based offerings ) are as good as the ADK Z-Mods, they are a definite value bargain. For me exact replication is not the issue, it has only to with flavor and quality

My buddy, Vin Ricciardi, just did a review of the Premium Edition Signal Arts 48. In the video he compares it to the Blue Bottle Rocket Stage II with the B7 capsule and to my Flea 47. I'm not a fan of the Blue Bottle Rocket. You can buy a bunch of capsules for it which are supposed to give it many flavors but I feel like it always come up short. The Flea is just hands down the best 47 replica I've ever heard. That said, the Signal Arts 48 sounds good to my ears. It doesn't quite have the magic of the Flea on the top, but there's certainly some of it there, and the bottom end impressed me. At $1900 it's less than half the price of the Flea and I think it will work quite nicely for most people.

The part of the video where Vin is shaking his keys at the mics is a test for sibilance. He did that at the suggestion of someone and I'm nowhere near done busting his chops over that bit of silliness.

[Brent Hahn]

The keys test lets you clearly hear the character of the hf breakup. There's no such thing as a condenser mic that can capture jangling keys flawlessly.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

The keys test lets you clearly hear the character of the hf breakup. There's no such thing as a condenser mic that can capture jangling keys flawlessly.

I've neither seen nor heard of that test before, but what you say makes sense. I'm still going to make fun of my friend though.

[Brent Hahn]

Originally Posted by jim1960

I've neither seen nor heard of that test before, but what you say makes sense. I'm still going to make fun of my friend though.

It lets you get an unsubtle idea of how the mic breaks up, so when you hear a more subtle version of it with a spiky source like, say, French horns or a Harmon muted trumpet or a mark tree, you'll know what you're dealing with. Or if it's time to try a different mic.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by jim1960

I forget which comps gwlee7 owns, but I own four Audio-Scape comps ...well six actually, but that's including two pairs:
Opto (LA2A clones) x2
76A (1176 clones) x2
Buss Compressor (SSL clone)
V-Comp (Sta-Level clone)

The UAD LA2A plugin has always been one of my favorites. I was curious to know what kind of improvement I'd get with a real LA2A but with an outboard LA2A selling for around $3800, owning a pair was out of reach. I investigated clones for a long time and I found some with mixed reviews and too many of the positive reviews were from people who impressed me as not knowing very much. At some point good reviews for the Audio-Scape Opto starting showing up and, more importantly to me, the good reviews were coming from people who knew what they were talking about. I decided that for $700, I'd take a gamble.

On the day it arrived, I invited a couple of friends who have their own studios to come over and hear it with me. They both brought tracks they knew well to run through the box. We did a comparison with the UAD plugin. All of us had used the UAD plugin and all of us liked the UAD plugin but the Audio-Scape Opto did something very musical to the top end of the tracks we ran through it. There is a smoothness and a sweetening that the Opto imparts that really makes it stand out from the plugin. It impressed me enough that I ordered a second Opto so I'd have a pair. One extremely cool feature of the AS Opto is that they moved the High Frequency adjustment from the back of the unit to the front, and they made it a knob rather than something that needed a screwdriver.

Since the Opto impressed me so much, I gave their 1176 clone a shot and it impressed me equally as well, then the same for the Buss Compressor.

The one piece I wouldn't want to be without is the V-Comp. Singing vocals through that comp is just amazing. Even when you're only lightly touching the vocals, the V-Comp imparts a wonderful character that I can't get from anything else I own. I heard one of the AS guys describe it as "Johnny Cash in a box." He wasn't lying.



Yes, different animals for sure. Mine just sits on my 2buss and anything I mix goes through it. It provides that metaphorical glue we always hear people speaking about, but what it does not do is make it sound like someone threw a wet blanket over the music. And again, it just sounds better than the UAD version. I don't know how those guys at Audio-Scape are doing it, but I've yet to hear anyone complaining about anything they make.

I also like how they run their business. They don't take any money from you until they have the unit you want to buy ready to ship. If you contact the owner, Chris Yetter, ahead of time, he'll invoice you directly when the unit you want is ready to go, but otherwise you have to grab them quick when they go up on the website because his stock never lasts more than a day. Just a small company building gear the right way.

They're going to have a couple of new products on the market this year. They showed a 500 series version of an LA3A at NAMM last month, and Chris told me a mastering EQ should be ready sometime late in 2020. I'm interested in the LA3A but I'm probably more interested in the mastering EQ because I'm getting quite a bit of mastering work lately.



My buddy, Vin Ricciardi, just did a review of the Premium Edition Signal Arts 48. In the video he compares it to the Blue Bottle Rocket Stage II with the B7 capsule and to my Flea 47. I'm not a fan of the Blue Bottle Rocket. You can buy a bunch of capsules for it which are supposed to give it many flavors but I feel like it always come up short. The Flea is just hands down the best 47 replica I've ever heard. That said, the Signal Arts 48 sounds good to my ears. It doesn't quite have the magic of the Flea on the top, but there's certainly some of it there, and the bottom end impressed me. At $1900 it's less than half the price of the Flea and I think it will work quite nicely for most people.

The part of the video where Vin is shaking his keys at the mics is a test for sibilance. He did that at the suggestion of someone and I'm nowhere near done busting his chops over that bit of silliness.

Jim hey thanks for the extensive reply. Both companies sound like the kind of companies I tend to prefer to deal with for audio gear .
Yes I know what you mean my 3U lives on my 2 Bus and everything is mixed using it.

I had never heard of the Key thingy but it makes sense.

I liked Vin's video, there is however one suggestion you might pass along for his consideration and that would be to edit the different mic vocal comparisons phrase by phrase so that a there is a more direct (time wise) comparison between mics and the various sections in the vocal performance . Human retention ability is such that much more than about 5 to 10 seconds for comparison analysis, introduces more potential for less accurate assessment ,,,,just a thought.