I am courious about how effective a good compressor would be for the Digitakt.
Would the FMR RNLA be a nice partner?
Wo uses which compressor and what experience do you have with it?
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Donāt have much experience with audio engineering but I run my DT to a DAW and use the free āRough riderā plug-in which is supposed to emulate analog compression. I just use one of the presets that I think sounds good. Some would probably say it āwarms up the soundā, I wouldnāt know about that.
But yes I think pretty much everything Iāve made so far sounds better with some compression. I imagine myself getting some sort of hardware compressor for future gigs.
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I use heat
It is expensive and it took me a while to accept it
I love the sound but wanted to sell it all the timeā¦
Now I think I cannot live withoutā¦
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You use the env follower for controlling the dynamics?
I really wish the DT would have an extra output for select tracks so you could run the kick drum to the side-chain input on one of those FMRs. I suppose maybe you could split the DT-output to a bandpass, filter out all but the low frequencies and run that to the side-chain input of the compressor. But that would require extra gear and I think at that point one might as well get the Analog Heat instead I suppose.
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Wellā¦ Let me say it like this
I try toā¦
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There are many 2ch comps out there that have a hpf in the sidechain signalpath. I suggest you research a bit.
Plenty of usable comps on the second hand marketā¦ RNC/RNLAās are not the only game in town.
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Thanks for the tip! I will.
dbx 266 xs is great for drums. affordable, but still kicks ass as it makes the drums so amazingly punchy!
if not Hardware; try Ozone. Probably the best all-out solution for Mastering these days ā¦
Iām interested in any other recommendations for a cheap master compressor.
how does the Heat do in this capacity? itās not actually a compressor, is it?
No itās not, but you can use it kinda like one since it has envelope follower based modulation.
Iāve ordered one of these bad boys, but not sure I can recommend em as Stamās build/wait times are long, and no HPF in the sidechain in this one either:
http://stamaudio.com/sa-4000.html
Have you checked joemeek comps? They have a pretty good rep AFAIK, and regularly show up in ebay listingsā¦ dbx is a strong choice as well.
What made you change your mind? Iām happy you did but curious what swayed you in the end.
I never use a compressor except for the compressors inside the Tascam DP03, other than that, I think the raw Digitakt sound has some frightening flavor to it. Besides, sometimes a compressor makes the sound small.
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Donāt have a DT but generally I have found any drums will need some form of compression to tame the overall dynamics and levels between each hit or instrument
I have found it best to use a bus comp with a high pass filter on the sidechain, allowing bass frequencies to pass through unaffected, and only mids and highs triggering the compressor, and only these frequencies being compressed.
The āsmallā compressed sound a lot of the time is the result of bass frequencies being squashed using full range compression, resulting in overall loss of punch.
This is where software is great, as it generally gives you much greater control over the frequency spectrum.
But there are definitely no rules, so experiment for best results
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I have tried both the RNC and RNLA. The RNLA is definitely more saturated than the RNC. Depending on how you use your Digitakt youāll find that the RNLA is a bit more specialized.
The RNC works very well in processing the master output when mixing different sorts of tracks, percussive, tonal, etc. Sounds great even without the really nice setting toggled IMO. Iāve done gigs with this as well processing my gear without side-chaining. Works wonders 
I donāt know good mastering practices, but both you and tsutek mention high-pass filter on the side-chain. I though the idea with side-chaining was to let the bass trigger the gain-reduction in order to achieve a āduckingā-effect when the bass hits. That is part of what Iām after when I would add compression to the DT. Wouldnāt that purpose be defeated by a HP filter on the side-chain? (I know you can achieve this effect also with the Heat by setting the effects envelope to trigger on low frequencies.)
Yeah it totally depends on the application of the compressor and what you are trying to achieve. Both methods serve completely different purposes
yes. In a typical two buss compression scenario, one does not usually wish for any pumping effects. The HPF sidechain is effectively similar to just rolling off low end with an eq (pre-emphasis?), running into the comp, and then restoring the eq rolloff/cut with a matching āanti-eqā (de-emphasis?), just saves you the hassle. This is because, especially in dance/club music, low freqs have so much energy that they would overwhelm the buss compressor otherwise.
I hear the old alesis 3630 comps are good for that pumping effect? IIRC Daft Punk etc used to use oneā¦? They seem to go for peanuts these daysā¦ And there are mods too!
Also, and I might be wrong on this, the envelope follower on the heat reacts differently to an input signal than an input detector in a compressor, therefore the results might be slightly different?
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I went on holiday with Digitakt only
The clean sound lacks character, I think
When connecting heat, the āI think its called saturationā changes everything
I create some distirtion
And with drywet & drive
I layer it under (Or better: I add it IN) the soundā¦
Amazing, But also expensiveā¦
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It is expensive, but thereās that (somewhat tired now) argument that if youād put together all these features in separate boxes, or even plug-ins, youād end up paying even more.
Iād say the Heat for specific purposes, is a pricey item. But if you go all Heat, like youāre describing, and that EQ and filter and effects really all contribute in ways youād want something else to do anyway, itās well worth it.
But yes, itās certainly not cheap, by any means, no matter the value.
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