This controls how much compression happens.

Higher ratios, like 10:1, mean more compression & gain reduction, lower values mean less. At 1:1, there is no compression at all.

Technically, a ratio of 10:1 means that for every 10 dB the input signal is above the Threshold, the output signal will only increase by 1 dB. Because VCME is a vari-mu design, though, the ratio is not set in stone and changes dynamically depending on the source.

This controls where the compression happens.

When the signal goes above the threshold, compression begins (this is the “attack” of the compressor). When the signal drops below the threshold, compression stops (this is the “release” of the compressor).

Comp Listen can be very helpful for tailoring the attack & release times to your source material.

This controls the output gain of the compressor to “make up” for the compressor’s gain reduction.

Setting the Makeup Gain correctly makes it much easier to A/B with or without compression and compare to the original uncompressed signal.

Attack Time has a big impact on transient sounds, especially drums & rhythmic material, and can be used to control their punch & overall timbre.

Smaller values, like 10 ms, allow the compressor to move very fast, quickly clamping down on transients. Larger values, like 250 ms, cause the compressor to work more slowly, letting the initial transients through before reacting.

While these values are provided in milliseconds, they should only be used as a rough guide since the attack speed is also impacted by the Ratio, Threshold, etc. In general, the higher the gain reduction, the faster VCME moves.

Like Attack Time, Release Time has a big impact on how VCME responds to transient sounds.

Smaller values, like 10 ms, allow the compressor to return to zero very fast, quickly releasing after transients. Larger values, like 250 ms, cause the compressor to release more slowly & smoothly, leading to less pumping and a more controlled, punchy sound.

As with Attack Time, these values are provided in milliseconds; however, they should only be used as a rough guide since the release speed is also impacted by the Ratio, Threshold, etc. In general, the higher the gain reduction, the faster VCME moves. One exception to this is the FET Release Style, which operates in a more fixed, obstinate way.

At -100%, the compressor release resembles an opto release, where the initial release occurs quickly, but the latter half of the release happens slowly.

At +100%, the compressor release resembles certain FET designs, where the compressor releases at a consistent rate throughout.

Release Style is an advanced control and may be hard to hear depending on the source material and/or your personal level of ear training. To help hear what it does, we recommend used a transient source (like a drum loop) with exaggerated compression settings. We also recommend adjusting this last, while also tweaking the Release Time, since they are highly related.

VCME has two main processing blocks in the Soft Clip section: Saturation and Limiter.

These chains were designed for mastering applications and will not color the linear frequency response in any way (i.e. they are completely flat in their linear operating range).

• Chino: Hifi, classic tube sound, notes of Hendrix.
• Rødovre: Round, tube-y, smooth.
• Detroit: Grungy, warm, notes of Jamerson. Sousaphone-y.
• Melbourn: Punchy & british. Strong transformer saturation.

At 200%, the saturation responds slowly, leaving fast transients intact but reacting strongly to lower frequencies while adding strong bass harmonics. This produces a smooth, rounder sound.

At 0%, the saturation responds extremely quickly, reacting more strongly to higher frequency content. This leads to extended high frequency harmonics and treble excitement. This produces a brighter, sharper sound and more obvious distortion.

When set to Follows Mix, the limiter mix follows the setting of Soft Clip Mix, where 100% means the limiter is fully mixed in without any dry signal. At Soft Clip Mix settings < 100%, the limiter is NOT guaranteed to prevent clipping or digital overs.

When set to Brickwall, the limiter mix follows the setting of Soft Clip Mix for quieter signals, but as the signal level gets closer to clipping, the limiter mix increases to 100%. In this mode, the limiter is guaranteed to always prevent clipping and digital overs, regardless of the Soft Clip Mix setting.

This control behaves similarly to Soft Clip Sat Slew.

At 200%, the limiter responds slowly while clamping down quickly when needed. This produces a clean and punchy sound, but with less sharp transients.

At 0%, the limiter responds extremely quickly, more like the classic soft clipper in certain mastering A-to-D converters. This setting can produce obvious distortion when pushed, but when used sparingly, it provides extra gain enhancement with minimal reduction in transient content.

100% is a nice middle ground and is our recommend starting place.

0% is clean & sharp: no analog saturation, and the limiter acts only on the highest peaks above -3 dBFS.

100% is true-to-life: closely mimicking what you might get with an analog mastering device when pushed hard. The limiter knee is fairly soft and provides a good balance between soft/hard clipping.

200% is extreme saturation and distortion, almost fuzz-like. This setting adds extreme amounts of gain (more than 40 dB) with extended harmonics. The limiter knee is the softest at this setting, producing tape-like soft clipping. We recommend using HQ Mode when pushing Soft Clip Drive hard.

“When set to Auto, the gain increases as Soft Clip Drive increases to compensate for any losses caused by the soft clipper.

When set to Manual, no gain compensation is applied and the soft clipper is only allowed to reduce the gain.

Negative values increase bass content in the sidechain, resulting in increased compression sensitivity to bass frequencies.

Positive values reduce bass content in the sidechain, resulting in decreased compression sensitivity to bass frequencies.

Positive values create a low shelf boost. Negative values begin as a low shelf cut and eventually morph into a pure low cut.

Positive values create a high shelf boost. Negative values begin as a high shelf cut and eventually morph into a pure high cut.

By default, the compressor “listens” its own input signal to determine how much it should compress that same signal.

Using Sidechain Source, you can select a different source to listen to. This is often called “sidechaining” — where the dynamics of one signal are used to compress another signal.

This is what VCME’s compressor is “listening” to.

100% is fully external.

50% is an equal blend of external and internal.

0% is fully internal.

The Comp Link Stereo is useful for controlling how the compressor responds to stereo signals, and it can have a big impact on the stereo image of the output.

When set to Off, each channel is limited independently of the other channels. This setting typically produces the loudest results.

When set to Full, the entire channel-set is used to determine how much limiting should occur. This setting largely preserves the panning location and placement within the stereo / surround field (though small limiting differences may occur near 0 dBFS).

When set to Hybrid, a hybrid linking algorithm is used that mostly preserves panning and stereo / surround positioning while minimizing pumping and other modulation artifacts.