In theory, good points tobymusic. In practice, the Vcomp does not sound very close to a 2254. There is no ifs or buts. People who used the hardware find it obvious. I heard the samples alphablast posted before he took them down. The difference is the same as in my 2254Es. Waves 2254 sounds too dark without any clarity... maybe trying to sell the dark "vintage" sound to their clients. Too bad its not real. They did a better job with the Urei emulations.

Is the Vcomp very usable and a good tool to have? Yes. If it was called the ABCDComp would I have ever guessed its a 2254 emulation based on its sound? No.

thumbsup

It's an OK plug but I rarely use it, it's very noisy as well. I prefer the CLA compressors from Waves, I think they come a lot closer to the original.

32? are the bands you record that inconsistent?
how many instruments do your artists tend to record?
wow 32..... I wish I had that much money

I'm a hardware nut. But that is total ****ing bollocks.

Some plugins come closer to the original than others, but V-comp is not very close if you ask me.
Useable plugin? Yes.
Close to a real 2254? No.

I don't know about you but I have personally found that the more digital you go the more real vintage hardware comps tubes and transformers you actually need.

Useful is the key word not the same by a long shot but both extremley useful

Although I think everyone would agree that digital/plug ins are an entirely different animal, which emulations, if any, would you say are the most accurate in reproducing the hardware? Opinions...........

some eq's emulations are pretty close.. can't think of one of the top of head though

Waves makes some good stuff, but there's no substitute for running audio through wires and gear.

I A/B'd the Waves 2254 to the real thing.
no comparison.
did the same with their Blue stripe and 1176 blackface and the "Puigchild"..nah ah tutt
You see guys like CLA swapping out the hardware yet?
nope.

Waves[and CLA] are banking on the huge population of software guys who don't have the real deal to compare.

...or the money to afford the real deal. I do like the fact that the plugs do a great job, even if they don't sound like the hardware.

If you're happy with the plug ins that's great.

regarding the OP's original question,no they don't sound the same and I think it's silly to market this stuff to be accurate repros of the hardware.
but like I said they're marketing this stuff to people who most likely don't have a real reference..and its making them money as a result.

Silly is the word.. but in todays climate in the music business they're ablsolutley necessary and an essential tool for many...

I think it all depends on the setup you're using.

If you have crappy converters (especially on the AD side) with cheap cabling i would say that it is possible you'd like a plugin version better.
Routing a signal in and out the "box" could in this case allready diminish the quality of the audio in such a way that when monitoring you only actually hear a small percent of the actual quality of the hardware.

It's like mixing fine wine with water if you will.

I've worked for years only in the box when I had no money to invest in hardware. It's a lot of fun and there are plugins doing stuff hardware can't replicate. But the same goes the other way around.

I think it's senseless to invest a big pile of money into 1 hardware unit if you're not going to invest in a very high quality converter and cabling.
If you just got the cash for the hardware unit, then don't and seek out some really good sounding and cool plugins, you'll probable get a lot more efficiency for you're investment.
My 2 cents.

+1

@Surbitone: go read this 4 or 5 times.
Now go and A/B a Bombfactory 'Pultec' plug with an original EQP on some track you are mixing.
Repeat cycle with every plug you have and its corresponding hardware until you can hear the difference.


Cheers!

The make money, or guys like me get an awesome plugin to allow me to achieve amazing results.

It's true, but every unit sounds pretty different. There have actually been a lot of plugs that fool people in blind tests against the hardware. Even really good software compressors tend to be a little weak on the transients though compared to hardware.

In my experience, that is true only with certain "sweet spot" settings. Set up the plug and the 'corresponding' hardware in any slightly unconventional or less common combination of switch and dial states and any passing similarity between them rapidly evaporates.

it's time understand the plugin is standard for all, not hardware

Kind of off topic, but for those of you who don't care for the Vcomp, try turning the input close to all the way down, the output all the way up, and the ratio at around 3 or 4:1. It has a nice puffy, gluey quality that way.

That said, i still don't find much use for it...

I have the V-series and 2254 clones, I think the V-comps are great. They are very usable when I'm mixing and run out of hardware units..

Someone should do a test on here of it, and everyone who holds a strong opinion on the matter should have to do it.

Key - when you RUN OUT OF HARDWARE...

If they were really that great then you would use them first... Plugs have recall, many more instances etc.

Its funny, anyone who owns 2254s knows damn well the effect they have on a signal, compression aside, that is EXACTLY the thing plugs have difficulty reproducing.

And the previous poster Toby arguing the unit was modded... Right, like the limiter release mod changes everything.

Ridiculous.

I compared them and thought its not even close to the sonic imprint.

I also compared the waves Eddie kramer helios to my vintage lustraphone units- hilarious... Literally.

But sure... some BS mp3 comparison on Gearslutz will prove otherwise.

Wow, Thanks so much captain obvious, where would I be without this pearl of wisdom. You have a bright future, don't give up..

I didn't know the v-comp was supposed to be a virtual 2254e in the first place. The sound is quite different!

Just another 2254 hardware owner (matched pair of the new AMS reissue's)
To my ears the plug sounds nothing like em.. I wouldn't have even guessed they were trying to model a 2254 if I was going by my ears. Just my 2c

there is not a single plugin that does magic. but there are a lot of good and solid plugins that get the work done.

the V sounds totally different then the Neve.

Gesendet von meinem GT-I9300 mit Tapatalk

Of course this is a super old thread but...

What I find interesting is, so much time spent on that which is not visible. Everyone has an opinion I guess...but intimately knowing your gear is the key. Take for example a cajon. I have 2, 1 Di Gregorio and a Selah, they are both great but the actual differences are incredible in tone, the way they are played (the selah likes being played softer). Then I come to recording, I have 3 ways to record these 'boxes' and at the top of the list is a cheap superlux cardioid boundary pair (through analysis plus pro cable). Then the question, how am I loading them? To me, they 'sound' best loaded at 4k to me, 10k is fizzy and 600 ohm is dark with built in compression...what about proximity...hmm testing says 200mm...what Im saying is, most of the magic is in what you capture, the performance, the vib, the interaction and the pallet of the front end. If you are relying on some soft of magic wand to tap, you are wasting your time....spend hours on a piece of gear be it plugin, hardware or whatever but please, dont tell me its going to make everything 'good'. By the time it gets through mastering and you feel so proud of your -6db headroom...it actually means absolutely nothing and the only left will be the magic of the music, the expression and performance.
Work with what you have...thats whats makes things great; connection and people...without that, music is of course just an exercise...not a journey.
Waves stuff makes everything soft to my ears...UAD does a good job, but these are all part of the pallet and useful for create aural bokeh...start painting instead of talking; its a poor image trying to get everything clear.

In summary what Im saying is: compression is a tool to redefine the space and is identical to HDR compression in photography (except you can clearly see it); hardware or software makes NO difference if you arent using it with vision, understanding and competence to complete that vision.