ButterComp2
TL;DW: ButterComp2 is improved ButterComp with an output control and sound upgrades.
As requested, ButterComp with output gain. And an unexpected bugfix. And a tone upgrade!
So here’s what happened: in working on the new ButterComp, I found a mistake. Because of a thing C programming lets you do (assign, in an if statement) it turned out the original ButterComp didn’t actually use the interleaved compressors after all. The one in CStrip does, but actual ButterComp (which has its own distinct fans!) doesn’t. It’s strictly a bi-polar compressor: it does each half of the wave different, and blends them.
Because of this, I’ve made the source code (also being released) represent what the plugin actually does in practice. It’s a little simplified, and it’s worth paying attention to, for people who like the simplest most minimal form of ButterComp.
But, because of this, I get to release ButterComp2 as very much its own thing! I even came up with a subtle tweak: it modifies its release just a touch, slowing it when the signal’s hot. That’s on a sample-by-sample basis… and it’s on the OUTPUT of the compressor. So, this further smoothing effect is subject to the output level control. And the dry/wet. In fact if you had it all dry, the release modification is therefore as if you had it on the input… making it blend not only between positive and negative wave compression, but also between feedback and feed-forward release time modifications :)
But really what you need to do is listen to it.
With the interleaved compressors fully working AND the bi-polar compression on each, there is indeed the four distinct compressors working in parallel. The whole thing is very gentle (hence the name) but you’ll get a glue and tonal reshaping out of it as it will even out the bulk of the waveform, making it balanced between positive and negative. It’ll also soak up treble detail in a characteristic way, and you’ll really hear the quality of ButterComp2 on ambiences and reverb tails. It’ll float things in space in this holographic way… I thought it made for a significant tonal improvement over the simpler ButterComp.
All this work is supported by my Patreon, and I’ve got plenty more to do so I appreciate the help. Although the challenges of continuing to deal with my Mom and Dad’s deaths (and even the gray cat: she passed away between Mom and Dad) are still with me, I’m keeping busy as much as I can, and some things have gone well: for anyone concerned about Steinberg’s plans for sunsetting VST2, I have now got their license to continue making VST2. Signed and everything, so I can’t help anybody post-October who wants to make VST2s but I’ll be able to keep making them, legally. Pretty sure I can also specify what files you’d need to add to my open source that would make the results build.
In the future, things like music and plugin-making become a kind of communication. There’ll be just one commercial plugin, with 57,000 knobs on it, and you can only rent it and everyone commercial must have it… and then the rest of us, we share interesting little creations back and forth, our works appreciated by a circle of friends who happen to be friends of music or of coding, linked across states and countries by our cooperation.
Until then… thanks for listening to my curious and awkward but helpful voice :)
I Love it and thank YOU!
Seems to not suck so much out of the volume.. I could never get buttercomp to work as the way the plugin was intended work. seemed too sensitive to transients… or i just had no clue how hard to drive it.
I suspect on lower to medium settings buttercomp2 is gonna kick ass. Already loving the difference in out level and noticed from the full mix in video that the snares definitely handled differently… thier transients were less even than they were with buttercomp1, while at the same time the cymbals were “protected” and floated a bit forward. On the dum example there was definitely a natural leveling and bringing forward of all hits without “touching” the cymbals!! MAGIC.
Please use more vocals in the demonstrations. Vocals are so wierd and the quality can go out the window so quick. Seeing how you handle saturation and compression on those devils would be priceless!
Thanks again for all your hard work and keep taking breaks, you look way better and besides you have revolutionised the scene already. If you really look at what your plugins can do now, and how smartly they do it and work together, anyone will be shocked and inspired.
A true hero. Your work is making my days mixing my silly demos A LOT of fun. You’re the man, Chris! I’m joining your patreon next paycheque! Rock on brother.
I use ButterComp2 since two months now, and I was blown away by the fact that I can mimic in conjunction with BusColors4 pretty much the OCL2 feeling in mastering.
Chris Johnson you rock, and you are too much under the radar.
https://soundcloud.com/andreasoberholz/chilin-con-carne-ambient-crossover