Pop2
TL;DW: Pop2 adds control and punch to Pop.
Back in the day, I said I would get an Allen and Heath compressor to do Pop2. That is not what happened here, and Pop2 is not a hardware emulation (even though I’m demonstrating it against a Heritage Audio Successor using a sidechain filter on the hardware comp that Pop2 doesn’t even have)
What happened is this: Pop was the best testbed for some experiments I needed to do. I needed to split out attack and decay speeds (as much as I could, on this crazy algorithm!) and I needed to build ClipOnly2 into the output stage.
This is because there’s a trick you can do if you know how. If you compress in such a way that a huge spikey attack pokes out, and then you clip that attack, you can get and control a sort of distorted ‘splat’ on the attack that highlights it usefully. (I didn’t make this up: Paul Frindle talked about it publicly as a useful thing to do)
The result of these experiments is Pop2, a software compressor so intense that you have to shoot it out with a rackmount compressor which will set you back $1700… and even then, it’s not a given which wins. The hardware will give you more midrange sonority (that Successor is fully transformer balanced and a really nice piece of kit) and hangs on to decays in a characteristic way… but Pop2 stands up for itself damn well, plus you can run one on all 16 inserts of your hybrid analog/digital recording setup, plus there’s a bit of a price difference.
On a personal note I apologize for the delay and lack of plugin last week: I was at a hospital but not over myself or my lady, in this case it’s my best friend out here in Vermont. Suffice to say I am studio building like a madman because it is my way of coping with grief and loss, and I’ll rest at times too, but he would appreciate me turning to my lifework at such a time, as he’s been an inspiration to me in turn: and that’s enough of that for now. Just know: maybe sometimes go for your dreams and don’t wait, because you never know when your life or those near you will be just taken away.
I am proud to still be here helping you go for YOUR dreams, and hope that Pop2 helps you do that. Please help support my Patreon and I’ll continue to charge forth doing everything I can, and it also helps me be there for my friends and loved ones when I need to drop everything and drive or fly to somebody’s side (which we will hope does not become a constant refrain!)
Love you folks, talk to you later :)
download StarterKit.zip for just the basics
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download LinuxARMVSTs.zip for the Pi
download Retro 32 Bit Windows VSTs.zip
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I wish you all the best for your friend, Chris. It’s simply a gift to know that you’re creating with so much life happening around you. Please make sure to take time for yourself, too! Even if that’s just watching TV or walking alone by the sea.
*wish all the best
Sorry for your loss. Pop is a wild compressor. I like it on intense settings (intense like 40% or so right before it inverts the dynamics completely), but then attack and release is always a problem. Will test out Pop2 soon, maybe it will work more controllable on consonants or drum grooves now. Thank you and good luck for your plans.
It sucks losing a loved one. If grieving incorporates putting that energy into building up your studio then it is not only healing but constructive as well. You have my sympathies.
First of all, sorry for your loss of a best friend…my saying is if you’re amongst the living than live…I just want to let you know that as soon as I installed this plugin I used it to replace a BA 6A compressor that I was using on a mix…
I am sorry for your loss, Chris. I hope you and your friend’s family find comfort anytime soon.
There is no reason for you to apologize. Take the time you need to recover.
Thank you very much for all the hard work and generosity you put inside your plugins.
Love you, Chris!
It’s sad to lose a dear one. More so when we pass a certain age. I concur with Craig: Live on!
And thank you for your generosity.
I’m so sorry to hear this, Chris. It’s never a good time to loose those we love. Hang in there and take care of yourself. Thanks again for all you do for the community.
That’s so awful man, i’m sorry for your loss :(
Experimenting with a new plugin of yours is always a highlight in my week, they’re one of my main inspirations and i’m eternally grateful :)
Dear Chris, I am very sorry for your loss!
I would like to thank you for the wonderful plugins you have been releasing into the world, they help me out a lot in inspiring and shaping my music.
I really love Pop2, the sounds I have been able to get with it are really great but I have a problem with it: At least in Studio One 6, using the 64bit VST version the attack-knob seems to not do anything. I tested it and it almost perfectly nulls with an instant on a duplicate out of phase channel regardless of the setting.
Still sounds great, just not as versatile.
If I might be so bold as to add a feature request, I would really like an output-volume-control for compensating the considerable gain this plugin adds for easier A/B-ing and compatibility with effects after it.
My condolences and thanks again,
Wilko
I’m sorry, time for a correction: after more testing I found out that this only happens when the release is set to maximum, the higher the release is set, the less the attack knob position seems to matter. The attack and release also seem to be linked in a way, changing one seems to affect the other.
I have a feeling of not understanding these controls, can you shed a little light on what exacly they do?
I also found that the plugins appears to affect the stereo image of my two test channels differently, could you explain how that happens?
one of the bests (there are many bests!)