PlanetZ forums - scopeusers.com

Just got Vinco. Man, it's been a while since I've bought creamware gear. Anyway, here are my initial thoughts about it.
The main strength is the Peak detection mode, or the limiter mode. It'll squash all the peaks without letting any through. Unlike the standard limiter. This mode is much more intuitive even as a comp, I think.

But the "no-pumping" legend doesn't seem to be quite as true. Of course, if you set the release at a very low level, you can have it never pump, at the expense of possibly saturating the material. (as with any limiter) But with longer releases, and with material that has sudden dynamic changes, yes, it will pump. The original material would have to have fairly steady dynamics to begin with for the "no-pump" effect.

The RMS mode puts it in a normal compressor mode. So I was fiddling with the attack and release knobs. The release goes from 30ms to 1500ms. Ok, standard. But the attack! 0.1ms to just 50? I dunno about you, but to keep my kicks alive and roomy, I usually go as far as 90 or even over 100ms. So the 50ms attack thing sort of ruins half the fun for me. But for snappy things, it 50 should be enough.

And in RMS mode, it's very easy to clip the material, as opposed to peak mode. Even the softclip in the chain won't hold the level down.

But in general though, I get the point that Vinco, wasn't made to do detailed sonic carpentry, but more like a volume control device. It might be good to use veeeery little at the end of your chain to gain that extra few decibels in the mix. It would also work very well on live material. In contrast, I think the standard comp just kills it.

Also for quick masters, OK. Demos, OK. I wouldn't suggest using it for a final, final master. If you have no options, well, I guess this is far better than a standard limiter. But if you do have the option, stick to optimaster or some sort of multiband compressor solution. But again, for quick results, yes, the vinco should work.

I'm curious to hear what others have experienced with vinco on a technical level.

I've got addicted to Vinco.
It gives me the *direct* sound I knew from mixing consoles (Neve) I worked with.
My audio material is pure synth/samples so I haven't got the problems e.g. with a acoustic drumkit, where long attack times are necessary.

Of course I don't overuse the effect of Vinco, especially be careful with the soft clip.
But basses, drums and synth seq lines are recorded with Vinco now. And they jump into the face.
I use the *attack* value literally now: "more between the eyes, or straight into the mouth?"

Vinco is for me the best software compressor I've ever used. (And I've tried a lot... )
The final mix has become a lot easier now.

Eurocide-HQ

the vinco in RMS mode is far far smoother that the standard one (night and day ). you can have 3-6 db gain reduction without notice any artifact even the first time I was wondering if it works ! the compression is here but the material seems no compressed . anyway with outrageous gain reduction the pumping is here . but if you want the pumping effect better choose a hard knee compressor . I use it on whole drum mix (2 omni OH and 2 mikes for the kick and with neve pres recorded directly in stereo without any comp or eq ) and it's superb ,no needs of close miking (just need a good sounding room ). it works also very well on voice . frankly it's the best choice for acoustic things

Finally we have someone on planetz who has worked whith a Neve console...

I haven´t tried the Vinco yet and I´m still stuck to the SP 2.04 package together whith the timeworks plugs, including compressor-X which people claim to give you a similar result to the SSL compressors. However, I think it´s always good to have some alternatives... Did some of you compare the Vinco to the real 1176? Does it capture the real characteristics of it? BTW, the real "1176" does pump under extreme circumstances. The only compressors I have ever heard that "never" pumped were the Cranesong "Songtrakker" and "TCL-2" from Millenia Media. Also Neve-compressors do pump or could at least be a little more musical.

However, lately I´m hearing only good annotations when it comes to Creamware´s software engineering capabilites of devices, so I´m looking forward of trying them out. It sounds good when someone says that mixing is a lot easier whith a certain device. But generally mixing is easier whith analog consoles that give you a rounder overall sound.

Regards,
Bernhard

Hello kensuguro,

I'm kinda leaning the other way a little with what I found with the vinco. I wouldn't really compare the vinco with the standard compressor because IMO both are aimed at different uses. For myself, I would use the standard compressor more as a fix-it tool whereas I would use the vinco for it's musicality. I think the standard compressor (in the stm mixers) is very good and I do agree with you about the 50ms attack limit. I too usually get up around 80-100ms for kick drums when using the standard compressor. 50ms does seem limiting. But is it really? It may seem limiting in the sense of using the standard compressor, but the vinco I don't know yet. So far I have tried the vinco out on only one tracking session with a kick that a. was not recorded in a good room and b. did not have a very good tone to begin with. Using either the vinco or the standard compressor I couldn't get the end result I was after but I prefered what the vinco was doing to the bottom end compared to the standard compressor so left it in. I was all ready to trigger a midi kick to blend in when I decided to see what the PSYQ would do to the tone as opposed to what the mixer eq was doing. In the end the PSYQ along with the vinco saved the day (sort of). Next time time I hope to try the Vinco on a kick that has been recorded under more ideal conditions!

And with mastering, I would certainly recommend using the vinco. But once again, not for fixing things, but for what it does to the overall sound. Even so, I found that the vinco can be pushed quite hard before obvious pumping comes into effect. You have to be careful though because I also found that on certain programme material the vinco distorts quite easily even though all level meters in the project do not indicate clipping.

I am also interested in what other peoples comments are regarding the Vinco so keep 'em coming.

Cheers!

yeah.. this device is so organic in a sense that it does leave you wondering what others are doing with it doesn't it?

But it does seem to be general understanding that vinco isn't a replacement for a standard comp. I agree with it the more I use it. Vinco's more like a thing on its own..

This thing really does have a lot of mysteries going on under the hoods..

the original 1176 is a quirky device as well.