Review: Vertigo VSC-2 Quad Discrete VCA Compressor Plugin from Brainworx

A few months ago I was at my good friend Kevin Blackler’s mastering studio.  I noticed this rad-looking piece of gear in his rack and asked him what is was.

The original hardware version of the Vertigo Sound VSC-2 uses four discrete 1979 VCA's in its two channels.

“Oh man”, he said.  “That’s the Vertigo compressor…you ever hear this thing?  It’s awesome!”Wait…a new compressor that I had never heard of?  I needed to know what this thing was about.

Was this the Holy Grail that was going to make all my mixes 10% better just by running through it?  Was it some modern technology that amazifies sonics with a newly utilized semi-conductor giving an analog sound of some long-forgotten piece of recording myth?

Well, kinda.

After a few e-mails and phone calls, Joel Morowitz of Ecstatic Electric showed up at my door with a demo unit of the Vertigo VSC-2 for me to try out.  I used it on some mixes and to record some guitars and vocals.  It had a really, really great sound: smooth and punchy, dimensional, and hi-fi.

It was a gorgeous piece, but at the end of the day $6000+ was a lot to spend on a compressor I did not desperately need.  So with a bit of sadness, I returned the unit to Joel.

About a month later I received an email from SonicScoop.com HQ asking me if I wanted to review a new Brainworx plugin…an emulation of the Vertigo VSC-2.  I was in.

Meet the Vertigo VSC-2 Quad Discrete Compressor:

The German-built Vertigo VSC-2 is a true stereo peak detecting feed forward compressor design.  Unlike, a feedback design (1176LN, LA-2A, LA-3A) the sidechain detector, which sends the control voltage to the gain reduction (e.g photocell,VCA, FET etc…), gets its signal from the audio input and not after the gain reduction VCA.  This allows for better control of fast transients.

The VSC-2 utilizes hand-built VCA’s on both the sidechain and the audio path to give it it’s signature “1979” sound.

The feed forward signal path.

It’s a modern take on ‘70’s and ‘80’s VCA compressors.  The more you push it and the more you use make up gain, the more it colors the sound.  It’s really a no-expense spared “Mercedes-Benz of compressors”.  Quite simply…it’s the balls.

Game of Clones: Meet the Vertigo VSC-2 by Brainworx

Virtual Vertigo

Brainworx worked directly with Vertigo to develop their plugin version, which is compatible with RTAS, AS, VST and AU formats and sells for $331 from their Website. 

The plugin GUI is identical to the original’s faceplate and sports all of the cool features of the original like a true dual mono path (you can link or unlink a stereo track or use it as a true mono plugin on a mono track) and “Soft mode” which “tip toes” the ratio from 1:1 to 8:1 as the input level increases.

Also included are the low frequency side chain filters. These selectable filters gently attenuate out either 90Hz down or 60 Hz down from the compression detector, making the low end content more audible in a mix as it now less compressed.

Sound Opinions:

Functionalities aside, I want to speak a little about listening to gear.  Everybody has their own methods and practices, but I am particularly interested in not relying on my emotions or what I think I think.

I could use a piece of gear in the studio one week and a different piece the next and each could work out great on a bunch of different sources, but to know which sounded better you have to put things head-to-head.

The sonic difference between a lot of pieces of pro gear is just not that dramatic, especially ones that do not use coloration as a strength.  A little bit of gain difference on one or the other by even just a few tenths of a dB and most people will begin to ascribe all sorts of false merits to the louder piece.

When care is taken to make sure that you’re listening at equal volumes, the subtle differences of compression detection, attack and release curve variations and tone will be far more apparent.

The Setup:

The way I went about testing the VSC-2 plugin was to get it to sound good on a particular track, and then duplicate the track and bring up any number on plug-ins I normally use for that type of track and see if I could get it to sound better than the VSC-2.

The GUI of the Brainworx VSC-2.

I would try to keep the ratios, attack times, style of detection, input and output gains as close to the VSC-2 as I could.  I would then go back and forth to listen for sonic differences.

If there were artifacts produced by the other comp I would back off or change the setting so it sounded nice and then conform the VSC-2 to that plugin. The two main things that I liked most about the VSC-2 are the smoothness of the sound and it’s flexibility.

The Sound:

Like its physical counterpart, the VSC-2 plugin has a good amount of mid-range detail, it never sounds scooped or thin.  It’s smooth and present in the high frequency range, as I mentioned before, and it’s very hi-fi and dimensional.

One of the main things I first noticed with the physical unit, and subsequently with the plug-in, was that it always sounded like there was more gain reduction occurring than the meters showed. When I asked Vertigo, they noted their robust metering design and hinted that any difference compared to another compressor may have more to with that comps meter than the VSC-2.

Either way, I put it up against a number of great plugs, and not only did it sound as good as most, but often, it sounded better.

The Flexibility:

Whatever I put the VSC-2 plug-in on, there was always a way to get it to function well. The ability to unlink the stereo controls to widen the image, use the filters to bring up the low end information, and use the Soft Mode to tackle tricky dynamics made each task more manageable.

While most of the other plug-ins would sound great for a particular type of work but not for something else, the VSC-2 dominated on the widest variety of projects and applications because of the flexibility of it’s feature set.

In Use:

Drums
On the drum buss, backing off the attack a bit and using “soft mode” while using the fastest release time gave an amazing hi-fi punchy sound while also bringing the “air” in the room well up front.  Even with near -10dB of compression the highs stay intact and no unwanted compression artifact is introduced.

You’re never going to get a sloppy “pumping” sound because of the faithful feed forward modeling.  Throw in the sidechain filters and you can get the kick super upfront while not having to readjust what was going on with the rest of the compression.

How would Brainwox' code measure up in a head-to-head with Vertigo Sounds' analog circuitry?

Acoustic Guitars
Next up were acoustic guitars.  This was interesting because unlike most comp plugs, notably feed back designs, I was never able to get a splacky, clipped sound from missing the transient on a fast or not-quite-so-fast attack setting.

The attack setting on the VSC-2 is incredibly musical and again no weird artifact, just precision envelope altering.  Even backing off to a 3ms attack time I was able to drop the sharp peaks of the guitar and compress without any weird wobble effect.

Vocals
I got to really enjoy the “Soft Mode” ratio setting on vocals.  With popped “P’s” the ratio adjusts to the input level and then returns to a less aggressive ratio for the rest of the line.  Not only was I able to reduce the peak of the “P’s” with out getting a smooshed moment, but also because there was only more compression on the “P” moment there was not any overly loud inhale before the “P” or any recovery dip afterward.

Even with a normal 4:1 ratio, the vocal envelope stayed smooth with a 3ms attack and auto release.  Unlike a lot of plugs, there were many flavors I could get on the vocals that all sound smooth without artifacts.  Being aggressive or staying dynamic, The VSC-2 could handle whatever I needed from the track.

Head-to-head:

While some people may not care if an emulation sounds like the physical unit, I do.  I want to know.

I want to put them head to head, run the same material through it at the same time, through the same converters calibrated to the same level and switch back and forth and see if there is a difference, and if so see how big is it.  So that’s what I did.

Below you can watch a vid of the plugin vs the physical unit, compressing an unmastered mix I did of the song “Ladies and Gentleman” by the Brooklyn band Cold Blood Club from their forth coming 7”.  Watch it first (and LISTEN!), then read on for my thoughts.

Vertigo VSC-2 Plug-in vs Physical Unit from _TMDS_ on Vimeo.

While I was accurately able to set the physical unit to the plug-in using some phase cancellation techniques and a whole bunch of metering, as soon as you change the source material or change any of the attack, release, or ratio settings, the two pieces begin to apply their compression curves in a different manner, no longer behaving the same.

Andy from Vertigo speculated that perhaps the plug-in, or the unit, was at a different point of the compression curve when initially compared to each other.  I am not so sure.  There are only two continuously variable controls on the VSC-2: threshold and make-up gain.  Eliminating the make-up (by not using it) and adjusting the threshold until the physical unit almost completely cancels a 1kHz tone gets them almost sonically identical, and causes both plug-in and physical meters to behave identically.

So what does that mean for me, the user? It means the two work differently — the relationship between how the controls work and the resulting compression are a little different.  However, as you can hear in the video, when they are calibrated to each other…they sound nearly identical.  The physical unit is a little smoother in the upper midrange and retains a little more dimensionality, but yeah, still pretty amazing.  Besides, you’re supposed to be listening to the unit, not relying on the settings, right?

Conclusion:

If you read this far you know I am into the VSC-2 — it’s super-versatile.  Whether you’re using it on your vocals, guitars, a drum buss or individual drums, the VSC-2 dominates.

If I had to mix entirely in the box it would be my first choice for 2-buss compression.  I know mastering engineers that use it and love the sound.

Brainworx has delivered a professional plug-in that offers an outstanding modern architecture and flexibility.  Throw in the fact that it sports a near- identical sonic footprint to one of the coolest hi-fi sounding comps out there — and sells for $331 — and it’s a no-brainer.

Jason Finkel works between speakers all day in his Brooklyn, NYC mix studio, 4A.  Check his Website for contact/info and follow his new music blog This Music Doesn’t Suck.

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