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1. Getting started with the Ignite VST Vice One compressor

1 Vice One comes in VST, AU and AAX formats for Mac and PC. Double-click the PC or Mac installer (find them on the DVD included with the print edition of the magazine and in our online Vault) and follow the instructions to add the plugin to your collection. To follow along with our tutorial, load the WAV files beginning “Rock…”, found in the Tutorial Files folder, onto separate tracks in a 93BPM project. 2 Solo the drum track and place an instance of Vice One on it. The Input/Output meter shows the level of the incoming or the outgoing signal – flip the In/Out switch to select which. The Gain Reduction meter shows you how much compression is taking place – right now, we can see that there’s nothing happening. 3 By default, the controls are set up so that no compression is applied, but all you have to do is increase Ratio to add a typical snappy, fast-compressed sound to any signal – gradually increase it until you reach the maximum of 10:1. This setting aims to reduce a signal that crosses the threshold to one tenth that amount over the threshold – eg, a 9dB reduction for a signal exceeding the threshold by 10dB. 4 So, Ratio is essentially a compression ‘strength’ control, while Threshold is more like ‘sensitivity’. 10:1 is a pretty strong ratio, but it’ll allow us to hear the effects of the compression more clearly, so leave it there for now. Roll Threshold right up to 0dB and hear the compression vanish – the drum beat never reaches 0dB, so it’ll never trigger the compression. Put it back to -25dB when you’re done. 5 Because compression reduces signal level, it’s made the beat pretty quiet – especially noticeable when we unsolo the track. Makeup Gain brings the output level back up, so set it to about 3 (some controls aren’t numbered, as they’re meant to be set by ear). Solo the beat again and pull Threshold down to -40dB to add serious pumping attitude, increasing Makeup Gain to 8. 6 Vice One features both analogue and digital compression curves. Nudge the far-left switch to Digital for a more linear response that gives us less transient ‘pop’ and more body, with no input colouration. The Knee switch alters the character more subtly: Hard means the compression kicks in at full strength when the threshold is exceeded; Soft increases compression gradually as the threshold is reached. 7 Attack and Release control how quickly the compressor reacts to signal peaks, and how long it takes to recover from them respectively. Increase Attack for more punch and… well, attack; turn it down to zero for super-fast transient-crushing. Notice, though, that even this isn’t fast enough to stop the sharpest transient edges from sneaking through the compression… 8 Luckily, Ignite VST have a solution for that with the Look Ahead control, which delays the audible signal slightly to allow the compressor to seemingly act ahead of time. Increase it to 12 o’clock to hear how the transients are completely rounded off. Now set Attack and Release to 2 to hear the effects of a slower release – the drums clearly fade back up in volume after each loud kick or snare hit. 9 Finally, drop Makeup Gain and Ratio to minimum, and turn your attention to the Saturation dial in the lower right. This adds colourful distortion – turn it right up for the full effect, most noticeable on the kick drum. Increase Input Gain to 3 o’clock to push it harder. Of course, compression and saturation can be used together – increase Ratio to about 1.7, giving a good balance between bass and guitar tracks.