Fairchild Compressor Showdown: KIT vs. UAD vs. Waves vs. Lindell

[@KITPlugins]

Thanks for putting this comparison together! Great work on this video⚡

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thank you and great plugin 👍

[@TaureanMixing]

Thank you for the comparison, and kudos for actually level matching. I have to say the Unfairchild does not sound very good at all, at least at these settings. UAD stood above all. The Waves was not bad honestly. The Kit and the other were on par. It's funny, in my own tests, I usually end up picking UAD blindly.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thanks for the info!

[@nunooliveira4257]

6:47 clean 7:04 KIT 7:46 UAD 7:57 Waves 8:08 Lindel

[@LanewoodStudios]

👍

[@MCAlvesPortugal]

For me, the waves plug-in was the one that managed to bring out the snare that was a little too low in the mix. In super extreme tunings it manages to bring out the rumble of the low frequencies present in the kick and bass in a well-mastered song. Others might say it's distortion, but I tried the same parameters on a vocal and didn't hear any distortion, so I think it was the quieter elements of the kick and bass that managed to stand out in a beautiful way. I even think it's a good option to use in the master in a parallel compression for a bold result in the low frequencies in a master where we can't access the mix to correct the low volume of the low frequencies in the song, the parallel compression with the original audio manages to achieve the result of maintaining its own originality of the musical elements without them being damaged. This is a Ferrari type compressor

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thanks for your input 👍

[@frank0563]

Cool vid. One Issue I can see is that the drum software is already compressed and processed to some degree. The reduction in punch and transient response is substantial.

[@LanewoodStudios]

It’s as raw as the sound can be set on this particular plugin but yes, it may not be the totally ‘direct from microphone’. Or maybe they used some processing on the way in.

[@lematrix01]

Soundwise the Acoustica Ultramarine was for me the closest to the original Unit that I had a chance to compare side by side. Super important for the silky sound is the preamp Button. Thank you for your super video

[@LanewoodStudios]

@@lematrix01 thank you!

[@drefue]

Agreed!

[@LanewoodStudios]

👍

[@markcole4001]

Thanks for this. Really helps in figuring out what to buy. I hope you get the chance for a hardware v plugin shootout.

[@LanewoodStudios]

@@markcole4001 you are welcome. And who knows 🤞😉.

[@buddhikachathuranga9202]

Thank you sir ! :-)

[@LanewoodStudios]

👍

[@thecoastCoverband]

Hi thanks for the video Do you put the compressor on the group channel?

[@LanewoodStudios]

@@thecoastCoverband normally for the drums yes. For vocals and acoustic guitars just on the individual channels.

[@1loveMusic2003]

Mu-66 sounds great on acoustic for sure.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Sure does.

[@pptang123]

I found that the kit plugin has a slight roll-off in the high frequencies which helps tame some harshness and add warmth. I used this trick on a recent mix and got a very airy but smooth female vocal. good plugin indeed.

[@LanewoodStudios]

@@pptang123 good call!

[@millicentwallace3465]

Sounds the most analog in imaging...

[@LanewoodStudios]

@@millicentwallace3465 👍

[@bigstewdio]

Pretty similar overall and I suspect with a bit of tweaking you could make them all sound even closer if you really wanted to. Apart from the Lindell which I generally preferred as it sounded less congested (i.e. more open), particularly on the acoustic guitar. I'd have been curious to have seen the pulsar mu in this shootout because that's the vari-mu compressor that I use when I'm looking for that kind of sound but I haven't shot it out against many others.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thanks. I thought about adding that one as well as I have it and use it, but in the end decided against it.

[@bigstewdio]

@@LanewoodStudios Fair enough, you have to draw the line somewhere and there are so many emulations nowadays. Interesting video, thanks for doing it.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Yes also since it is emulating a different vari-mu compressor. Thanks again!

[@reflexsoundz]

Im surprised you skipped IK multimedia Fairchild emulation.. its prey nice too

[@LanewoodStudios]

@@reflexsoundz thanks for the tip. There are too many 😉.

[@bobomark4136]

i am surprised not including Overloud

[@LanewoodStudios]

No never tried it. Is it good? There are too many 😉.

[@bobomark4136]

@@LanewoodStudios overloud 670 has three model build in. Sound amazing, I have UAD, Wave, Lindell , IK media. Still like overloud version . Much closer to my hardware too,

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thanks for the tip 👍

[@DavidDavrosWhite]

I kinda like the T-Racks one too, like the others, it has its own character but quite useable.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Didn’t try that one yet. 👍

[@DavidDavrosWhite]

@@LanewoodStudios In fact the IK stuff doesn’t seem to really get enough praise overall. With their plugins, if you take away the concept of being an emulation/copy of a famous unit and see them as just plug-ins, most would realise they are actually very good.

[@kadiummusic]

​@@DavidDavrosWhite Agreed, T-Racks has been around since the start, is probably the most complete plugin suite out there and in my experience of over 20 years of using them not a single bad one. 😎

[@edrugmanmusic]

Will be interesting to see if the rumours of behringers ‘cheap’ Fairchild for a couple of thousand will come around this next year .Mind you I find it hard to it imagine flying off the shelves and making them loads with all these good emulations.

[@LanewoodStudios]

@@edrugmanmusic yes heard about that.

[@milanpolak]

I own the UAD version but I think the Lindell sounds best...

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thanks for listening. It’s a bit of a different beast though.

[@1loveMusic2003]

The Mu-66 seems to be way more versatile. Check out the 500 series Grandchild it's stereo and sounds amazing.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thanks for listening. 👍

[@thesoundresidence]

If you set the crossover on the Lindell MU-66 to zero (off), it will act as a fullband compressor (ie not set to compress the two band independently). More comparable to the others.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Yes I found that out as well. But still, it’s interesting to hear the differences with that multi-band enabled as well.

[@monkmusic5994]

I own the UAD and the Waves versions. Waves sounds great on vocal tracks, UAD has a sidechain function for ignoring the lows, sounds better on a bus.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Great tip!

[@OverdriveMusic]

I wanted to like the Lindell. But not for me. UAD was best overall. And surprisingly, Waves is pretty good too!

[@LanewoodStudios]

@@OverdriveMusic 👍

[@paolotramannoni7445]

I feel the Lindell is more open and deep than the others. The UAD is sweet and soft, the Waves a bit harsh, the BB a bit flat.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thanks for listening.

[@stephenalexandarmusic]

Midnight from AA is missing unfortunately

[@LanewoodStudios]

There are too many 😉. Have not even heard about that one.

[@kadiummusic]

IK Multimedia's version? 🤔

[@LanewoodStudios]

@@kadiummusic never tried it. There are so many 😉.

[@edwardbrands3271]

Kit sounds less harsh

[@LanewoodStudios]

Interesting. 👍

[@WhiteWizzard]

UAD is best sounding. It squashes the kick in the best way, rounds the cymbals and tightens/warms the best. Waves was #2 but as per usual-UAD is king. They are the best. People hate on them because of the proprietary nature of set up but nobody can touch them.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thanks for listening!

[@carlosp.1846]

Video starts at 6:23

[@LanewoodStudios]

There’s also a TOC for the various parts of the video.

[@NorioMusic]

Acustica Audio - MIDNIGHT kzbin.info/www/bejne/rXXSgHR_oLJqo5I

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thanks for the tip!

[@matt_nyc_audioengineer]

Great plugin! The only problem is Midnight emulates hardware emulations not an actual Fairchild. I absolutely LOVE Midnight tho but it wouldn't be appropriate here because Midnight models hardware units that aren't the actual Fairchild.

[@matt_nyc_audioengineer]

Ya, the Kit version is poop in my honest opinion! First of all, they didn't model a 670. Their "F67" is just a stereo version of the F66. In reality the 660 and 670 are different compressors with a different sound. So I didn't like that right away. Just call it the F66 stereo or something. They shouldn't have made it appear like they modeled 2 different compressors because they didn't. Also, as usual, Kit released a BROKEN plugin! Not to mention that what matters most, which is how they sound/act, Kit didn't deliver on either. No thanks, I'll pass. UAD will always be the king when it comes to the 660 and 670. They did a fantastic job and I haven't heard anything else come close.

[@LanewoodStudios]

Thanks for your experience and input!

[@DavidGoldenfield]

hi Matt, sounds like you know your way around Fairchilds. Would be interesting to know your opinion regarding Unfairchild (Undertone Audio) ?

[@LanewoodStudios]

@@DavidGoldenfield I know this was a question to Matt but just so you know. I also did a shootout with the Undertone one a few weeks later. Back to Matt 😉

[@DavidGoldenfield]

@@LanewoodStudios will definitely check it out! Thanx)

[@matt_nyc_audioengineer]

@@DavidGoldenfield Hello David, thanks for the question. Ya, I tried it and it wasn't for me! I felt like it was too "grabby" and flat sounding. The box tone was very nice but I didn't like the way the compression sounded no matter how I tweaked the knobs. You have to remember tho, the UnFairchild IS NOT a 1:1 with the Fairchild. It has way more controls and features. So it should be more flexible but to me it wasn't. I much prefer Midnight from Acustica! Midnight has 4 different Fairchild clones that they made into plugins. So it's not an emulation of a Fairchild. It's a software emulation of 4 different hardware emulations of the Fairchild. The UnFairchild is one of the units they captured when making the plugin! Eclipse is the mode that is the UnFairchild. I prefer that much more than the official plugin.

[@SeekAudionet]

So much talking

[@LanewoodStudios]

@@SeekAudionet I have chapters in there so you can skip the parts you’re not interested in.

[@michaelrauch3285]

Please try opening your mouth while speaking

[@LanewoodStudios]

Yes sir.

[@edrugmanmusic]

@@LanewoodStudiosbest possible response ☺️😂👏🏻 calmly very well played. Some people want the moon on a stick.

[@kadiummusic]

Probably the silliest post ever posted on the internet! 😁

[@markleyland2661]

Rude. Please try doing the opposite.

[@LanewoodStudios]

😂