Got mine yesterday and did some first tests. I noticed that you have to gain stage very well with this one to get sonically the best sound. Keep the level at +4dBu is fine. But that is a limitation because most analogue equipment and DA converters goes above that till 24dBu. it can handle them but some of the low frequencies disappear and you get a little boost around high mids. Will continue testing tomorrow.
Would be interesting to compare it to the Vari Tube by Tegeler Audio. They are more or less around the same price range. Anyways, great review as always 😉
"Mu" is just the technical term for the amplification factor of a single tube amp stage. Usually it is set fixed by anode, cathode and grid stopper resistor values. But in the case of a "vari-mu" compressor the mu-factor is high for low input levels and low for high input levels -> a very natural sounding compression, alot of even order harmonics due to the tubes and trannies, up- and downward compression at the same time
Wow, this really added a magic touch on the master bus! Closed my eyes and could tell the difference every time it came back in. Just from the feeling it created.
Nice audio tests Wytse! The LoComp setting sounded the best to my ears for high dynamic 'program' masterial whereas some songs sounded best with no compression. Have fun with your compressor lunch box¬! 😉
It would be very very interesting to compare that to the Tegeler Audio Manufaktur VTC. It is also a Varimu and nearly the same price as the gainlab one.
You deserve time for your well being and happiness. That said I will miss your snake oil videos. I always look forward to them. Live life and I wish you happiness. So until the next video, looking forward to WSA.
So, to be honest, you could compare this compressor again with some plug-in compressors. I can already think of 4 compressors that could compete with it. Personally, it is a little too slow. The sound for this price is completely satisfactory. 👍
I've always liked a VariMu in parallel on drum takes, of not on a full drum bus, on the OH bus, but, I really hate the sound of hard compression. I almost never compress anything out of parallel, unless i'm working on aggressive rock/metal. I am pretty intrigued about this unit. We used to have the Manly VariMu at work and I loved it.
Listening to the demo of the unit through my studio headphones, it seems like the stereo image decreases slightly when the compressor is in. I find the best buss compressors are those that are dual mono as they seem to increase the stereo image and make the mix sound bigger. Your left and right ears don't hear the same so compression sounds more musical in dual mono. . The same goes for mastering limiters. Masters sound much bigger and natural when limiters are dual mono. Bob Katz gave me this tip.
Sounds almost as good as my DDMF Magic Death Eye variMU plug in. Only joking...I think. This sounds good. 1600€ is not very expensive for a tube variMU comp that is built well. Hardware costs money, decent hardware costs a decent chunk of money.
Piano song with Dictator muted sounds a lot better. For me the Dictator is compressing too much on the piano and the sound is getting a little blurry too in my opinion. I listened with my PSI Audio 21-2's thru the apollo firewire quad.
Interesting, compression is a hard topic to learn specially if your working on it for the first time because when your working with compression that often your hearing the absence of something instead of the presence of something, now I could say that your Variable Mu compressor is acting more like an RMS compression or something in the lines of an LA2A witch has a soft knee so you are getting the effect starting at a lower level according to the transfer curve, this compression is good for smoothing vocals or for overall "glue", the Tegeler compressor is a fast compressor that might have a peak detector and its behaving like an 1176 with a hard knee which results in a brighter sound, at the end of the day what gives a compressor its sound is the detector, it's not what it goes through its how it thinks.
Sounds very nice, and at that price point.....why not!! :-) Vari-Mu's have always been kind of a nebulous area for me. I think I get how they work, but I've always struggled to put them to use(plugin form) . I've been experimenting with the mix-buss on a track right now. Trying to combiner the SPL Iron and Elysia Alpha, in that order. It definitely makes a difference with how the bass comes across, when I switch the SPL Iron in and out. Listening to this Gainlab, it seems like it would be pretty job specific?.
I really didn’t like Vari Mu (tube) compressors when I first started to experiment with them, exactly because of what you demonstrated; they aren’t punchy like a VCA comp (which that Tegler clearly is ;). I did eventually find the magic in Vari mus, which is that while they may not punch hard they can absolutely groove on the right material in a way other compressors can’t. When you’re feeding the right source material into a Vari Mu it can feel like magic how dynamically they respond to that music. All on its own too, it’s not usually overly fiddly it just does it’s thing. Tried to check the price on this one but the site is down! 😂
you can get some aggressive punchy but slow sounds on drums with certain vari mu's. rca ba6a's and collins 26u sound like huge thunder when cranked all the way.
@@michaelcandido2824 there’s an excellent Nebula library based on the Ba6a by a guy named Tim Petherick…. It can sound absolutely thunderous on drums, even with a stupid amount of gain reduction. Never had the pleasure of using the Collins myself but have heard great things. My favorite ITB Vari mu style compressor is Magic Death Eye. That’s the one that totally turned my thinking about them around. Use it all the time. I also have some Fairchild emulations I like to abuse in parallel too ;)
No I don't (need this compressor : - ) The uncompressed stereo mix recordings sounded great as is. All that compressor did was slightly change the sound of the envelopes. The original purpose of compressors back in the vintage days was to control levels for a reason, not just to change the character of a recording in ways that only the engineer appreciates. The true origin of the appealing sound qualities of "vintage" recordings has long been misidentified to be within the gear. Problematic UA-cam videos such as this propagate that resource wasting myth (the ratio of education to entertainment was low : - ( I would have shown how such a compressor can make a dynamic vocal sit steady in a mix, or level a stereo mix of a very dynamic song without it adding too many artifacts - but I am too busy. HTH, All the best
Nobody is saying that you cannot use this the way you describe in your comment. The hardware might not be intended to be used on a full mix/recording but IT IS being used on full mixes. Sometimes things get invented that people use in totally other things than originally intended.
@@therealrobbycrash It's the same time machine that allowed him to witness the "vintage days" where transients were left un-compressed and engineers didn't try to improve the way things sounded. God only knows what "vintage" had to do with the review anyway.
It's 2021, we have automation for level changes. The detail in *how* a compressor changes the envelopes is a factor that sets one compressor apart from another. Why do you keep talking about "vintage" when it's nothing to do with the review?
I think the issue is that he's using tracks that are already mixed/mastered and don't need compression. If you compress a track that already doesn't have much dynamics, it ain't gonna sound good (e.g. he's destroying that piano part).That said I agree that kind of processing should stay away from the master.
@@STAR0SS yes and no. Klanghelm made a really really nice vari-mu ish software compressor and I've noticed it's either nice or bad depending on what instrument you use. When you hit the sweet spot it's like magic. Putting it on a master bus is a different story, use it very carefully, only 2:1 ratio and things will glue much better and sound cohesive but I feel that type of sound design is on its way out. We want separation and some harshness now, not the wooly and rounded sound.
I have been investigating this compressor for a while and really like what I am hearing, but I mainly master high energy electronic music like techno, house etc. I am a bit worried that this unit would be a bit too slow on the transients.
Open up a compressor in you daw and play with all the settings after you slam the ratio and threshold it will help teach ur ears to listen for compression
I've owned the IGS and have the Dictator. Both are dope. Different beasts. IGS has a wicked M/S circuit. The GL more smoother. Both pretty quick for the design. I track vocals thru the Dictator, the IGS didn't work that well for me in that regard. Both great on masterbus.
@@matthewjenkins102 How do they compare on the drum bus? I'm stuck between the two of them, hoping to get the valve compression similar to Ringo Revolver-era sound
Darude!! Unrelated: I just wanted to mention that you should check out CLA Epic. Not because it's good ( It's not) but because it has pre sets from..... DARUDE hahaha. IT is actually a useful concept it just doesn't sound very good.
Vari mu means that the ldr (light dependent resistor) decreases the resistance the higher the output signal is and thus reduces the gain of an opamp or a tube. That's why it is called a programme dependent compressor. Nothing spectacular technically, but the term vari-mu causes much hype even though it cannot deliver exact timings or act fast enough to work as a limiter.
I am serious if you dont believe it but the bypass sounds mutch, mutch better, Its a realism killer this analog box, it distroys soundstage and depth and realism. If you dont hear it you have nothing to do with a hi-end audio.
Wytse is not the only one trashing KT and Warm hardware. They deserve everything they get in my opinion and I currently have two KT EQP s. Anyone want to buy them? I thought not.
@@PerKiilstofte He didn’t. Didn’t say he did. But if you open up the equivalent eq or 1176 from either company you will see basically the same parts put together in the same way from, what I’ve read, the same factory in China.
@@bobgulian1858 "Wytse is not the only one trashing KT and Warm hardware." - this implies other people as well as Wytse is trashing KT and Warm hardware. So yes you did say it, and I was merely interested in watching the video where he would be going over the Warm Audio issues.
@@PerKiilstofte I did not form that statement well. I was not meaning that Wytse was trashing both, just that in the case of KT76 and the Warm 1176 clone, they are very close to being the same product as far as I've read. I personally think that Wytse is doing a great service by exposing these folks. And I don't understand the advertising comment. He couldn't possibly like the Dictator because he trashed the KT76?
Got mine yesterday and did some first tests. I noticed that you have to gain stage very well with this one to get sonically the best sound. Keep the level at +4dBu is fine. But that is a limitation because most analogue equipment and DA converters goes above that till 24dBu. it can handle them but some of the low frequencies disappear and you get a little boost around high mids. Will continue testing tomorrow.
What's your verdict after a year?
Would be interesting to compare it to the Vari Tube by Tegeler Audio. They are more or less around the same price range. Anyways, great review as always 😉
For people who must know he is going on holiday to his home planet Vulcan and does not want to be disturbed. :)
definitely not. I have seen him rant. A Vulcan would never rant. Show him plugins with screws and you’ll see he is a Klingon in disguise.
@@tommyfinke Ha! Complete Hilarity, That is a completely logical observation. I stand corrected, :). \\//
"Mu" is just the technical term for the amplification factor of a single tube amp stage. Usually it is set fixed by anode, cathode and grid stopper resistor values. But in the case of a "vari-mu" compressor the mu-factor is high for low input levels and low for high input levels -> a very natural sounding compression, alot of even order harmonics due to the tubes and trannies, up- and downward compression at the same time
Wow, this really added a magic touch on the master bus!
Closed my eyes and could tell the difference every time it came back in. Just from the feeling it created.
I feel you. It‘s called volume.
Nice audio tests Wytse! The LoComp setting sounded the best to my ears for high dynamic 'program' masterial whereas some songs sounded best with no compression. Have fun with your compressor lunch box¬! 😉
Piano and violin piece is lovely.
It would be very very interesting to compare that to the Tegeler Audio Manufaktur VTC. It is also a Varimu and nearly the same price as the gainlab one.
You deserve time for your well being and happiness. That said I will miss your snake oil videos. I always look forward to them. Live life and I wish you happiness. So until the next video, looking forward to WSA.
Just now got the “White sea” joke. Awesome easter egg!😅
?
@@davelordy His Name “Wytse” is almost exactly pronounced like “White Sea”....
@@toxictrumptube7763 👍
Cheers ! 😀
Can you review Pulsar Mu when you get back? A plugin version for us poor people...
Talking about varimu. Do a review of the Klanghelm MJUC. Stellar pluhin with godlike saturation.
Listen to how it add weight to the drums and I’m listing on air pod pros wow definitely getting this
Just few milliseconds too much silence between the first two syllables of "dictator" in the intro there 😂
Great video
Bonus points for calibration screws on the VUs. The Teglar sounds amazing on drums.
Nooooooooooo!!!!!!! Do not go away! I love your content and look forward to every video!
Hope you're doin' well. Thanks 4 your work on all the vid stuff. Come back as soon as it's possible for you!
So, to be honest, you could compare this compressor again with some plug-in compressors. I can already think of 4 compressors that could compete with it.
Personally, it is a little too slow. The sound for this price is completely satisfactory. 👍
I've always liked a VariMu in parallel on drum takes, of not on a full drum bus, on the OH bus, but, I really hate the sound of hard compression. I almost never compress anything out of parallel, unless i'm working on aggressive rock/metal. I am pretty intrigued about this unit. We used to have the Manly VariMu at work and I loved it.
Listening to the demo of the unit through my studio headphones, it seems like the stereo image decreases slightly when the compressor is in. I find the best buss compressors are those that are dual mono as they seem to increase the stereo image and make the mix sound bigger. Your left and right ears don't hear the same so compression sounds more musical in dual mono. . The same goes for mastering limiters. Masters sound much bigger and natural when limiters are dual mono. Bob Katz gave me this tip.
He was running it with LINK engaged
Wow GainLab is a Hungarian company! They are here! 😎
Sounds almost as good as my DDMF Magic Death Eye variMU plug in.
Only joking...I think. This sounds good. 1600€ is not very expensive for a tube variMU comp that is built well.
Hardware costs money, decent hardware costs a decent chunk of money.
Piano song with Dictator muted sounds a lot better. For me the Dictator is compressing too much on the piano and the sound is getting a little blurry too in my opinion. I listened with my PSI Audio 21-2's thru the apollo firewire quad.
When you come back, it would be cool if you did a video on Dolby Atmos ("Spatial Audio") and whether you think it's gonna completely supersede stereo
Interesting, compression is a hard topic to learn specially if your working on it for the first time because when your working with compression that often your hearing the absence of something instead of the presence of something, now I could say that your Variable Mu compressor is acting more like an RMS compression or something in the lines of an LA2A witch has a soft knee so you are getting the effect starting at a lower level according to the transfer curve, this compression is good for smoothing vocals or for overall "glue", the Tegeler compressor is a fast compressor that might have a peak detector and its behaving like an 1176 with a hard knee which results in a brighter sound, at the end of the day what gives a compressor its sound is the detector, it's not what it goes through its how it thinks.
Sounds very nice, and at that price point.....why not!! :-)
Vari-Mu's have always been kind of a nebulous area for me. I think I get how they work, but I've always struggled to put them to use(plugin form) . I've been experimenting with the mix-buss on a track right now. Trying to combiner the SPL Iron and Elysia Alpha, in that order. It definitely makes a difference with how the bass comes across, when I switch the SPL Iron in and out.
Listening to this Gainlab, it seems like it would be pretty job specific?.
From what I can hear in your demos, it sounds very similar to the manley varimu.
let's hear the full explanation some day please :)
I really didn’t like Vari Mu (tube) compressors when I first started to experiment with them, exactly because of what you demonstrated; they aren’t punchy like a VCA comp (which that Tegler clearly is ;). I did eventually find the magic in Vari mus, which is that while they may not punch hard they can absolutely groove on the right material in a way other compressors can’t. When you’re feeding the right source material into a Vari Mu it can feel like magic how dynamically they respond to that music. All on its own too, it’s not usually overly fiddly it just does it’s thing. Tried to check the price on this one but the site is down! 😂
you can get some aggressive punchy but slow sounds on drums with certain vari mu's. rca ba6a's and collins 26u sound like huge thunder when cranked all the way.
The site is working anyway..
@@michaelcandido2824 there’s an excellent Nebula library based on the Ba6a by a guy named Tim Petherick…. It can sound absolutely thunderous on drums, even with a stupid amount of gain reduction. Never had the pleasure of using the Collins myself but have heard great things. My favorite ITB Vari mu style compressor is Magic Death Eye. That’s the one that totally turned my thinking about them around. Use it all the time. I also have some Fairchild emulations I like to abuse in parallel too ;)
@@drajvimo4186 I suspect they got hit with a lot of traffic from this video to be honest
It's weird how I can't find the all in one monitoring desk video!
I didn't quite like it on the piano and violin piece. The mix seemed clearer without the compressor on it.
No I don't (need this compressor : - ) The uncompressed stereo mix recordings sounded great as is. All that compressor did was slightly change the sound of the envelopes. The original purpose of compressors back in the vintage days was to control levels for a reason, not just to change the character of a recording in ways that only the engineer appreciates. The true origin of the appealing sound qualities of "vintage" recordings has long been misidentified to be within the gear. Problematic UA-cam videos such as this propagate that resource wasting myth (the ratio of education to entertainment was low : - ( I would have shown how such a compressor can make a dynamic vocal sit steady in a mix, or level a stereo mix of a very dynamic song without it adding too many artifacts - but I am too busy. HTH, All the best
How can this comment be a week old while the video is just released on youtube???? uNrEAl
Nobody is saying that you cannot use this the way you describe in your comment. The hardware might not be intended to be used on a full mix/recording but IT IS being used on full mixes. Sometimes things get invented that people use in totally other things than originally intended.
@@therealrobbycrash Looks like it's uploaded on patreon a week early
@@therealrobbycrash It's the same time machine that allowed him to witness the "vintage days" where transients were left un-compressed and engineers didn't try to improve the way things sounded. God only knows what "vintage" had to do with the review anyway.
It's 2021, we have automation for level changes. The detail in *how* a compressor changes the envelopes is a factor that sets one compressor apart from another. Why do you keep talking about "vintage" when it's nothing to do with the review?
Is it good on vocals?
How does this compare to the Tegeler Vari Tube?
OK little update, unfortunately mine stopped working today. Does not power on and the red standby LED is not burning. Fuses are OK.
Hi, did you fix it, Gainlab warranty worked fine? Thanks.
It all sounds better to me when it's bypassed. Master Bus compression is overrated.
No
@@Sool101 A thoughtful rebuttle LMAO. I said it sounds better to "me".
@@petefaders thanks. I put an awful lot of thought into coming up with that answer.
I think the issue is that he's using tracks that are already mixed/mastered and don't need compression. If you compress a track that already doesn't have much dynamics, it ain't gonna sound good (e.g. he's destroying that piano part).That said I agree that kind of processing should stay away from the master.
@@STAR0SS yes and no. Klanghelm made a really really nice vari-mu ish software compressor and I've noticed it's either nice or bad depending on what instrument you use. When you hit the sweet spot it's like magic. Putting it on a master bus is a different story, use it very carefully, only 2:1 ratio and things will glue much better and sound cohesive but I feel that type of sound design is on its way out. We want separation and some harshness now, not the wooly and rounded sound.
Have you tried the comprexxor from T racks?
I have been investigating this compressor for a while and really like what I am hearing, but I mainly master high energy electronic music like techno, house etc. I am a bit worried that this unit would be a bit too slow on the transients.
Yeah i was gonna say its probably best on buses or individual instruments. Seeing you are doing solely mastering for techno I wouldn’t get this.
Manely Nu-Mu might be more of a fit or even better a Cranesong STC
VCA is better for this kind of music.
"I can give to you the whole technical explanation." When having an NC in electronic music technology comes in handy.
Wow, it sounds so much more everything without.
yep
Have a great break 🙏❤️🙏
I feel a bit worried that I couldn’t hear any difference in any of the examples
Open up a compressor in you daw and play with all the settings after you slam the ratio and threshold it will help teach ur ears to listen for compression
It would seem that home recording has changed the market 🤔
It is really amazing how prices have come down!
Vari nice!
Any chance u can do a vid on the Manley NuMu???
I'd like to see a comparison between the IGS Tubecore 3U and the Gainlab Dictator. I don't know which one to get.
I've owned the IGS and have the Dictator. Both are dope. Different beasts. IGS has a wicked M/S circuit. The GL more smoother. Both pretty quick for the design. I track vocals thru the Dictator, the IGS didn't work that well for me in that regard. Both great on masterbus.
@@matthewjenkins102 How do they compare on the drum bus? I'm stuck between the two of them, hoping to get the valve compression similar to Ringo Revolver-era sound
Perfect framing of the threshold knob.
Have a good holiday
Darude!! Unrelated: I just wanted to mention that you should check out CLA Epic. Not because it's good ( It's not) but because it has pre sets from..... DARUDE hahaha. IT is actually a useful concept it just doesn't sound very good.
I hear you’re using some kid called “Da Rood” for the song?
Snake Oil?
Only one thing arriving in mind.
Neutron Sculptor ❤️
Have a good rest Wytse! :)
Whoever wants a schematic of how it works and to diy one, just text it here.
Did you rename the video?
Vari mu means that the ldr (light dependent resistor) decreases the resistance the higher the output signal is and thus reduces the gain of an opamp or a tube. That's why it is called a programme dependent compressor. Nothing spectacular technically, but the term vari-mu causes much hype even though it cannot deliver exact timings or act fast enough to work as a limiter.
This is an opto style, not vari mu, vari mu literally is variable bias 😉
This is just a clever marketing stunt right? Expecting a new video next week 🤞
lol around 600 euros dude this thing aka haradware is 1600euros and its not better than a 50 dollar plugin
You should do a review of Tantrum by Creative Intent!
Fijne vakantie!
03:33 I'd Love That :D
Did you say 1600 euros?
Yeah, I'm gonna pass.
Fancy seeing you here? Good to see you're still around.
@@suffist
Ain't dead yet :)
Do thickify
Yeah I dunno, it sounds like shit to me. Takes away more than it adds to my ears.
vari MU as parallel comp on drums is golden…
Going on a holiday?
Nope
😉👍🏻
these cant keep up with plugins analog ERA is death
Comment for da algorithm
Streak count: 4
Cheap?
Dictator of Oil
I am serious if you dont believe it but the bypass sounds mutch, mutch better, Its a realism killer this analog box, it distroys soundstage and depth and realism. If you dont hear it you have nothing to do with a hi-end audio.
Every thing is good!!, you have to take good and turn it into Bad..so therefore there is no such thing as bad!! Snake oil.🙃😜😉
Let's tb to the day he literaly trashed the KT76. Today was straight up advertisement.
Wytse is not the only one trashing KT and Warm hardware. They deserve everything they get in my opinion and I currently have two KT EQP s. Anyone want to buy them? I thought not.
@@bobgulian1858When did Wytse trash Warm Audio?
@@PerKiilstofte He didn’t. Didn’t say he did. But if you open up the equivalent eq or 1176 from either company you will see basically the same parts put together in the same way from, what I’ve read, the same factory in China.
@@bobgulian1858 "Wytse is not the only one trashing KT and Warm hardware." - this implies other people as well as Wytse is trashing KT and Warm hardware. So yes you did say it, and I was merely interested in watching the video where he would be going over the Warm Audio issues.
@@PerKiilstofte I did not form that statement well. I was not meaning that Wytse was trashing both, just that in the case of KT76 and the Warm 1176 clone, they are very close to being the same product as far as I've read. I personally think that Wytse is doing a great service by exposing these folks. And I don't understand the advertising comment. He couldn't possibly like the Dictator because he trashed the KT76?
Downside with hardware, you can only use it at one place at a time 🥸