looking for expander/de-compressor plugin (vst)

[Red Mastering]

Hey gents!

I think I need to get good decompresor/expander, as sometimes I simply need to extend peak/rms relation, if material is bit too compressed.
I used psp mastercomp for that task, but this is not enough I think,
or maybe I cannot revitalize squashed mix as I wish to,
any references and suggestions ?
I am on pc/xp 32 bit, vst/nuendo

thank you in advance

[huejahfink]

Not an easy task.
In such a situation I will try to push dynamics in a particular frequency area using either static or dynamic EQs first, much more than I would use wide band expanding.

Not saying it can't be done like that at all, but I generally found that wide band expanding methods can be a bit too eager to jump at 'all' transient movements which can easily make it unreliable and potentially even more damaging than leaving it as squashed as it was when it came in.

I've had some acceptable results in the past with --

Waves C1 SC, doing upwards expanding with a sidechain filter providing the audio you need to expand is easy to key in on,
also Waves Trans-X and Trans-X Multi - with a duration and decay set longer than default,
also Low Punch and detail sections on Slate FG-X which can be good for a bit of either top or bottom snap - have found both pretty useful although the duration of the enhancement is fixed and is sometimes a bit too "snappy".
also Voxengo Transmodder to focus in on a keying frequency range - can be particularly good for picking out a weak kick, snare or hat if the mix is not too busy there - a lot of keying options plus variable duration per EQ band,
and less often Voxengo Transgainer which is wide band but can be made to focus more on low or high transients as well as all round transients.

Sometimes more than one in small amounts is better than trying to go all the way with one....
Sometime none of them is better too!

Almost always these methods have been more effective on moderately sparse electronic music or anything else with fairly regimented dynamic response and frequency ranges. The more lively and changeable the dynamics can be, the harder it is to get such a process right.

[Oop]

FabFilter Pro-G

[Lagerfeldt]

Flux Solera
Flux:: sound and picture development

or the multi-band version Flux Alchemist:
http://www.fluxhome.com/products/plug_ins/alchemist

[Red Mastering]

Originally Posted by Lagerfeldt

Flux Solera
Flux:: sound and picture development

or the multi-band version Flux Alchemist:
Flux:: sound and picture development

thanks for links Holger,
I remember once had a pleasure with Solera in friend's studio,
and because I was alone, I couldn't figure it out for over hour,
my mate loved this plug, (he's sleeping on money, so he buys everything new what pops up).
Flux isn't cheap, maybe I need to start saving monies..:(

[huejahfink]

Waves LinMB has been good for a bit of multiband expanding too.
Sorry forgot that before.

[Peaks]

Voxengo TransGainer (really amazing for expanding and easy to use)
Voxengo Soniformer (more control, maybe too much. multiband compressor/expander (both upward and downward) with frequency based attack/release/etc)
Flux Pure DCompressor II (made for the exact thing you're trying to achieve! however a bit more complicated than the 2 above)
Flux StereoTool ( the width adjustment seems good)
QuickQuak MashTactic (this is so amazing for isolating frequencies first before any plugin)
FabFilter Pro-G (haven't used it much, but it as an additional upward expander mode... well even the normal gate/downward modes expand audio really)

You an also sound less compressed by messing with the side channel's volume. Yes, you might change the mix sound, but there's sometimes more dynamics or depth there and boosting it can bring back some life.

[Red Mastering]

Originally Posted by Peaks

Voxengo TransGainer (really amazing for expanding and easy to use)
Voxengo Soniformer (more control, maybe too much. multiband compressor/expander (both upward and downward) with frequency based attack/release/etc)
Flux Pure DCompressor II (made for the exact thing you're trying to achieve! however a bit more complicated than the 2 above)
Flux StereoTool ( the width adjustment seems good)
QuickQuak MashTactic (this is so amazing for isolating frequencies first before any plugin)
FabFilter Pro-G (haven't used it much, but it as an additional upward expander mode... well even the normal gate/downward modes expand audio really)

You an also sound less compressed by messing with the side channel's volume. Yes, you might change the mix sound, but there's sometimes more dynamics or depth there and boosting it can bring back some life.

this is very interesting point, need to look into it,
I noticed that pushing or saturating just S channels it fn fact add 'some life' into music, but def. test properly this ide,

thanks for input

[aTelecine-Lex]

+1 For FLUX

It can really work wonders for this task when you really learn how to use it.

[Lagerfeldt]

The Alchemist (or Solera) offers something quite unique.

Using a combination of ratio and range it's possible to control both the severity and the maximum amount of gain change. For instance, this allows you to do hard compression in small amounts regardless of your threshold setting. Most of the time it's simply useful for avoiding over-processing.

Using the advanced release parameter it's possible to set a target release of e.g. 250 ms and a minimum release of e.g. 25 ms to avoid obvious intermodulation distortion. Adjusting the dynamic velocity parameter controls the speed of change between settings inside the auto-release. The hold parameter lets you specify the minimum time of a constant gain change. It's possible to get very little or no chatter with the correct settings.

Hysterisis in the Flux Alchemist/Solera is not identical to a regular hysterisis function in a gate. Instead it's a variable auto-threshold that in its most extreme setting completely ignores your manual threshold and uses a proprietary realtime calculated dynamic value to adjust the threshold. This adjustment happens on the fly and depends on the dynamic complexity of the signal. Adjusting the Hysterisis value lets you go from regular RMS detection (or RMS with peak induced) to full auto-threshold. It's useful for controlling sustained signals with lower thresholds and allowing more dynamics in transient material. It's also quite useful for avoiding the common problems in transitions between low and high level parts of a song or instrument. The Angel's Share function is somewhat similar, but relates to the ratio instead, allowing you to use higher ratios with low level signals and low ratios with high level signals for a more dynamic sound.

There's manual or automatic lookahead, true upward compression, and even M/S control per band, which lets you do funny stuff like widening guitars or synths in the midrange without touching the lower or upper bands, etc. Generally it's a very versatile plug-in and I can't think of any other plug-in that's so well designed in terms of features.

[Red Mastering]

thank you for explanation,
it really looks interesting, but I am bit overwhelmed by the amounts of knobs and parameters, so I presume it takes time to understand how it works,
mastering bundle looks bit more interesting (from the price point)
you got 2 limiters, solera and EQ for 300 quid, or so.
unfortunately it will have to wait, but I need to get manual, learn it and then demo it

thanks again

[stinkyfingers]

DMG Compassion...has an expander, upward expansion and transient shaper...works great...
it has most of the features as the Flux and more...

[Laurend]

FLUX Bitter Sweet is a freeware. It's a transient designer like which could help you to retrieve some crests on your tracks.