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GRIP Valve Drive Compressor

Compressor Plugin by CFA-Sound
MyKVRFAVORITE9WANT4
GRIP Valve Drive Compressor
GRIP Valve Drive Compressor by CFA-Sound is a Virtual Effect Audio Plugin for macOS and Windows. It functions as a VST Plugin and an Audio Units Plugin.
Product
Version
1.01b
Windows XP SP2 or later
Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz / AMD Athlon 64 or equivalent
2 GB RAM
Screen resolution: 1024×768
VST 32-bit or 64-bit host
Product
Version
1.01c
OS X 10.6.8 or later
OS X 10.15 Catalina compatible
Core Duo 2GHz
2 GB RAM
Screen resolution: 1024×768
VST, and AU 32-bit or 64-bit host
Effect
Formats
Copy Protection
None
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KVR Rank

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The GRIP valve drive compressor by CFA-Sound is a powerful dynamic processor, which delivers compression with character. The hybrid design features an accurate emulation of legendary German vintage tubes of the 1960s and a modern VCA compressor workhorse. Together they create a powerful fusion of both worlds – vintage and modern at once.

With the flexible and intuitive design, you can use GRIP as vintage compressor with the warm and rich sound of the valve tube circuit, or without to have a clean-as-possible compressor on your track. Both core elements featuring a mix control, so you can also make use of the famous "New York"/parallel compression. AND it also means, you can use GRIP as pure valve drive effect – to warm up vocals, give drums more edge or basslines way more heat.

Furthermore the valve drive emulation features 2 different taste of drive – Triode as well as Pentode mode. Triode will enhance the sound in a more musical way by adding even harmonics and that "warmth", while the Pentode mode will add more odd harmonics and makes the sound more crunchy.

Features:

  • Compression with character.
  • Valve drive emulation of German vintage tubes.
  • Including Triode and Pentode drive mode.
  • VCA compressor model.
  • Versatile use by mix control for valve drive and compressor.
  • Intuitive design and workflow.
  • 2x oversampling for aliasing-free sound.
  • CPU friendly.
  • Formats: AU & VST (32/64-bit).
  • Platforms: Mac OS X & WinOS.

{See video at top of page}

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Comments & Discussion for CFA-Sound GRIP Valve Drive Compressor

Discussion
Discussion: Active
Psync
Psync
11 February 2016 at 8:49pm

I have been trying out the demo just now and I have a few questions:

The plugin's default "blend" values for both the compressor and the valve drive are 100% dry. Compressor output defaults at -24dB. Shouldn't that be 100% wet and 0 dB?

In Reaper 5.15 x64, Windows 10 x64, the plugin only seems to work on the left channel. The plugin pin-connector shows "Input", VST In 2,"Output" and VST Out 2. The demo showed the plugin working on a stereo mix. Bug?

What good is an output maximum of +6dB, when the compressor go as far as 20dB of gain reduction? Normally I wouldn't use THAT much, but it would be nice to be able to compensate for 8 to 10 dB gain reduction within the plugin itself.

Greetings, Psync.

Cyforce
Cyforce
13 February 2016 at 7:37am

1) it's just the pure default setting if loaded - just click on the "next preset" arrow and you have the main preset / best basic direct loaded.

2.) The plugin is (as nearly all others) designed in full stereo path (2 channels - L + R). Maybe you put it on a mono track /mono sample - if so every daw automaticly uses the L channel for mono sending to the plugins - because there will be only 1 channel instead of 2. In stereo usage it works well, we tested it on a high variety of examples and as said, full stereo - as nearly all other plugins. "VST in 2" = 2 channels in L+R... "VST Out 2" = 2 channels aswell L+R.

3.) Well based through the direct combination with the valvedrive (already there you have up to 24db drive) we figured that a high "make up gain" setting isn't needed, and the most people don't using compressors on extrem settings. Next to this, relatively to the attack & release time settings you mostly never compress the full signal (transients, slow attack etc..) so peaks will be still more present as the compressed part and so even with for example 20 db gain reduction of (as example the tail of a kickdrum - but attack phase untouched through attack time settings) your signal won't drop down by 20db - logical.

Also, with eyes on a typical mixdown, you never want to have a track in the mix going way over 0db peak or close under it, always with a specific amount of headroom, so as example, you using a typical sample-loop which is always (mostly) normalised to -0,1db, even by adding up to 10 db gain reduction and a little bit of drive and +6 db on the output - you are close below the peak value before - but also already with some more headroom till zero peak - as it should mostly be. So in short, make up gain value is set through the average way of how to use a compressor.

Hope the answers helped :)

Cyforce
Cyforce
17 February 2016 at 5:44am

Update to version 1.01 is out.

- Update of the Framework for higher DAW compability (to solve rare problems with specific DAW versions)

Psync
Psync
17 February 2016 at 11:06am

Cyforce, thanks for your reply.

Version 1.01 works correctly on stereo channels (and stereo sources) now (Reaper 5.15 x64, Windows 10 x64), version 1.0 did not. It sounds really nice.

I understand what you're saying about the make-up gain versus typical compression and the drive function. That's just my lack of experience, I guess... :-)

As for the default setting: I simply like to pull up a plugin and turn the threshold down (or the drive up) to immediately hear what a plugin 'does', without the need for any specific vocal, drum or mix settings. But I can definitely live with this...

About that drive, though: I like the sound of the harmonics, but when the drive is turned up, most of my sources seem to lose a lot of low-end. Had to turn the mix knob back to almost 5 or 10 percent to preserve some. Is that the original behaviour of the German tubes?

That being said, I really like the sound of the compressor. This will almost definitely make it into my arsenal.

Will a number readout for the knobs be included in the future, or was it a deliberate decision to not include it ('just use your ears')?

Greetings, Psync.

Turello
Turello
5 August 2016 at 12:15pm

@Cyforce: Can You specify what kind of hardware emulated?

Thanks in advance and forgive my poor english... ^_^.

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