Recording - May 2020 - 22

A Curveball

The most unique feature on the Germ Comp is
its six Comp Curves, selectable on a six-position
stepped switch labeled: R Soft (Resistance), Germ
Soft, Germ Med, Silicon Med, Silicon Hard, and
Zener Hard. Each curve is created by differing configurations and types of resistance diodes including
germanium, silicon, and zener. Each setting engages
a unique compression curve that shapes both compression ballistics and tonal characteristics.

Blend to taste

The final big yellow knob is a wet/dry control
that allows for instant, onboard parallel compression. While a standard feature now, in 2008 the
Chandler Limited Germanium Compressor was the
first hardware compressor to offer it!

Attack/Release

The Attack and Release controls are labeled
fast to slow, and my original review explains them
best-they can be extremely quick and grabby, or
smooth and sloooow... how's that for technical?

Germ Drive

The last two controls (also found on the Tone Control)
put the 'germanium' in Germ Comp. By varying the
stepped Drive and variable Feedback controls, you can
subtly or aggressively alter the tonality of the box. The
Germ Drive is essentially a level control. Feedback is the
color, being clean and clear at low levels, and harmonically saturated and thickly colored at higher settings. Of
course, they both interact with each other at all times.

Plug it in

The software-only additions to the Softube plugin
start with an M/S mode. Second is external sidechaining, if supported in your DAW. The third is
something that seems minor but is something I wish
the hardware offered: a +/- 24dB master level control, which allows you to dial in your character and
tone with the Germanium Drive section and then
fine-tune your output at the end of the line.
The final changes are the relocation of the bypass
and channel linking controls to the lower pane of
the GUI. The hardware Germanium Compressor is
a single mono unit, although two units can be linked
via TRS cable. Even on mono tracks, the Softube
version opens in a dual-unit GUI.

In Use

Most of the time, my pair of Germanium Compressors live linked and coupled to a pair of Tone Controls,
adding weight, life, excitement, and dimension to my
22 RECORDING May 2020

drum bus. It also sees regular use on my electric guitar bus as well as the master bus, to gently rough up otherwise pristine, digital mixes. The Germanium
Compressor is the antithesis of set it and forget it. It's an organic piece of gear,
and you never know precisely what you're going to get until you twist the
knobs and experiment. Sometimes I'll use fully wet compression, low ratios,
gentle curves, slow attack, and a release time set to the feel of the music, for
color, vibe, and a vintage compressed feel. Other times, I go dirty, full zener,
high ratios, mid to fast attack, and the fastest release, which is magically
punchy and animated. On its own, this would be an over the top, almost
industrial effect on a good day. However, tucked just behind a predominantly
dry mix, it can give the illusion of excitement, added depth, and punchy motion. I'm happy to report I can execute all of these things in the new plugin.

Comparison

So, does the plugin nail the hardware? You may be expecting the usual hardware-software answer of, "its close, but... analog air, dimensional depth, etc."
Some of this is partly true in this case, but not because the plugin doesn't nail
the hardware; it's because the hardware does not always nail the hardware!
The Germanium Compressor, like many vintage designs, is very sensitive to the impedance and loading of the interface, console, or converters
to which it's connected. While the characteristics and response found in
the comp curves, ratio, attack, release, and sidechain are comparable,
the input/threshold, Germanium Drive and Feedback controls behave differently. The most obvious difference I noticed between the two: at fully
matched settings, it takes a lot more gain to drive signals into my hardware than into its software counterpart. The most significant tonal variation
I found between the two is that the hardware has a hair more low end
extension while the software often sounds initially thicker when loosely
matched. In true Chandler Limited fashion, you need to tweak, turn, and
tease the controls one way or the other to create a match. After a few
minutes spent adjusting the input levels first, then the Drive and Feedback
controls, I was able to get the two quite close, especially in a mix.

Germ Conclusions

I'm very impressed with the job Softube did with the Chandler Germanium Compressor. When you consider all the unique variables baked
into the unit, this is quite the home run! Moving into wishlist territory, I'm
hoping that Softube crafts a model of the Germanium Tone Control next,
and then offers them in a dual plugin, as it just did with the Zener-Bender.
A guy can dream...
Specs: 64-bit VST, VST3, AU, or AAX (11.0.2 or higher)
Softube account and iLok account required
Price: $250 More From: softube.com

http://www.softube.com

Recording - May 2020

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