Smooth 609A Bus

Compressor
 General Info
This set is 'based off of' an original release model of a compressor that, since its
introduction in the early 80s, has famously found a lot of use as a bus comp. It's
known for its characteristic, smooth sound and ability to 'glue' the elements of a
mix together. It has gained many die-hard fans who use it every time they mix,
and it has been used on many classic recordings. It can also be used in many
situations besides bus compression alone. Some like to use it to beef up
electric/acoustic guitars, pianos, vocals and other sources, and it even gets used
while tracking by some. It has been called a desert island piece. You don't need
many dBs of compression to get a benefit out of it, with common use involving
just a bit of gain reduction. Some even use it without compression just for its
tone. On the other hand, it still sounds great when you push it for lots of gain
reduction. These programs were sampled in stereo with high-end cables and the
Lynx Aurora 8.

In this set you get:

The main compressor program with 1k, 5k, and 10k options. These main
programs are set up to provide compression behavior as close to the unit
as possible, although some controls (attack and release) offer extended
ranges that provide additional behaviors beyond what the hardware could
do. The programs feature fully variable ratio from 1:1 to 6:1. The
hardware isn't quite as flexible there, since it has indented controls (not
fully variable) and doesn't, for example, allow ratios between 1:1 and
1.5:1 for super-subtle compression like these programs do. There is also
an adjustable high-pass filter on the internal detection side-chain, and a
dry control that lets you mix some dry signal back in, both not included on
the hardware. You don't have to touch any of that extra stuff or go into
those extended control ranges if you want to stay more authentic to the
hardware, but they are there for the more adventurous types who want
more control.
A duplicate batch of comp programs using various other detection modes
which behave differently from the hardware. These are like a 'what if' type
of thing where you can hear what the unit would sound like with different
circuitry. Each of these is also provided in 1 and 10k versions.
4 more sets of duplicate programs with even more extreme 'Frankenstein'
alterations to the original behavior. One set uses 'feedforward' detection,
instead of the fully feedback based detection of the main set (which is
what the unit uses). The other 3 use different ratios of feedback to
feedforward detection, including 25%/75%, 50/50, and 75/25. These all
are provided in 1 and 10k versions as well as with all of the various
 detector types offered by the main set and the previously described
duplicate set.
Additional duplicates of the feed-forward versions which can be used with
a 2nd stereo input in an external side-chain setup.
Altogether, all of those alternate versions offer a HUGE range of different
sounding effects, but there is always the main set to fall back on, for the
more authentic sound. The different batches are well organized so they
won't confuse you whether you explore them or choose to ignore the
bonus optional versions and only want to use the main set. Altogether
there are 24 'alternate' preset configurations additional to the main set,
and each comes in 1 and 10k versions.
All variations are offered in special 'SHQ' versions which use a ton of CPU
but offer a more 'super high quality' sound. They use so much cpu that
you won't be able to mix with them, and they are intended for rendering
only. There are some aspects to how they work that are measurably more
accurate, but it's really a matter of gaining a few more % points of
accuracy at the cost of a large amount of additional CPU, so consider
these as bonuses that are there for you to use if you feel it's worth it to
you.
This one's a bit more technical- all of the harmonic samples in these
programs were 'rendered' with a new technique I've come up with. It's a
lesser known fact that programs with higher kernel counts (around 10)
can lose a bit of accuracy with all of the harmonic samples, not just the
higher orders. For example, 'rendering' a program at 10k will produce
slightly less accurate samples with even the lower harmonics (h1-h3) than
what you get if you render at 3k. I've done tests and actually seen cases
where h5 samples had no visible impulse above the noise floor for the 10k
render, but those same impulses were clearly visible and defined with a 5k
render. I've figured out a way to keep the best possible accuracy for all
kernels even with a 10k version. It's pretty tedious to do, but it means
that the harmonic samples are more accurately defined even going down
to quieter levels.

Installation
Just copy the .n2p files to your Nebula 'Programs' folder, and the .n2v files
to the 'Vectors' folder.
 Organization
The programs will all be found in the 'COM' category in Nebula, then in the
'SM' and/or 'SM*' sub-categories. 'SM' = 96kHz set, 'SM*' = 44kHz. There are 5
additional sets of duplicate compressor programs. In 'ALT' you will find different
versions that use different detection modes, compared to the main set (which
uses 'peak' style detection). The available types are RMS, AVG, EVF, and VU. I
believe the VU one is supposed to detect level similar to how a VU meter does.
All of these will be slower than peak. In 'FF' you will find alternates where the
level detector uses a feedforward routing for it's detector, instead of the main
set which uses fully feedback based detection. In 'FB1' there is a 25/75% ratio
of feedback/feedforward. In 'FB2' it's 50/50, and in 'FB3' it's 75/25.
If you want to know what any of these alternate modes actually do you
will have to look it up (tons of info about how compressors work out there)
online somewhere, because others have explained it better than I could anyway.
If you do choose to look it up, look for the differences between RMS and Peak,
and feedforward and feedback detection. Or you can just try some of them out
and see how they sound. Keep in mind that the main set uses settings that are
based on the hardware, so these extras are allowing for you to get results that
the hardware wouldn't allow, but with the same smooth tone.
The 'Fast Attk A' programs in the main group are duplicates of the PEAK
programs in the 'FB3' set, which means they use 75/25 feedback/feedforward
ratio. 'Fast Attk B' programs are dupes of the PEAK programs from the 'FF' set,
so they use fully feed-forward detection. They are duplicated in the main group
to provide quick and easy access to alternate versions that still use the same
detector type (peak), but with various levels of feedforward in the detection
path which allows for faster attacks that catch more transients. The hardware
can't catch all those transients but with these software recreations you can
squash stuff flat all day long. Fast Attk A is still a little more like the hardware
compared to B. These also have controls set to fastest attack position and with
some look-ahead by default on load.
The 'Ext SC' programs are set up to use an additional stereo input going
into Nebula to trigger the compression. This is a common technique and I'm not
going to go into detail about when/where/why to use it in this manual. There
are only external sidechain programs for the variants that use fully feed-forward
detection. This means that everything in the FF set has an Ext SC duplicate, and
the 'Fast Attk B' programs in the main group do also.
 Notes on SHQ programs
The SHQ programs are not just simply programs saved using 'timed' mode
instead of the default 'freqd' mode. They also use much longer kernels which
means more of the tone from the unit should theoretically be provided (with a
slightly more accurate bass response), and a faster prog rate, which means the
attack/release shapes are more accurate. They take a huge amount of CPU, so
with the exception of the 'SHQ-lite' temporary use version you probably won't
be able to run/audition them while mixing. You will have to use either the
standard versions, or the 'SHQ-lite', then switch to the full SHQ progs on render,
if you want to use them. The problem is that when you switch programs, you
lose your settings on the controls. To get around this will be left up to you, but I
would suggest trying to find out if your host software has a simple way of doing
it via it's automation handling. For example, set up the compressor the way you
want, then tell the host to save its current control positions to automation. That
way, after you switch programs the control will still be in the same spot.
Depending on your host there may be even better ways of doing this. See the
tips section for more info about SHQ and for a better explanation of the 'SHQ-
lite' programs which are intended only for temporary mixing/auditioning use,
and NOT for rendering.

Nebula Configuration Adjustments Required

In all of my compressor releases I ask that the adjust their main Nebula settings
to allow for a look-ahead of up to at least 10ms. My look-ahead controls always
go to 6ms, and if you don't tell Nebula to allow a program to go that high, the
control won't show you what you are actually getting. This time I also have to
ask that you change another setting- the max allowed timed length, so that the
SHQ versions work properly. These are the only 'mods' you need to have these
things work as I intend them to, and I would strongly recommend that you
don't have anything else modified (unless you know for sure that it won't affect
these comps adversely). These changes actually are hardly what I would even
call a 'mod', because they won't result in any changes to how any program in
your collection actually works. All they do is make Nebula allow longer times for
both things. It's actually kind of ridiculous that I have to ask you to do this. For
example, the default max look-ahead allowed by Neb is 1.5ms. That's barely
enough to have a slight effect. These settings should already be set high in case
a dev (like me) wants to have these things go longer.
The best way to change these is by editing the .xml that is with the
Nebula plug-in .dll. So go where you installed the plugin, and open the .xml file
for the nebula version you use (either 'reverb' or standard). Look for these tags:
<LTIMED> XXX </LTIMED>
<AHEADLENGTH> XXX </AHEADLENGTH>
Where 'XXX' is whatever number they are currently set to. The number isn't
measured in milliseconds, I think it's microseconds. Change that number to
allow more time. Here is what mine are set to:
<LTIMED> 5500000 </LTIMED>
<AHEADLENGTH> 23000 </AHEADLENGTH>
Now save the xml. This should allow you to use SHQ programs and have up to
the full 10ms look-ahead. If you don't do this, you can't have those things.
Nothing will explode if you edit that xml just in the way I've described here, and
it will have absolutely 0 effect on any other program. If you are really afraid for
some silly reason, make a backup of the xml before you edit it.

Controls
Attack- Variable from 0 to 50ms. Programs load at 4.30ms, which
provides the speed closest to the hardware (which has a fixed attack time that
can't be adjusted). The speeds above and below that have been enabled by me
to provide a bit more flexibility with how the comp can be used. There isn't any
witchcraft behind this, and it doesn't compromise quality in any way. It just
opens up more possibilities. But if you are a purist you can always keep it in
that default position. See the tips section for more about this control and what
you should and shouldn't expect from it.
Release- Variable from 0ms to 1500ms. Programs load at 100ms by
default which represents the fastest release time possible with the hardware.
The slowest the hardware offers is 1500ms, but the hardware has a few fixed
positions it can be set to between 100 and 1500. These programs are fully
variable so again they are more flexible. The ability to go from 100ms down to
0ms was again added by me to offer more possibilities, and I think going a bit
below 100ms here can really bring out more of the character of the comp. As
with any compressor, if you set this too fast you can (and likely will) get
distortion (or other weird artifacts), especially with bass. Don't think this thing is
broken if you set the release really low (below 60) and get distortion. Just set it
higher until it goes away. Again, see tips section for more about this.
Thresh- This adjusts the threshold, above which, compression begins. For
the programs in the main set, this control should be pretty accurate, but for the
alternate sets it can be off a few db from what the readout tells you and where
the thresh is actually set. For some of those alternates there is even a difference
in how accurate it is between the 1k and 5/10k versions, so you can't rely on
the readout for those alternate sets, but you really should always be using your
ears anyways. The gain reduction meter is usually fairly accurate, so you can
use it to help determine where thresh needs to be set.
Ratio- Variable from 1:1 to 6:1. Turning it up gives you more compression
(if input level is above thresh). 1:1 gives no compression.
MakeUp- This control... doesn't exist! The reason is because of the way
Nebula's internal routing is set up. A makeup control will always exist inside the
feedback loop that the detector uses to measure the signal and determine how
much gain reduction to apply, if feedback detection is being used. This means
that raising it would actually increase compression, so it wouldn't just be a
straight output gain control, it would actually alter the effect. The hardware's
makeup gain control does not behave this way, except with the limiter section. I
didn't want people adjusting makeup with this comp and having their results
change and not knowing why (not everyone reads manuals). The main Nebula
output control won't affect compression, but it only allows for 6db of gain, so if
you want more you should follow Nebula with a simple gain plug-in. I
recommend Sonalksis' FreeG vst. It's free, as the name implies, and offers up
to 18db of gain. It also has some nice meters on it, and it's very simple. The
limiter programs in the 609A Limiter set will have makeup control even though
they also use feedback detection, but there it's accurate to the hardware (the
unit's makeup will cause the limiter to squash more).
Hipass- Adjusts the cutoff point of a high-pass filter on the internal side-
chain in Nebula that determines how much compression you get. If you are
compressing a more complex input, like a mix of elements, you may not want
the bass elements to dominate/control the compression effect.
Ahead- It allows you to add a look-ahead of up to 10ms, and can be used
to achieve a peak limiting effect, or just to soften the attack a little. If you
haven't followed my previous directions on altering Nebula's default settings,
this control will only give up to 1.5ms look-ahead even though it still reads up to
10ms. This control will not be found in the main program set, or the 'ALT' set,
because those both use full feedback detection, so look-ahead would have no
effect with them.
Dry db- This control can be used to add some dry signal back in. It's not
a wet/dry % control that adjusts the level of 'wet' signal relative to dry. It only
adds some dry into the output, and doesn't lower the wet level. It can go from
no dry (reads -192db) to +6db, which provides a dry signal at 6db louder than
the input into Nebula. Considering the fact that lots of compression lowers the
'wet' signal significantly, the dry control here works just about as well as a
wet/dry crossfade control.
General Usage Tips/Ideas:

Keep in mind that this thing's main duty is bus compression. For that purpose you
should have a decent mix of all the elements already, maybe with individual
compression/eq on some or all of them before sending them to the bus. The 609A is
probably best used to add some thickness, maybe some rhythmic pumping/motion to a
bus mix (such as a drum bus), and a little additional compression. This isn't a rule
though, and there are plenty of other uses besides bus compression.
Related to the previous tip- EXPERIMENT and find other uses besides just bus
compression for these programs! You might be surprised how many cool uses you find
for them.
If you use this comp with mix buses, you might find that you only need a bit of
compression to make everything tighter and sound more cohesive, with a bit of added
thickness as well. Try setting mid to long release times, a low-mid ratio, and a
threshold that results in only a few db of compression.
Don't expect the main programs to provide L2-like peak limiting with all transients
being caught. The actual unit will not flatten all transients you throw at it, and it
seems to be a bit of a misconception going around that if a software compressor
doesn't catch them all, it's somehow bad or not as as good as the hardware it's based
on simply for that reason. The truth is that many great hardware comps do not
instantly grab all transients. They just don't work that way. Especially not a
feedback detection based comp such as this. Even fast feedforward based hardware
will probably let some tiny sliver of a peak through before compression kicks in. So,
even if you set the attack speed to 0ms, it won't be instant with the main programs.
However- if you really want to squash something flat, catching all transients, without
using another compressor, it IS possible. Try the Fast Attk A or B programs, and raise
look-ahead until transients are caught. Fast Attk A is a bit closer to the hardware sound
while still allowing the ability to catch all transients, which the hardware could not do.
SHQ programs need less look-ahead than their standard version counterparts, to catch
transients, with any of the peak mode programs that use some feedforward signal in
their detectors.
Another option for taming peaks that are missed by 609A BusComp during heavy
compression, would be to use a 609A limiter program (not included in this set) right
after the comp. Even the hardware's limiter section uses feedback detection and lets
the first 3ms of any peak through. But, using a 609A comp program before a 609A
limiter one could give you a more 'full' sound character of the unit, and you could use
the limiter with the feedforward/lookahead setup while keeping the comp more
authentic.
If you set the release time to its fastest position you can and most likely will get
distortion or other artifacts, especially with bass inputs. This is not a flaw of the
programs. You shouldn't be trying to use super fast release times with bass on
probably any comp, without expecting distortion. It's a known thing that happens with
any compressor with a release that can go fast enough (below 50ms) and I'm not
going to explain why it happens here (look it up online, there are plenty of sources
explaining it), but I keep getting people asking me about this. At the fastest setting
most types of inputs (not just bass) will distort in some way, depending on the attack
 setting. The reason I added in the ability to go faster than the hardware's fastest
100ms setting, is because it can bring out the character/tone of the comp even more
and sounds great in some cases. I have even had cases while testing where the fastest
speeds did generate distortion with certain audio signals, but it sounded good (to me)!
If you don't like the results, don't set it that fast! There is a whole range on that
control besides that tiny area with those fastest speeds. Faster is not always better.
Stick with speeds 100ms and over for most authentic behavior, as provided by the
hardware.
I'm repeating this from the description of the makeup control, in case you missed it.
There is no makeup control, for good reason. I recommend you follow Nebula with
something like Sonalksis' FreeG plug-in which can be used for up to 18db of gain.
If you decide to dig into the alternate versions provided, you might want to keep in
mind that the main set represents the hardware the closest. Those programs use peak
detection mode with 100% feedback. So knowing this, the further you veer from either
of those two things (100% feedback, and peak mode), the further from the hardware's
type of behavior you get (which isn't necessarily bad). If you want to stick close to the
sound of the main set but try something slightly different, try the PK programs from
the FB3 or FB2 set, OR try anything in ALT. The FF set is the least like the hardware.
The SHQ versions will have a slightly but noticeably different attack sound from the
standard versions even using the same settings, especially with faster attack speeds.
This can't really be avoided, and it's directly because SHQ is more accurate. So if you
intend to use the SHQ versions on render, you can try using the special 'SHQ-lite'
programs for auditioning/mixing before rendering if your CPU can handle it. Even
though they are only 1k, they still take more CPU than the standard 10k version will.
Finally, if you really like what the standard versions do (with their attack sound in
particular) and can't get an SHQ version to recreate it exactly, don't worry about it and
just use the standard version. No harm will come out of this. Again, keep in mind that
we are talking about very small differences here, so if you can't use the SHQ versions
because they change the sound too much (this should be rare), OR because they just
take more time to render than you want to wait for, then don't sweat it because the
standard programs are great too.
These were created using the -18dBFS=0dBVU standard, so your levels going into the
programs should be around -18dBFS RMS level.

V1.1 use this version number to keep track of updates. If the manual posted at my site has a higher version
number than the one you have, your set probably isn't up to date.

Programs and manual copyright May-July 2013 Tim Wisecup

www.cupwise.com
 Thanks:
Giancarlo, Enrique, everyone else at Acustica and everyone involved in advancing Nebula in
any and all ways.
www.acustica-audio.com

All of my supporters! Especially those who help me out a little further by telling others about
my stuff (which helps me to be able to continue putting out new things). Cupwise FX is a
small operation and I need all the help I can get, in terms of financial support, in order to
continue doing this. I think my prices are set relatively low. So if you like my stuff and get
some good use out of it, consider giving it an honest review somewhere, or just let your
friends know about it. I don't want to ever include any form of copy protection with my stuff
either, so please, before you share these programs with others, consider how you would feel
if the fruits of your labor were shared freely rather than you being compensated for them.
Contrary to what some people seem to think, making Nebula programs is NOT just a simple
matter of 'running some tones through some hardware', especially not for things that are
more complex, such as these compressor programs.