Cupwise C254-E Compressor and Limiter VERSION 2

UPDATE NEWS - C254-E has just received a major V2 update. The update is HUGE. Everything was rebuilt from the ground up, it's really an all-new product. The programming has been completely redone, resulting in an entirely new, vastly improved compressor. Attack times, release times, everything is vastly improved, even including the samples (re-rendered from the original tone sweeps to allow for better edits as well as reducing stereo differences). This is now my most accurate compressor, by far. I spent months on this update, determined to make one of the best Nebula compressors out there, and learned a lot of new techniques in the process.

Product info

This is my Nebula take on a legendary compressor known for its 'smooth'
or 'round', and 'thick' sound. Those kinds of descriptions are very subjective, but
it's also considered to be especially great for vocals. Many engineers find use for
it with almost any kind of audio material, but it's known as a character piece. A
unique design featuring a diode bridge and multiple transformers, and which
drops the input level greatly before compression with a subsequent make-up
gain stage afterwards, gives this compressor a sound of its own.

Two units were sampled in stereo. The hardware features separate
compressor and limiter sections, and I've made separate programs from each. It
also has 3 switchable release settings with different timings for both the
compressor and limiter, and my main 'Comp' programs preserve the switchable
nature, while offering all 5 unique timings from both. It also offers 3 switchable
attack times, with the default being the only attack possible with the hardware's
compressor, and the other two taken from its limiter.

I've also made 'Comp Vari' programs which allow fully variable control over
both the attack and release, with attack being extended to also allow slightly
slower timings. The limiter programs only offer the 3 release times you get on
the hardware's limiter section, and are switchable, with the attack having the
two limiter speeds (fast, slow) at its extreme settings, but allowing variable
control in between, if desired. The timings and shapes of both attack and
release have been extensively worked and reworked to get as close as possible
within the Nebula architecture.

The compressor (both switched and vari) and limiter programs each have
3 modes- 1) clean, with no harmonics 2) main, with 2 orders of harmonic
distortion, and 3) Clean SHQ, which has no harmonics but is much more CPU
intensive, intended for final renders only, and gives a more accurate frequency
response than the other two options. For use with either the Clean or Clean
SHQ modes is the optional 'Harmonics Only' (“Harm” on the skin) program,
which you need to load after either of the Clean ones, to get a full model. This
is explained in more detail later in this manual. There's also a 'pass-through'
program that works like the typical Nebula preamp style programs, useful for
getting some tone of the hardware without any compression.