User Manual
Chandler Limited® Germanium Compressor
Intro
User Interface
Linked vs. Unlinked Channels
Extended Features
Credits
“… like all the Germanium units, many of the parameters have been set by extensive listening and recording, not by technical analysis and equations. We feel this approach leads to very musical equipment that is more similar to a fine instrument. In many cases we actually TRIED NOT to “accidentally” discover the physics and math behind what we were doing, so that that nothing got in the way of what we were hearing :-)
This compressor has been in the design process for over two years. We really hope you’ll like it!!!“
Wade Goeke, founder, owner and chief product designer at Chandler Limited®
The Germanium Compressor is like no other compressor. It is really different. The way it grabs the signal, the way it colors it and the way the knobs respond when you tweak them is different from other compressors we come across, and we’ve come across quite a few. It was also extremely hard to model, and that’s largely because of the method with which Wade Goeke at Chandler Limiter® designed it. Instead of looking at hardware specs, noise floor, control theory and the math, Wade Goeke designed this almost exclusively by using extensive listening tests. The resulting circuits are therefor not always easy to understand, although the character of this compressor is obvious and in your face.
But the real master piece here is not just to design something different with lots of mojo, but to design something that’s also extremely versatile. And Chandler Limited® managed to do that.
This is a compressor that excels at drums, vocals, bass, etc. but also at mix busses and masters. We hope you will enjoy it, because we are very proud of being able to bring this to you in software form.
Quoted parts in the manual are taken directly from the hardware manual of the Chandler Limited® Germanium Compressor.
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- Left/Mid section
- Right/Side section
- Signal routing
Parameters
The user interface consists of two identical units, the top one for the left channel and the bottom one for the right. If you always want the same settings on both channels, just turn on Link Channels and the settings will be the same for both channels.
The lowest part of the user interface has an extra panel for routing the signal (Mid/Side Mode, Link Channels), external sidechain as well as an output volume control.
Compressor Parameters
Clean Comp/ Dirty Comp: The gain reduction element in the Germanium Compressor consists of a FET transistor, and these are known for the high amount of distortion. The design of the Germanium Compressor compensates for this, but if you want the dirty and uncompensated sound of the FET gain reduction, set this switch to DIRTY COMP.
Input: Sets the amount of signal into the compressor, turn it up and get more compression. Depending on the gain staging you use in your DAW you might need more or less input gain to achieve the desired amount of compression.
In the software version of Germanium Compressor we have increased the range of the Input knob so that it’s easier to use.
Sidechain: Sidechain filter setting. Use this to set how much bass the compressor should react to. Frequencies below the set frequency is attenuated and will trigger the compressor less. When ever you use the compressor on something with a wide frequency range, such as a drum bus, a mix or sub groups, experiment with the setting of this control. It’s almost magic!
Ratio: Controls the ratio of the compressor. Keep in mind that the original hardware was designed extensively through listening tests, as opposed to a mathematical approach. Instead they adjusted the individual settings while listening to various pre-recorded tracks and used what sounded best on most sources.
The Ratio works intimately with the Comp Curve control. It is recommended that you first select the sound of the Comp Curve (the knee) and use the ratio to fine tune the compression from there.
Comp Curve: One of the most fun and most original part of the Germanium Compressor. The curve adjusts the knee of the compression with various diode combinations.
“Designing this section was one of the hardest and most rewarding parts of the Germanium Compressor. Simply put, we took every type of diode we could find and endlessly experimented with them in the curve section until we found the most useful combinations. Most Ratio/Curve controls are simple resistance circuits. Using diods add flavor and character. We ended up with six different combinations, using germanium, silicon and zener diodes in several configurations as well as a more standard resistance setting.
The individual choices were selected to give the best range of sounds on a variety of sources. Germanium diodes have a low forward voltage which translates to a very smooth compression knee. Silicon forward voltage is higher and makes the knee sharper. Zener diodes have another voltage characteristic that has an even more extreme effect on the knee.”
R SOFT: The most neutral and gentle of the curves. It uses a standard resistance circuit and has the least coloration.
GERM SOFT: Uses a single germanium diode, that has a gentle diode curve. Slightly sharper knee than R SOFT, but with a nice color and vibe.
GERM MED: Five germanium diodes of another type than the one used in GERM SOFT. Even sharper knee, and a bit more vibe.
SILICON MED: A single silicon diode, has a sharper knee than GERM MEDIUM, but a different tone.
SILICON HARD: Two silicon diodes, an even sharper knee and more vibe.
ZENER HARD: Uses a single Zener diode with the sharpest knee of all settings. It also has a very different character compared to the other settings.
”Simply put, the knee of the curve gets sharper as you turn it up. Each diode has its own flavor as well. The R SOFT, GERM SOFT, GERM MED and SILICON MED tend to be the best for general use with each having its own tonality. For compression with the least artifacts or audibility choose the R SOFT or GERM SOFT settings. For a little more coloration and character, choose the GERM MED and SILICON MED.
GERM SOFT and GERM MED selections tend to be our favorite general use settings as they are the best compromise between coloration, tone, and punch. On drums, for example, you can use larger amounts of compression without losing the attack, punch and tone of the drum, while the germanium diode adds character.
For stereo buss or mastering, use the R SOFT or GERM SOFT settings. For hard smash, use the SILICON HARD or ZENER selections. For submixing with the Mix control, use the harder presets.”
Mix: Blend between the compressed (WET) and un-compressed (DRY) signal. Mix the tight compressed sound together with the unprocessed original signal and get the best of both.
The dry signal is still affected by the tone of the Germanium Drive output circuit, so if you want to play around with that without any compression, just set Mix fully to DRY.
”A couple of favorite uses… For intense sub-mix sounds, use the HARD SILICON and ZENER curves with a faster attack. Set the Mix control on WET from three to zero.
For a more subtle sub-mix sound, where you just want to keep the track from sounding too soft, use the moderate curves with a medium attack. Mix in just enough dry signal to add some life back to the compressed sound.
One excellent use of this is to use two compressors in series. The first would be the Germanium Compressor set with the Mix at slightly DRY. You then use the second compressor to compress the remaining unprocessed sound. Interesting control of the tone as well as the dynamics can be achieved.”
Attack: Sets the attack time of the compressor. Goes from “relatively fast” to “very slow”.
Release: Sets the release time of the compressor.
”Attack was designed by listening to as much material as possible. We have never calculated the actual attack and release times in an attempt to keep them as musical and natural as possible. Another important feature of the Attack is the range it has. It is relatively fast, but more importantly it can be very slow! We found this extremely useful on drums, bass, guitars, mixes and mastering. For example on drums you can control the attitude, punch, and intensity by the attack setting. For tight drums, setting the attack from medium to slow lets you compress large amounts which will make them very punchy and will not overly soften the sound by dampening the attack. The same results apply with bass, etc. For general use we found medium attack times (2-6) very appropriate.”
Germanium Drive: A gain switch in 3 dB steps. This is an output level control with builtin character. The actual amount of overall gain is affected by both the Germanium Drive and Feedback controls.
Using Germanium Drive and Feedback in different combinations is essential if you want to take advantage of all the different tones of the Germanium Compressor.
Feedback: Sets the vibe and tone of the output stage. At 0 you have more high frequencies, less distortion, less gain and a clearer tone. Increase it to get more distortion, gain, and a great deal of character in the bass and treble ranges.
On the original hardware, the effect of the Feedback control depends heavily on the equipment the Germanium Compressor is connected to, more precisely the input impedance of that unit. In the software version of the Germanium Compressor, we chose to “connect” it to an industry standard +4 line input, which is what a large majority of Germanium Compressor users do.
Routing Parameters
These parameters control the routing of the compressors, and allow you to link/unlink the compression, route mid/side, or use an external sidechain.
External Sidechain: External sidechain is engaged when this switch is in its up-most position.
Ext S/C Gain: Sets the gain of the input on the external sidechain.
In Left/Mid In Right/Side: Use to bypass the compressor.
Mid/Side Processing: Switches between Left/Right (normal) processing and Mid/Side processing.
In Mid/Side processing the top compressor is processing the Mid part of the input, which contains the mono information. The lower compressor is processing the side information. Mid/Side is extremely useful when working on drums buses or mixes. A small room can sound huge when processed in Mid/Side.
Please note that you need to unlink the channels (Link Channels set to OFF) to get true Mid/Side operation.
Tip: On a drum bus, turn on Mid/Side processing and dial-in a punchy 3-5 dB compression on the mid part. On the sides, use fast attack and release times to squash the signal as much as you can, while dialing in some dry using the Mix control. Use the Germanium Drive to balance the room tone (the side compressor) with the punch (the mid compressor).
Link Channels: Links the controls and the sidechain of both compressors.
Linked controls are just for your convenience, but the linked sidechain has a profound effect on the sound. With a linked sidechain, both sides will always get the same amount of gain reduction, and a loud sound in one channel will affect the gain of both. This is the preferred method when using much compression, because the sound stage might tilt to the left or right otherwise.
When using less compression, or mastering applications, it might be interesting to de-couple the left and right sides and get a more pronounced stereo image and “depth” that way.
Output Volume: Sets the output volume on both units. A completely colorless volume control from -24 to +24 dB.
Normally, a stereo compressor will have the same amount of gain reduction on both channels, regardless of the difference of the channels. This is to, for example, avoid having the entire sound field tilt to the left when a loud sound is heard in the right channel. But for mastering purposes, and lower gain reduction amounts, it is often very useful to decouple these two channels in order to preserve a "depth" to the sound.
By engaging Link Channels, you'll get the "normal" stereo mode with linked gain reduction, as well as linked parameters. Set Link Channels to off and you get true, independent gain reduction.
This feature is even more important in Mid/Side Processing mode, where you seldom want to link the gain reduction.
Linking Best Practices
STEREO MODE: If you have lots of gain reduction, link your channels.
MID/SIDE MODE: Unlink them.
STEREO MODE: If you are mastering or applying small amounts of gain reduction, try to unlink them. But look out for sudden shifts in the stereo image related to the gain reduction.
As always, trust your ears. If it sounds good, it is good!
A whole range of added control can be accessed with Extended Features. Please see the separate "Extended Features" manual for more information.
Jacopo Lovatello (lead), Björn Rödseth, Kim Larsson, and Arvid Rosén – Hardware Modeling
Wade Goeke – Original Hardware Design
Niklas Odelholm, Ulf Ekelöf – GUI Design
Johan Bremin, Jacopo Lovatello, Wade Goeke, and Niklas Odelholm – A/B and QA Testing
Niklas Odelholm, with excerpts from the hardware manual by Wade Goeke – Manual
Niklas Odelholm, Paul Shyrinskykh – Project Management