User Manual

4.2. Main Control Panel
The Comp VCA-65 Graphical User Interface offers most of the controls we are used to in
a modern compressor. Those are located in the Main Control Panel, which is the one that
opens by default when we launch the plug-in.
Besides these, Arturia included several advanced features, not present in the original unit,
and some even unimaginable when it was launched. These new features are located in a
second panel, the Advanced Mode Control Panel, that opens when we click the double arrow
button (the Advanced Mode button) in the Upper Toolbar.
As was the case with the first effects bundle, this Arturia plug-in bundle also has an Upper
Toolbar and a Lower Toolbar. The Lower Toolbar is very important for the use of the
Compressors, as it displays the parameter name and current value when we point the
mouse to a parameter control, allows to calibrate the VU Meter, allows to put the plug-in in
Bypass (we also have a bypass control in the Main Control Panel but it works in a different
way), and measures CPU consumption.
Of course, the Upper Toolbar is very important as well, since it is where we access the main
menus, perform several important tasks, like load and save presets and banks of presets,
and where we can select a preset and see the name of the current preset in use.
The toolbars and their features are covered in detail in the the User Interface chapter [p.29].
We will now have a look at all the controls available, explaining what they do, what are their
ranges, and how to interpret the numbers.
Beware that each time we click a control (knob or button), the Lower Toolbar displays the
parameter name and the current parameter value. This changes every time we move that
control, updating the parameter value in real time. These values aren't always of the same
type.
We may also have tips displayed (if the light bulb in the Upper Toolbar is lit). In this case,
the Lower Toolbar also displays a short description of each parameter next to its value, and
there is an area highlighted in the VU Meter that suggests the ideal range of gain reduction
the original preset should be used on to achieve the best results.
Now, let’s take a look at each control in Main Control Panel:
4.2.1. Threshold
The Threshold is one of the most important controls in a Compressor. This is where we
define the level around which the Compressor section starts to reduce the Gain. The
behavior of the Threshold depends a lot on the knee (also known as Compressor Curve)
used. Modern Compressors many times present a definable knee, but that wasn't the case
in the old units modeled by Arturia, where usually the knee was a built-in characteristic, and
very dependent on the type of compressor.
Comp VCA-65 Main Control Panel
14 Arturia - User Manual Comp VCA-65 - COMP VCA-65 CONTROL PANEL