Full Description
View Full Description
Retro American design, modern French twist
There's no replacing the iconic tone of vintage, tube-driven hardware, but Arturia have certainly captured every nuance, detail and internal interaction between this classic compressor and brought it to life for modern producers in your DAW. Because Comp TUBE-STA has been reworked as a software plugin, Arturia’s engineers were also able to integrate some contemporary features that make this compressor the best of both worlds: a simple, no-nonsense, great sounding compressor that you can use with modern setups and techniques.
The main panel of the interface shows all of the original hardware controls with some clever additions. The Input and Output gain levels can be linked or unlinked, making it ideal for auto-gain compensation to hear only the effect of your compression on the signal, rather than the change in volume level with increased gain reduction. Additionally, there is now a Mix knob on the front panel, allowing you to do classic "New York"-style parallel compression internally. Perfect for use on a lead vocal or drum bus, you can blend in a highly-compressed version of the same signal with the original for a consistent, clean and punchy sound.
Opening the Advanced panel, the TUBE-STA comes to life. An advanced side-chain menu offers to select your incoming source between internal and external audio, with a side-chain gain level for external sources. When used in stereo, there are five detection modes including Mid/Side processing. A powerful side-chain EQ includes high and low-pass filters with a one-band EQ to trigger your side-chain based on the sonic characteristics of the incoming audio. All of these side-chain parameters sums to making TUBE-STA perfect for creating space between two instruments occupying the same frequency range such as a bass and bass drum or can be perfect for ducking instruments for a main vocal to leave space above the rest of the instrumentation in a mix.
What can it be used for?
The signature sound of tube warmth and magic has been captured in every nuance and detail inside TUBE-STA. For that reason, virtually any instrument, sound or entire mix could benefit from the incredible compression character that TUBE-STA delivers. The simplicity of the design makes it ideal to fit into workflow, enabling you to achieve smooth and bold tones without needing to dive into a vast array of parameters to fine-tune the compression to your source.
Because of how tube compressors work, they have a slower input and release stage and are entirely program-dependent, meaning they will increase the compression threshold with higher signal levels. Arturia TUBE-STA encompasses the exact same parameters as the original with the input level control functioning as the threshold level, where the Mode switch dials the attack and release controls and Recovery Time fine-tunes the release time. This level of control makes it ideal for both fast and slow transient response incoming audio.
Well-known for its intimacy, air and subtle saturation, TUBE-STA is a great all-around compressor. Injecting a distinct colouration which can only be described as "smooth" or "creamy", you can transform weak-sounding vocals or bass into harmonically-rich and powerful instruments. At subtle levels, TUBE-STA responds beautifully to mastering applications, acting as a 'glue' to pin all instruments together in a very musical way.
Powered by technology
Using proprietary modelling algorithms, TUBE-STA can recreate the iconic effect down to the component parts to create unrivalled realism and immersion. Unmatched in analog emulation, TUBE-STA is powered by TAE and Phi technologies. TAE offers component-level modelling to accurately present the characteristics and behaviour of the effect, whilst Phi's state-of-the-art physical modelling brings the acoustic properties into the virtual world for hyper-realism. The result is truly a next-level sound that is indistinguishable from the original to add to your productions.
Reviews
"As soon as you put this on, everything is just glued in. One of my favourite compressors to use, it makes the sound super smooth." - Riccardo Damian (Producer - Lady Gaga, Adele, Miley Cyrus)
"Outstanding recreation of STA Level, 1176 and DBX165. I have the hardware versions of each of these compressors and the Arturia versions live up to the hype." - Justin Stanley (Producer / Engineer)
"I don't know why barely anybody has made an emulation of the Gates STA, but I'm really glad you did." - Jake Miller (Producer / Engineer)
"The Comp TUBE-STA is my go-to bass compressor now. I've been using the vintage compressor for many years, it's great to be able to have the classic on many channels in my mix. It provides a thickening and smoothness that I always search for." - Jeremy Griffith (Mix Engineer - Underoath, Matt Redman)
Features
- Indistinguishable recreation of a '50s broadcast tube compressor, enhanced for modern players
- Accurate modelled the original signal path for authentic response and sound
- Maintains the streamlined control set to stay true to the original design
- Pairs perfectly with bass guitar and vocals, delivering a rich and punchy sound
- Variable Recovery parameter lets you dial in the compression timing based on the input audio
- Augmented with advanced side-chain features
- Switch between internal and external side-chain source
- Five side-chain detection modes including linked L/R, Mid/Side, Sides only and Mid only
- High and low-pass side-chain filters with band EQ to trigger your compression based on the sonic quality of your side-chain input
- Monitor Side-chain signal directly
- Dry/Wet blend control offers internal parallel compression
- Input-output gain link can be switched in and out
- Responsive and accurate VU meter with analog clipping LED indicator
- Includes a wide range of presets covering a plethora of traditional compressor uses in a mix
- Compare two settings simultaneously with A/B switching
- Powered by state-of-the-art TAE analog modelling
General
- Compatible across all major DAWs on both Windows and Mac
- Download, manage and organize your plug-in and updates in Arturia Software Center
- Fully scalable GUI fits any screen size for optimized workflow
- MIDI compatible offers real-time control with your favourite keyboard or controller
- Step-by-step in-app tutorials, showing you crucial parameters and tips inside each plug-in
- Powerful preset browser lets you filter, organise and save your favourite presets to recall in any future sessions
Specifications
- Operating system:
- Mac: Mac OS 10.13+
- Windows: Win 10+ (64bit)
- Format:
- Mac: VST, AAX, Audio Unit, NKS (64-bit DAWs only)
- Windows: VST, AAX, NKS (64-bit DAWs only)
- RAM: 4GB
- Processor: 4 cores CPU, 3.4 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo-boost) or M1 CPU
- Disk space: 1GB
- GPU: OpenGL 2.0 compatible GPU
- Product code: 1200-70