• SONAR Professional or SONAR Platinum are required to use the ProChannel Module Channel Compressor

Complementary Compression

A must-have addition to your effects arsenal, the new PC4K S-Type Channel Compressor adds vintage-era, console-style, channel compression to every ProChannel strip in SONAR.

Cakewalk provides a thoughtful collection of ProChannel effect modules carefully designed to complement each other and to avoid overlap in function and application. And the PC4K S-Type Channel Compressor is no exception. Highly transparent with gentle, soft-knee characteristics, this module is particularly well suited to compressing and leveling a variety of material such as bass, keys, and rhythm guitars. Flexible drag and drop routing and manual output gain control lend a modern twist to an old classic.

The PC76 U-Type Channel Compressor, already included with SONAR Platinum, and the PC4K S-Type Channel Compressor have different characteristics and handle audio information in distinctly different ways, making them a nice complement to each other. The PC76 U-Type employs classic FET design with very fast attack and analog-style warmth. It's modeled after a vintage, rack-mount, compressor that uses transistors to emulate a valve sound and is generally used on single channel source material. In contrast, the PC4K S-Type Channel Compressor is modeled after a built-in, VCA based, channel strip compressor and is able to be pushed hard and yet remain transparent on a wide variety of sources.

Classic Console Emulation

When coupled with the included ProChannel EQ (set to Vintage), Producer's PC4K S-Type Bus Compressor, and the optional PC4K S-Type Expander/Gate, the new PC4K S-Type Channel Compressor provides full emulation of classic, large-format, mixing consoles used by professional engineers to make hit records for over a quarter century.

Professional Mixing

Each ProChannel module is carefully designed and expertly crafted to give the sound and experience of using the legendary hardware it’s based on. The same techniques used by professional engineers can be translated to these faithful recreations, but they also provide the added flexibility and ergonomics afforded by software. This means you can have an unlimited number of instances in a mix (limited only by available CPU power) and they can be re-routed and placed anywhere in the ProChannel’s signal path with a simple drag and drop. With x64 native operation and 64-bit double precision resolution, you can be assured of both smooth performance and unsurpassed fidelity.

Channel Compression vs Bus Compression

There are two types of PC4K S-Type compressors - the Channel Compressor and the Bus Compressor. The two compressors are specifically designed to do two different jobs. The Channel Compressor is designed to work on single source material and the Bus Compressor is designed to work on a group of tracks or an entire mix. A channel compressor will often be used to level the volume or completely alter the tone of a particular track while a Bus Compressor will often be used to "glue" a group of tracks together into one cohesive sound.

The Right Tool for the Job?

You might be wondering if you can use a single compressor on an entire project. The answer is yes - but you probably shouldn't. It's a bit like having a single screwdriver. Most of the time you can tighten the screw even if the screwdriver is too big or too small, but it's certainly not ideal and may not produce good results. Now imagine you have a whole set of screwdrivers - some phillips, some flat and some hex, all in different sizes. Now you have the right tool for just about any job that crops up.


Even if you don't have a large collection of precision screwdrivers you will probably want to at least have a flat-head and phillips-head screwdriver in both large and small sizes. The same applies to compressors. The PC4K S-Type Compressors are modeled after famous, British, large format consoles. The Bus Compressor was included with SONAR X3 Producer along with the PC76 U-Type Compressor. Both have their purpose. The PC76 U-Type has a fast attack and is great for a number of uses including creating larger than life drum sounds. The S-Type Bus Compressor excels at final mix and bus compression and provides proper dynamic control over groups of tracks and full range sources.

So Why Another Channel Compressor?

The PC76 U-Type Channel Compressor, already included with SONAR X3, and the new PC4K S-Type Channel Compressor have rather different characteristics and handle audio information in distinctly different ways.

• The PC76 U-Type employs classic FET design with very fast attack and an analog-style warmth. It's modeled after a vintage, rack-mount, compressor that uses transistors to emulate a valve sound and is generally used on single channel source material.
  
• In contrast, the PC4K S-Type Channel Compressor is modeled after a built-in, VCA based, channel strip compressor. It is able to be pushed hard and yet remain transparent on a wide variety of sources.

The 4K Console in SONAR

With the ProChannel, you can easily emulate that large-format, British, console sound right inside of SONAR. On your channel strips, insert the PC4K S-type Channel Compressor, the optional Expander / Gate, and set the ProChannel's EQ to "Vintage". For busses add the same components but use the PC4K S-Type Bus Compressor instead of the Channel Compressor. You'll get both tone and functionality inspired by the channel strips on those big, expensive, British mixers - the sound heard on so many legendary recordings - right inside of SONAR. And thanks to the ProChannel, you can change the routing and customize your channel strips in ways that you cannot do on the real thing.

Go Beyond Console Emulation

Full ProChannel modularity let’s you start with a standard console model and do things you could not do in the hardware world. For example, you might use the PC4K S-Type Channel Compressor on a backing vocal track or a rhythm guitar but you might want a FET-style compressor on your bass guitar track. There’s no need to break out the patch cables. Just swap out the S-Type Channel Compressor for the PC76 U-Type and now you have a custom channel strip ideal for your bass track. Or you might want to change the signal flow of a particular channel or bus. Simply drag and drop the modules into the order you want or add new modules to dramatically alter the sound. Want a tube on the channel's input stage? A different style of British EQ? It's all possible. And don’t forget to save these setups so you can recall them anytime you want.