The audio examples available on this page accompany my SOS April 2023 review of the Weight Tank compressor by Locomotive Audio.
www.soundonsound.com/reviews/locomotive-audio-wt-comp
I’ve provided before and after examples along with the settings I used and a few thoughts on what I was trying to achieve with the compressor in each setting.
Download the hi-res WAV files (in the ZIP file below) for auditioning in your own DAW, or listen to these SoundCloud MP3s.
locomotiveaudiowt-compaudio.zip
01_Drum Room_RAW
A mono drum room mic without any processing applied.
02_Drum Room_WT-Comp
This is an example of the WT-Comp being used to add character and excitement to the drum room mic. The attack was on the fastest setting, the release set at 11 o’clock and the drive setting was engaged. Around 7-8 dB of gain reduction was applied.
03_Bass Guitar_RAW
A bass guitar captured via direct input without any processing.
04_Bass Guitar_WT-Comp
An example of the WT-Comp used on a bass guitar DI to add more dynamic consistency. With upwards of 10 dB of gain reduction applied, you can hear how the compressor makes the part more solid but at the expense of a little low-end and a general change in tone. For this example, I had the drive setting engaged, the attack at 2 o'clock and the release at 3 o’clock.
05_Acoustic Guitar_RAW
An acoustic guitar recording with no processing.
06_Acoustic Guitar_WT-Comp
With the WT-Comp in its ‘round’ setting this is an example of I used the review unit to make a strummed acoustic guitar part sit more confidently in a mix. The attack was set at 2 o'clock and the release at its fastest setting.
07_Electric Guitar_RAW
An example of a slightly driven picked electric guitar recording.
08_Electric Guitar_WT-Comp
With the attack at 2 o’clock and release at its fastest setting, I used the WT-Comp to add more saturation and make the guitar part cut through the mix more easily. The drive setting was used and as much as 10dB of gain reduction.
09_Female Vocals_RAW
An example of a female vocal recorded without any processing.
10_Female Vocals_WT-Comp
In this example, you can hear how the WT-Comp adds more weight to a female vocal. I found I had to tread quite carefully on vocals and this has just 3-4 dB of gain reduction applied with both the attack and release set at around 12 o'clock. This is in the ‘round’ setting.
11_Male Vocals_RAW
An example of a Male vocal recorded without any processing.
12_Male Vocals_WT-Comp
For this example, I used the same settings as for the female vocal but with the drive setting engaged to add more harmonics to the vocal. I generally preferred the WT-Comp on male vocals that benefited from the extra low-end weight and a more coloured sound.