Anything with Fender volcano-style knobs—including the Distressor and SoundToys' Devil-Loc—drive me batty. Y'know the ones that show values on the knob instead of an indicator line? It's impossible to know where everything's set at a glance.
Indeed. I
really like the UI of Logic's compressor plugin—you get the vibe of the type of compression engine chosen, the UI/UX is highly consistent across them (where appropriate), and they add helpful additional metering and feedback not present in the original hardware (including compression graph and gain reduction history), which don't get in the way of everyday use. It's sort of the perfect amalgam of vibe and utility IMO, and you don't need to switch out plugins for a different compressor type. If Logic's Compressor had a Distressor mode, I'd never open the UA plugin again, even if the latter sounded a bit better.
I’m not sure I totally agree but I accept your point. Out of the logic compressors, the most effective ones are the ones that closely resemble the HW. I’d say dedicated models of each of those compressors are even better because they can hone in on what makes each model distinct, and they lose less important or generic features that deviate from the original design.
For instance, the dbx160 UI removes controls that don’t make sense for that style of compressor. The look of it instantly informs your brain of what to expect. IMO the additional controls and ranges often take away from what makes an 1176/LA2A/SSL bus comp tick and leaves you with something in between. The more you deviate from a specific piece of gear, the more you might as well just go straight for Fabfilter C2 (or whatever “generic” compressor of your choosing).
Interestingly, I feel like the HW distressor is a bit like a hardware version of a plugin. It’s emulating different styles of compressors within the same box. In plugin form, if you need specific settings for controls, I’d reach for something else. Much like an 1176, I don’t think specific values mean much. Even an SSL bus compressor’s values are somewhat dependent of all the settings and program material. Usually I just treat HW compressors (or models) settings as “faster or slower” rather than targeting a specific value. It’s almost an advantage to remove the temptation of all the options and minutiae of settings and using something that gets you there fast (think SSL channel compressor, dbx160, LA2A) which don’t offer much fine tuning. Expanding them to do that makes them worse imo, and takes away the main thing they offer.
Strip away the visual design of a distressor, and then expand the available parameters and ranges and you basically end up with Fabfilter Pro C2. IMO, that takes away from what makes a distressor a good choice to begin with. HW modelling is so much more than just emulating the sound of the unit - the way you use it is of equal importance (which may need to be adjusted slightly in a digital model).
To bring back some points you made earlier:
The most experienced studio engineer in the world still has to
context switch when jumping from gear to gear, which measurably slows the process down.
This is often an advantage. It would be a nightmare if HW looked the same regardless of what it’s actually doing. I’m not sure being slowed down is always a bad thing either, particularly if it means you make less mistakes and do things with more purpose. Speed can sometimes mean doing things unnecessarily or making mistakes.
If you have one fairchild 670 in your studio and it’s on your lead vocal, you’re probably not going to adjust it by mistake. If you have 8 1176’s or channel compressors, maybe you’re more prone to adjusting the wrong one. There’s a lot of instances where more gear with fewer controls beats less gear that is more flexible.
With your 2nd point, I think it’s MUCH easier to learn the quirks of different pieces of gear when they look more distinct and have fewer controls. This is where the benefits of a visually unique design really pay off, and why it’s often worth copying them when making a digital model. Learning the nuances of an SPX90 or 480L are not particularly fun - lots of menu diving, looking for parameters, and they’re annoying to adjust.
If it’s an EMT140 or a spring reverb or a DM-2, you can learn what it’s about instantly and the controls are dead simple to familiarise with. Digital models that take as many visual cues as possible from the HW, and make sensible decisions on what controls to give the user really take the benefits of the HW design.
