Analogue Mastering with VTC and Creme (2probeats)

20.09.2020
Jörg Nawra
Review
Creme
VTC

In his latest video, Iulian from 2Probeats talked about mastering with analogue hardware. He used the Creme and the Vari Tube Compressor. Within ten minutes, he explained what he did during the mastering process of a tune.

“I really feel that the VTC and the Creme can not be reproduced by a plug-in!” Iulian/2Probeats

Why Creme and VTC Complement Each Other in Mastering

The two units work on different principles. The Vari Tube Compressor is a Vari-Mu tube compressor: it starts compressing very gently and only grabs harder as the input level rises; per channel the signal passes through three transformers and four triodes, which give the mix harmonics, saturation and presence – the "golden finish". The Creme, on the other hand, is an SSL-style VCA bus compressor with a passive Pultec EQ: it pulls the mix together, and its high boost up to 24 kHz adds the air a production needs to sound finished. Together they cover the two classic jobs of mastering: glue and tone shaping. Both have a low-cut in the side chain so that heavy bass doesn't lead to pumping.

Operation and recall differ as well: the VTC has controls with 42 detents and a link switch that runs both channels as a coupled stereo pair or as two separate mono channels. On the Creme, every control except threshold and output is a rotary switch with fixed values – attack 0.1 to 30 ms, release 100 ms to 1.2 s plus Auto and "Cream", ratio 1.5 to 10. For a mastering setup that means every setting from the video can be written down and repeated exactly.