Sonible has recently released an upgraded version of its popular smart:comp plugin. The new smart:comp 2 is an AI-powered dynamic multi-band compressor that promises to make your tracks sound better in a matter of seconds. With its advanced technology, it offers a number of innovative features that set it apart from its competitors.

At its core, smart:comp 2 uses a technique called Spectral Compression, which allows it to analyze up to 2000 frequency bands and only apply compression where it is needed. This results in a much more precise and effective sound than traditional broadband compression methods.

Interface

When you first open smart:comp 2, the interface may appear a bit overwhelming, but the good news is that it is well laid out and organized. The interface is designed to show you all the options for tweaking the sound, making it easy to get started.

How it works

To use smart:comp 2, you simply select one of its genre-specific profiles or create a custom profile, activate the learn button, and start playing your music. Within seconds, the AI will come up with some settings that it thinks will suit your music best. But don’t worry, you still have plenty of options for further tweaking the sound.

Tweaking options

The interface features a style knob that lets you make the sound either cleaner or dirtier, a color knob that lets you adjust the brightness or darkness of the sound, and a knob lets you set the amount of spectral compression being applied.

The spectral link feature lets you set the frequency range spectral compression should be applied to and also lets you set the amount of broadband compression being applied to anything outside of that frequency range.

smart:comp 2 also has sidechaining options that let you balance classical broadband compression and spectral ducking. The more spectral ducking is applied, the more the plugin will surgically compress only specific frequencies, leading to a more blended sound of the two signals instead of one signal ducking the other across the entire frequency range. The sidechain EQ provides additional options.

The free-form transfer function lets you apply compression or expansion to loudness levels below the threshold, which again is a feature that allows for detailed and creative processing.

Other features include input riding, mid/side processing, and surround processing.

Conclusion

The AI-powered technology of smart:comp 2 is truly impressive, and it will often generate some interesting suggestions that can be used as a good starting point for further editing. Another great strength of this plugin lies in its versatility and the number of options it gives you for tweaking the sound to exactly how you want it.

All in all, smart:comp 2 is a powerful and innovative plugin that offers a number of advanced features. For anyone who isn’t afraid of A.I.-based technology and is looking for a great versatile compressor, smart:comp 2 is definitely one to check out.

Supported Operating Systems

Windows 10 (64 bit). Mac OSX 10.14.

Supported Plugin Formats

VST, VST3, AU, AAX.

More info: smart:comp 2