What Is It?

Vintage Warmer is a digital emulation of a vintage analog single or multi band compressor/limiter. Particular attention has been given to the processor's overload characteristics, giving a pleasing simulation of analog tape saturation effects. Like other PSP vintage emulators, Vintage Warmer is compatible with host applications running at sampling rates up to 192kHz.

Vintage Warmer has two operating modes, Single Band and Multiband. In Single mode the input passes through a level control stage (Drive) and then through a pair of high and low shelving filters before being processed by the compressor. In Multiband mode the signal from the Drive stage is split into low, medium, and high frequency bands and then processed in parallel by three separate compressors. These three components are then mixed and then sent through a hard-knee limiter.

The front panel display is a photorealistic image of a vintage device with a pair of VU meters and knobs for the principal parameters of Drive (±24 dB input level to the limiter), Ceiling (±12 dB offset to the operating level), Limiter Knee (0 to 100% hard to soft), Speed (referring to tape speed), and Release, Low and High frequency level Adjust (±12 dB) and Frequency settings (25 to 400 Hz and 1 to 16 kHz), and Mix (dry to wet) and Output (±12 dB). An odometer-style readout supplements the knob graphics with a higher resolution value as the cursor moves over each. The meters can be set to display Pre, Gain Reduction, or Output levels and can behave as either VU or Pseudo Peak Meters (with clip indicators). Graphic toggle switches are available for bypass, Single/Multiband select, Mono/Stereo, and stereo Link Off/On.

Clicking on the PSP Vintage Warmer logo switches to a display of the rear panel, where "deeper" parameter settings for Multiband can be made. Controls include individual Saturation and Release adjustments for the three bands, as well as adjustments for the VU and peak meter ballistics, and for the way the graphic knobs respond to the mouse.

Installation, Documentation, and Support

Installation for all PSP plug-ins is by the familiar click-through installer method. You'll be given a choice of installing different operating system versions (in my case Mac OS 8/9 or X) and PDF documentation, after which the installer will present you with a list of possible plug-in folders for your various host applications. PSP plug-ins come in VST and DXi for Windows users and VST and MAS (and soon RTAS and Audio Units) for Macintosh. The first time you run each plug-in you'll have to enter your authorization name and a 10-digit authorization key. That's it.

The documentation is well-organized clearly written, with only a slight tinge of "translation blur." Tweakers should be pleased by some of the deeper technical discussion and clear block diagrams. The PSP84 manual in particular has some useful discussions on the technical particulars and design
philosophy.

Because PSP's technical support department is in Piaseczno Poland, you may prefer to use their on-line support system or to communicate via e-mail. Still, the company does provide telephone and fax numbers (hint: Poland is in the Central European Time Zone, one hour later than London).

In Operation

Vintage Warmer comes with a varied set of presets that serve as a good starting point for most common situations. The first 17 of these offer various flavors of multiband mastering or "finalizing" setups suitable for processing mixed material. The remainder are single band programs and are tailored to various instruments such as guitar, band, and bass drum. I ran a variety of mixes and
solo instrument tracks, and indeed Vintage Warmer lived up to its name. With such a variety of settings (many of them only moderately different from each other) I found myself wishing for a "compare" button. Generally the presets worked well for their designated material, but I also found the multiband presets gave me a nice level of control over single instruments such as djembe or viola.

Summary

Vintage Warmer is a software emulation of a single channel or multi band compressor/limiter with saturation characteristics modeled on analog tape machines. It has a retro look and a vintage sound, with an uncluttered user interface. It is suitable for both tracking and mastering applications and comes with a range of factory presets to serve as a starting point.

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