Tan 2

Name: Tan 2
Author: Acustica Audio

by Acustica Audio · Compressor · VCA compressor

Not rated yet

Tan 2 is a second-generation analog VCA compressor with several Hyper-based emulations, including double and anti-aliased versions.

It has internal sidechain, stereo link and up to 4x oversampling; the shop page did not show a price.

Best for: Drums, Drum Bus, Bass, Mix Bus. Genres: all genres.

Keywords: VCA, oversampling, drums, sidechain input, bus processing, hardware emulation, parallel processing, stereo-linked, clean, glue, built-in mix knob, punchy, simple, analog-sounding, bass, classic, drum bus, experimental, free, full mix, metering, mix bus, mixing, single-band, transparent, visual feedback.

What it does

Tan 2 is Acustica's free VCA compressor, a "second-generation, classic analog VCA compressor" in the developer's words. It updates the original Tan with the developer's newer Hyper engine and several sampled variants.

Five emulations: Hyper Tan, Hyper Tan AA, Hyper Double Tan, Hyper Double Tan AA, and the Original Tan. The AA versions add anti-aliasing; the Double versions offer stereo link.
Hyper engine: Acustica's newer modeling technology. Bedroom Producers Blog reported the developer's claim of CPU use at 1/12th of standard compressors.
Compression controls: KVR's listing for Tan gives threshold (−64 to 0 dB), stepped ratio (2:1, 4:1 or 8:1), attack (0.1–30 ms), release (0.1–1.6 s), gain up to 24 dB and a dry/wet knob for parallel compression.
ShMod: a shape control for the attack behaviour, unusual on a simple VCA design.
Preamp: a switch for the hardware preamp simulation, for extra analog color.
Oversampling and sidechain: 1x, 2x or 4x oversampling, internal sidechain and presets; the interface can be resized.

It is free, according to Bedroom Producers Blog. KVR lists it as free.

Source: Acustica Audio product page

When to use it

Tan 2 is a simple VCA with stepped ratios, sampled color and a preamp stage, aimed at quick, punchy results rather than fine-tuning. Compared with SSL G-Master Buss Compressor and The Glue, the well-known VCA bus compressors, it has a smaller control set and a shorter track record on mix buses, and it has far less detailed controls than TDR Kotelnikov, a free, very transparent alternative. Unlike MJUC, which models vari-mu character, it is a VCA design. It is the better pick if you want free analog-style color on drums and buses without a large interface.

Best for: punchy VCA compression and parallel compression on drums and buses.
Genres: any; suits rock, pop and hip-hop drums.
Look elsewhere if: you want many detailed controls or very precise metering; Pro-C 3 or the free TDR Kotelnikov are more flexible.

What producers say

Users like the clean sound and the price, but find the controls limiting.

KVR users rate the original Tan 4 out of 5 from 1 review (version 1.0, 2022), praising a "clean and transparent" sound, the dry/wet knob and the cohesion from the preamp.
Bedroom Producers Blog liked its old-school approach: with little to watch beyond the gain reduction meter, you mix by ear.
Criticisms: the KVR reviewer found the fixed ratio steps limiting, the meter "barely visible", the manual thin, and CPU use and latency high for the original Tan (the reviewer preferred its zero-latency ZL variant).

Where to buy

Acustica Audio: see store

Tutorials and reviews

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