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New Darkglass Compressor: The Hyper Luminal Hybrid Compressor
- Thread starter trainyourhuman
- Start date
- Dec 10, 2008
- 2,341
- 5,822
- Disclosures
- Douglas Castro, Founder: darkglass.com
So this beauty arrived today from Chicago Music Exchange. This pedal SCREAMS build quality and design genius! Well done @Darkglass !! Soon to join the Noble preamp on my board.
- Dec 10, 2008
- 2,341
- 5,822
- Disclosures
- Douglas Castro, Founder: darkglass.com
Update to my post. Came home for lunch just to try it out. Works perfectly and it's already my favorite compressor (and I've owned quite a few). So far my favorite setting is the FET mode, followed by the Bus mode. Could you briefly explain the technical distinctions between these two types of compressors? @Darkglass
Got mine on the board after modulation stuff. I wanted fuzz before envelope filter so it is, but the delay is after (but before the preamp). It's sittin' pretty and fits the soundscape how I like.
Finally got it all plugged and squeezed in on my board. Like others, I like the look, construction is solid as with every DG pedal I’ve had.
Hooking it up to the one spot cs12 on the first try it seemed like there was zero headroom and it was farting out. Turning it on the next day, same setup and knob positions on everything it worked fine, but seemed a little anemic. I switched the HL to have its own power power supply and it got noticeably more headroom. There should have been enough amperage from the cs12, but whatever.
The blend is great. I have compression turned up high, attack on the slow side, and blend about noon. Super punch. Can’t wait to hook it up to the editor.
Hooking it up to the one spot cs12 on the first try it seemed like there was zero headroom and it was farting out. Turning it on the next day, same setup and knob positions on everything it worked fine, but seemed a little anemic. I switched the HL to have its own power power supply and it got noticeably more headroom. There should have been enough amperage from the cs12, but whatever.
The blend is great. I have compression turned up high, attack on the slow side, and blend about noon. Super punch. Can’t wait to hook it up to the editor.
Contrary to prior reports, the power supply on my Noble preamp powers all these pedals on my board, including the Hyper Luminal, no problem.
Just got mine yesterday. For those concerned, you basically cannot accidentally engage the touch sensors. You don’t have to lean into them, but you need to apply medium touch to switch the ratio and mode sensors. They work nicely.
I’m still trying to learn how to use this pedal.
Does anyone know what the ratio lights indicate? I’m also unsure of what the blend knob does, because it seems like the function reverses in different modes. Time, output, and compression are self explanatory to me. You can also edit the time knob in the Darkglass Suite if you hook it up to your computer.
I could really use some guidance with the blend knob and the ratio settings, if anyone can share the specifics. Is clockwise on the blend wet and counter clockwise dry? What ratios do the ratio lights indicate? Is it different for each mode?
I’m still trying to learn how to use this pedal.
Does anyone know what the ratio lights indicate? I’m also unsure of what the blend knob does, because it seems like the function reverses in different modes. Time, output, and compression are self explanatory to me. You can also edit the time knob in the Darkglass Suite if you hook it up to your computer.
I could really use some guidance with the blend knob and the ratio settings, if anyone can share the specifics. Is clockwise on the blend wet and counter clockwise dry? What ratios do the ratio lights indicate? Is it different for each mode?
Nice!!! I’ll use this as a guide to help me learn
yeah i play barefoot usually so hitting the touch buttons with my toe is legit actually
The good news is that the pedal remembers where you left off. When you turn the power back on, it’s all the same. Even the ok/off stays the same.
Another note... those touch sensors aren’t overly sensitive. You’d still have to do more than bump or graze a sensor to switch it. It’s as sensitive to bare skin, as it is a shoe or glove.
I’m also enjoying the sidechain high pass filter frequency. It lets you allow some of the low frequencies through without them getting crushed by compression. I haven’t finished finding my sweet spot, but I know it’s somewhere between 80-120Hz. The blend is also nice for letting certain dynamics shine through.
I’m not sure if I like that the pre gain and compression are combined into one knob yet.
I’ve also noticed that the ratio settings are different for each of the three modes.
My only complaint about this unit, is that the manual and Darkglass Suite don’t tell you what is what. Scubaduba covers it in his review, but I don’t know how he figured it out.
My favorite setting so far.
Blend at noon
Time set so Attack is at 5ms and release is at 500ms
Output at noon (I set this to volume match the bypass volume)
Compression hard right (it takes a lot more on this knob to get it to kick in)
Ratio 3rd light
Mode Bus
Still trying to narrow down my sweet spot for the sidechain high pass filter. It seems to be around 100Hz
Blend at noon
Time set so Attack is at 5ms and release is at 500ms
Output at noon (I set this to volume match the bypass volume)
Compression hard right (it takes a lot more on this knob to get it to kick in)
Ratio 3rd light
Mode Bus
Still trying to narrow down my sweet spot for the sidechain high pass filter. It seems to be around 100Hz
yeah i know its great but i was just saying since i like switching around settings for different sounds its nice to be able to hit the touch buttons with my feet so i can get totally different sounds without bending down if i want
