OtiumFX Compadre Beatpuncher is an easy, yet effective tool and definitely a character plug-in. I must admit I like the sound very much – it is smooth, yet biting and the sidechaining has been implemented in the most user-friendly and efficient way.
Estrada i Studio magazine
Read user reviews on KVRaudio.com for Compadre beatpuncher
Compadre Beatpuncher has such an unique sound that it is, as far as I know, impossible to mimic with anything else. Especially the "shaper" mode is so radical that it can't be copied. (...) I use it constantly on kicks, snares and misc percussion.
Big fan of Compadre. I had the big hit Day n Night Crookers rmx with this amazing plug in but now I've moved to Logic and still it's hard to find a plug in with the same baaaad sidechain compression... soo heavy.
It really does drip with character. Compadre is one of the few comps that can retain the feel of the groove whilst simultaneously compressing the hell out of it. (...) Most comps just squash all life out of processed loops, but I easily got Compadre to pump and breathe spectacularly without losing the feel of all the loops I tried it on. And my acid test of most compressors is how they sound when pushed hard - most s/w ones disappoint me, they often kill a channel...whereas Compadre seems to really liven up when you get up past 5-6 dB compression.
(...) To be honest, I'd reverted back to using my h/w simply because almost all of the other s/w comps were so dull to my ears. Now Compadre has taken over.
I have and use many very fine VST compressors, but I have to say that the last time I used a compressor that was this easy to get the sticky, floating sound I like in a compressor was my Summit DCL-200 tube compressor...which lists at $3,500 US! Perhaps not the most versatile, but it is fantastic for "that sound".
The compression characteristic really is unique and has a type of hard edge that I really enjoy. (...) This is now my favourite plugin for tasty compression effect when mixing. It has one of the best unintrusive and punchy "hard" compressor sounds. In fact it's the best VST compressor there is for many types of material (and I've tried them all).
I have been producing Drum n Bass for 8 years and I have never come across one plugin or hardware compressor which makes my beats punch like this.
The shaping capabilities of this thing are awesome. A few minutes on a loop and it sounds like I've spent hours slicing and dicing and playing with envelopes. (...) It's a GREAT piece of kit. It's almost a software Distressor, and what higher praise is there?
I was using it on a drum loop, I loved the tightness and thickness that it was giving the track. I tried ALL of my other compressors 1176's, LA2A's, Waves, and the list goes on. NOTHING CAME CLOSE to what the Compadre was doing to the track.
