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WesAudio ngBusComp Analog Bus Compressor with Digital Recall Certified Open Box

Stereo/Dual Mono Bus Compressor with Digital Control
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WesAudio ngBusComp Analog Bus Compressor with Digital Recall
WesAudio ngBusComp Analog Bus Compressor with Digital Recall

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Next-gen Bus Compressor with Digital Recall

The WesAudio ngBusComp is a stereo/dual mono bus compressor with full digital control via its advanced companion plug-in that runs on your Mac or Windows computer. WesAudio based the circuitry on a legendary industry-standard bus compressor that has provided the punch and glue for countless hits over the last four decades, and it also shines as a mastering compressor. Driven by four THAT 2181 VCAs in the signal path (plus one in the sidechain detector), the ngBusComp is a 100% analog device with a massive +24dBu of headroom. Packed with useful features, the WesAudio ngBusComp brings modern innovation to the party with a host of innovative features designed for today’s hybrid studio.

Related Videos: ngBusComp Analog Bus Compressor with Digital Recall

Big IRON

With WesAudio’s ngBusComp you can select your output stage: electronically balanced for a transparent, modern sound; or choose transformer-balanced IRON mode for a beefy, authoritative vintage British console sound. The ngBusComp’s IRON mode uses makeup gain to drive the transformers, and a special output pad (IRON PAD) to attenuate the signal. The IRON PAD is a precise passive attenuator enabled in IRON mode that lets you drive the output transformer to taste for sweet, musical saturation.

Relative channel linking

The Left and Right channels of the ngBusComp can be linked or unlinked at any time. With relative channel linking, you can have different settings on both channels and still manage them in a relative way. You can work on a mid-side mix separately for each channel, but if you want to change the balance of the overall track, simply engage “parameter link” and both channels’ makeup gain will be adjusted relatively, maintaining the same relative volume relationship.

Use it for mastering

The ngBusComp is loaded with features that take it beyond the mix bus and into mastering territory. Left and right channels can be processed independently, in stereo, or mid side. Engaging the Parameter Link button changes any setting tweak you make on both channels by the same amount to keep the sonic character intact. And if you need to add some analog color to you track, the variable THD knob lets you bring in anything from mild to saturated with ease. Three memory settings give you instant access to instant recall of your favorite settings.

ngBusComp companion plug-in

100% analog, full digital control

WesAudio, a company masterminded by Radoslaw Wesolowski and headquartered in Poland, spearheaded an initiative they call “ng,” which stands for next-generation. The company’s first ng products were designed around 500 Series modules with a special connector that mates with receiver connectors in the company’s _TITAN NG500 Recall chassis. On its rear panel, the _TITAN is fitted with a USB jack for connection to your computer, as well as Ethernet for networked setups. All ng500-compatible modules in the rack are able to communicate with your computer via a single data cable.

Now, the ng program has been extended to 19" rack equipment like the ngBusComp. The gear — both 500 Series and rackmount — includes free downloadable software that appears in your DAW session as a standard plug-in and lets you control your analog hardware with software precision. Every setting and automation move is saved along with your DAW session file. How cool is that? Engineers at Sweetwater are deeply into the concept: an elegant marriage of hardware and software, designed for modern hybrid analog/digital workflows.

WesAudio ngBusComp Stereo/Dual Mono Bus Compressor Features:

  • 100% analog device with +24dBu of headroom
  • Full digital control, automation, and recall via companion plug-in
  • Relative stereo channel linking with separate L/R settings
  • Mid-side operation allows for different side and mid settings
  • Selectable output stages: normal (electronically balanced), IRON (Carnhill transformer balanced)
  • 4 THAT 2181 VCAs in signal chain and one in sidechain detector for each channel
  • IRON mode: uses makeup gain to drive the transformers, and a special output pad attenuate the signal
  • IRON PAD: passive attenuator enabled in IRON mode lets you drive the output transformer for musical saturation
  • Detailed metering for both channels: gain reduction, input, and output
  • Sidechain filters: 3 highpass filters at 60, 90 and 150Hz and 2 Tilt filters with proprietary curve
  • Per-channel external side chain filter access via TRS rear connector
  • Proprietary THD with precise variable control
  • Five ratio settings: 1.5:1 and 2:1 for gentle mix bus processing, 4:1 and 10:1 for general applications, and INF mode for aggressive compression
  • Mix knob for parallel compression
  • Flexible DAW/Live plug-in control for instant recall and DAW automation of parameters
  • Advanced companion plug-in for all DAW formats (VST2/VST3/AU/AAX)
  • 4 touch-sensitive encoders per channel for recording automation in DAW
  • A/B/C compare feature
  • Ethernet and USB connectivity
  • Full HUI compatibility
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At Sweetwater, we're so picky that what we call "Certified Open Box" is actually better than what most music retailers sell as "new" gear! Our gear hasn't endured hundreds of people a week plunking away at all the keyboards, fumbling through Stairway to Heaven on every guitar or playing with every fader and knob on a mixer or control surface.

Certified Open Box (also known as a demo) means we’ve had it out of the box for our YouTube channel, displayed at events, tested in our studio, or maybe it was in a customer’s hands for a few days and isn’t ‘factory fresh’ as a result. Every Certified Open Box item we sell has Sweetwater’s 2-year Total Confidence Coverage™ warranty and has been tested and verified up to ‘new’ specs by our factory-authorized technicians to make sure it’s in perfect working order before we ship it to you.

When you buy a Certified Open Box item at Sweetwater, you get:
  • 2-year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty™!
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Click HERE to browse our current inventory of Certified Open Box equipment. Purchasing Certified Open Box gear from Sweetwater is a smart and safe way to save!

Resources

Signal Processing Buying Guide
10 Top-of-the-line Compressors - Part 1
Aug 18, 2021
WesAudio ngBusComp Analog Bus Compressor with Digital Recall Demo
Nov 8, 2020

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Tech Specs

  • Type: VCA Compressor
  • Number of Channels: 2
  • Controls: Threshold, Attack, Release, THD, Make Up, Iron Pad, Mix
  • Threshold: -20dB to +20dB
  • Ratio: 1.5:1, 2:1, 4:1, 10:1, INF Mode
  • Inputs: 2 x XLR
  • Outputs: 2 x XLR
  • Sidechain I/O: 2 x 1/4" TRS
  • Side Chain Inserts: 3 x Highpass Filters, 2 x Tilt Filters
  • USB: 1 x Type B
  • Other I/O: 1 x Ethernet
  • Additional Features: Digital Recall, Plug-in Control (VST, AU, AAX)
  • Rack Spaces: 3U
  • Power Source: Standard IEC AC cable
  • Height: 5.11"
  • Depth: 10.23"
  • Width: 18.89"
  • Manufacturer Part Number: ngBusComp

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Reviews

4.9

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Epic Compressor
The sound, the features, the versatility. It's all here. I use it on my mix buss, but I could also see myself using it on a master if I didn't do the mix myself. Keep it up, Wes.
by Michael Omalley from Pittsburgh, PA on
Good Bang for the Buck
I've had the ngBusComp for two weeks, now. I can join the others in saying it is a pleasure to use. Out of habit, I turn to the unit to adjust knobs instead of using the plug-in. There's something nice, akin to touching the music, to use tactile controls. But that is changing and I can report that using the plug-in is no different than turning knobs. Reliable and instantaneous. Having the adjustments saved with the project is a joy, of course, and one can jump from project to project and expect the settings to be right where they were last time.

Sound? A non-issue. Super clean to colored. Where on the continuum is your choice. The Iron transformer pathway adds body to low-mids in a way that is incredible on some mixes and awful on others. I make a lot of radio and TV commercials and can say just a touch of iron does wonders to voiceovers. In M/S mode, I can add iron to the center channel and not the sides...another way to emphasizing the narration intelligibility while keeping the music as hot as possible.

It's a terrific 2-bus and mastering compressor. and I can see that major studios would want several of these for tracking. For those of us that are undercapitalized and lay down one track at a time, the unit can be used on every track while recording. Alternatively, I sometimes lay down tracks with no processing at all and then bounce them through the unit one at a time or in sub mixes. This makes it possible to change my mind on settings later. I save the individual track settings in a folder named for the song...one setting for each track. This has proved especially useful for drums, since one can wish to reprocess after hearing them mixed with other tracks.

One aspect that seems superior on the ngBusComp is the amount of leveling than can be achieved without being noticed. Mastering a song with quiet and dynamic areas can be done even without the amazing automated parameters. Using 1:1.5 ratios, one can level the sections quite nicely even with just modest settings (gain reduction meter barely twitching)...using the Mix control to govern how much.

I go around and around with the ITB vs Hybrid discussion. I remember endless discussions about digital photography and it followed the same curve. Compared to film, deficiencies were immediately identified and the binary format was constantly improved until, one day, it's performance exceeded that of film (for most uses). Criticism subsided. Seems digital audio processing is in the midst of that same evolution.

I'm now using ngBusComp hardware for mastering. As a test, I tried to duplicate settings on the Weiss DS1 plug-in, my go-to software compressor. It can sound similar to the clean equivalent on the ngBusComp, but it lacks just a tad of the low end punch, something I couldn't fix even by changing the otherwise identical settings. Then I added the Black Box Hg2 distortion plug-in and a Studer reel plug-in after the DS1. With careful adjustment I was able to almost duplicate the color options of the ngBusComp.

With all of the other advantages to software-only, this gives pause. For 1/6 the cost I can approximate the sound of the ngBusComp using plug-ins. Hmmm.

Well, "almost" isn't the same as "the same." All the compressor plug-ins I have, including UA's LA-2A (perhaps the most scrutinized modeling plug-in), fails to treat the bottom two octaves the same way as the analog equivalent. For some reason, these units' response to this region are difficult to model. Yet, every time I apply the ngBusComp to the mastering process, I'm taken back to the control room in 1978 and get reacquainted with that analog response. It makes me smile. The combination of tactile response, low-end punch, plug-in recall, and, I will admit, a subjective "analog" like sheen from the color options, still makes the WesAudio box superior to any other compressor I've used for mastering. And there is a simplicity in consolidating several of these features in one box.

So, is it worth it? At the moment, I think, "yes." The unit costs no more than an upper-middle class microphone (admit it...how many mics have you bought?) and offers a broader range of options to sculpt the sound. In that fashion, the ngBusComp is a worthwhile purchase to me.

I'll have a chance to try harder ratios and more extreme settings on an upcoming project. If this site allows, I'll post an update.
by David Rust from Bloomington, IN on
the holy grail of compressors
i do not do reviews EVER, but thing deserve it , its BRILLIANT in every way
highly recommended it
by Sweetwater Customer from Virginia on
5 Stars
This unit packs a tremendous amount of sound and versatility. Being able to compare 3 different settings instantly is a feature I never knew I needed but it is great to compare smashing a mix and turning back the wet/dry vs a typical conservative compression approach. The THD is great in moderation. The output transformers sound great when needed but I rarely use the pad to drive them on a mix. On drum buss the THD and transformer pad if driven can really shape a nice drum sound. With all the sounds this unit can produce it can also be very transparent if that's what you are after. Plus everything is recallable. A no brainer IMO if you need a mix/drum buss comp.
by Shane on
The Real Deal
I've tried using software bus compressors for the longest time but never really liked what they did to the sound. I took the gamble and bought when of these and I have absolutely zero regrets.

The versatility of this thing is amazing to say the least. It can be extremely clean or very saturated especially with the total harmonic distortion knob. The mid side capabilities are amazing. Even running things like kick and snares through this thing add a great dimension to the sound.

The plug-in is extremely stable and the setup was quick and simple. If you're in the market for a serious bus compressor, look no further than this. You will not regret it.
by Chris Wichmann from Houston on
Music background: Producer
See also: Compressors, WesAudio, WesAudio Compressors / Limiters, WesAudio Mastering