Kush Audio makes some pretty bold claims about Silika that are perhaps a bit exaggerated.
It displays input and output levels, gain reduction, or all three at the same time. The level meter is an adaptation of the tri-meter display from the hardware company Tweaker. Silika produces even more complex distortions and even faster attack and recovery times in rage mode than in standard mode. If you want an even more aggressive sound, the fury button “literally multiplies everything by 10,” according to Kush Audio. The plugin also supports external sidechain signals, but HPF and Boost are disabled in this case. The compressor also offers mixing control, but it should be noted that instead of mixing the compressed and dry signals, it mixes the compressed signal with what comes out of the mix knob in the diode section.įor the internal sidechain, Silika offers a high-pass filter and a boost function, which is a bell EQ (equalizer) that boosts the sidechain signal by up to 9dB at a selected frequency. But there is also a threshold knob that lets you control the compression independently. As with some vintage compressors, you can use the input knob to control the compressor and set the desired compression ratio, as well as control the diode motor. The compressor offers four selectable ratios (2: 1, 4: 1, 12: 1, 20: 1), attack and release. There is also a mixing knob for mixing dry and rich signals. The large input knob drives the diodes to achieve anything from subtle saturation to coarse organic distortion. Under the hood sits “an extremely sophisticated harmonic distortion generator,” according to Kush Audio. For diodes, you can choose a zener diode or germanium. First, the signal goes to a diode stage, which is based on emulating the input and output transformers of the 1973 ADR Compex and the diode-bridge gain reduction circuit of the 1969 Neve 2254.
Silika is a combination of diode saturation / distortion stage and compressor. The developer claims that it sounds “as good” as if you were using analog equipment. Instead, he tries to recreate the sound of “one particular scent of vintage compressors that clip beautifully” in the plugin. Kush Audio is not an emulation of any particular hardware compressor.
Has Kush Audio accomplished the unattainable? Free 10-day Demo Every Plugin, only 9.99 For Demos: Copy the 30-digit demo code that pops up when you click 'Demo' for any plugin on the downloads page. They state that they have “completely closed the gap between analog and digital technologies” and that Silika is “acoustically identical” to the types of equipment they are modeled on. Kush Audio uses a few big words to advertise Silika, its new compressor plugin. Kush Audio Silika is a digital compressor that sounds as good as analog.