I was thinking the vintage compressor would be the best replacement for something like SSL.
Does anyone have any other thoughts?
A unique feature of the T Racks Bus Compressor, and I presume of the original hardware, is that it lets low end peaks through while compressing mids and high end. This is one reason it seems to make mixes sound punchier.
I’m not sure if any of the included compressors in Cubase have a feature like that. Also, I have no idea if this one feature is important enough that you’d miss it.
The Waves SSL buss compressor is on sale often these days. IK Multimedia/T Racks have a great SSL buss compressor plugin too. The Waves API 2500 compressor also allows the user to let low end peaks through. The threshold slope on the 2500 is actually adjustable via a selector switch. The 2500 is also often on sale.