VCA

VCA is a fast, punchy compressor designed for clean control, aggressive gain reduction and analogue-style movement while staying light on CPU.

FEATURES

A VCA-style compressor built for speed, grip and punch, with extra colour when the source needs more attitude. Use it for buses, drums, bass, vocals, loops and parallel compression.

MAIN INTERFACE

• IN/OUT set the input and output levels.
• THRESH sets the threshold level. Lower settings make VCA work harder and produce more gain reduction.
• ATK stands for attack and controls how fast the compressor grabs the transient. Faster settings clamp peaks and make the source tighter, whilst lower settings let more transients through for punch, movement and impact.
• RLS stands for release and controls the compressor's recovery speed after gain reduction. Faster settings feel more energetic, animated and obvious, whilst lower settings are smoother, more relaxed and more levelled.
• RATIO sets the compressor's ratio. Lower ratios give gentle control, whilst higher ratios move into tighter, more limiting-style behaviour. SMASH is the most aggressive mode designed for dramatic compression and explosive character.
• PUSH adds harmonic saturation and forward density. It pushes the signal and makes the compression feel more driven and exciting.
• GLOW adds richer harmonic colour, warmth and density, useful especially when the compressor is working harder.

ADVANCED PANEL

• CLASSIC / VINTAGE changes the compressor behaviour. CLASSIC is the tighter, cleaner VCA response. VINTAGE changes the dynamic shape, tone and movement for a warmer, more coloured and "dated" feel.
• MONO / DUAL MONO / STEREO changes behaviour based on the track format. On a mono instance, the MONO button is shown but disabled. On a stereo instance, DUAL MONO processes the left and right channels independently, while STEREO links both channels so the limiter applies the same gain reduction and helps keep the stereo image stable.
• LIMITER MODE (OFF / SAFE / AGGRO) controls the final output limiter, designed to prevent clipping at the end of the chain with a fixed final ceiling of -0.003 dB. Use SAFE for cleaner, more transparent peak control, or AGGRO for faster, more assertive limiting.
• HARD / SOFT KNEE changes how the compressor enters gain reduction: HARD is more direct and obvious, and SOFT is smoother around the threshold and can feel more natural on vocals, bass, bus and mastering-style control.
• SIDECHAIN HPF is a variable control that filters low end out of the detector so bass energy does not overtrigger compression.
• TRAFO IN is input transformer-style colour before the compressor. It adds subtle weight, rounding and harmonic texture before the gain reduction stage.
• TRAFO OUT is output transformer-style colour after the compressor. It adds density, firmer low end and a more grounded hardware-like finish.
• DC controls the shape and attitude of the release. It does not simply change the release time: it changes how the compressor lets go, from smoother recovery to more energetic movement.
• MIX is a global wet/dry blend for instant parallel compression. Push VCA harder than you normally would, then blend the compressed signal back until the punch and control sit exactly where you want them.