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If you are trying to master multiband compression, this is the plugin for you.

Minimal Audio has released a new compressor plugin, Fuse Compressor. The company promises to make multiband compression faster and more intuitive.

Regular compression can be hard enough for you, what more with multiband compressor.

Multiband compressors split the frequency spectrum of any signal up into multiple bands, applying compression to each one separately to achieve precise and controlled dynamic sculpting, and it is not an easy technique to get right.

Hence, Minimal Audio are hoping to make the process a little more accessible with their new Fuse Compressor.

Fuse Compressor is a multiband compressor that does everything a multiband compressor should do, enabling you apply up to six bands of independent upward and downward compression to any sound source. Each band can be bypassed to hear the overall sound without it, or soloed to work on it individually

You can tweak parameters like threshold, ratio and makeup gain individually for each band and visualize the compression being applied in real-time via the plugin’s detailed spectrum display. Most of the important controls are placed on the spectrum display in the relevant band, which is a handy feature that helps to visualize how each parameter affects the sound.

You may want to know what makes the plugin different to the many other multiband compressors out there. Minimal Audio have included a bunch of features that help make multiband compression quicker, easier and more intuitive. Though the threshold and ratio can be dialled in specifically for each band, you are also able adjust these values globally across all bands via macro controls.

The Spectral Tilt feature enables you quickly tilt the intensity of the compression’s distribution across the entire frequency spectrum, while a feature called Adaptive Time enables you dial in global attack and release times for every band along with a percentage value; a positive value will make higher frequency bands respond faster than the times you have specified, and lower frequencies will respond slower, while a negative value will reverse that.

All of these features make it easier to dial in tweaks and adjustments to the overall character of the plugin’s compression without having to get into the nitty-gritty of each band’s settings.

Watch the walkthrough video below:

Minimal Audio Fuse Compressor is available now for Mac and Windows in AU/VST/VST3/AAX formats, priced at $49. Find out more on Minimal Audio website.

Developer Fred Anton Corvest let us know that FAC Drumkit, a drum synth and sample player instrument, is now available on macOS.

What he say about it:

“FAC Drumkit combines both worlds, samples and synthesis, in order to provide new exciting and unique sounds.

As a rule of thumb, the synthesizer section brings the body of the sound, and the sampler the unique character. Both parts are layered together and contain essential parameters to ensure they won’t clash and will sit well together.”

Features:

• 16 Voices Drum Synthesizer and Stereo Sample Player
• 2 oscillators (16 Waveforms) per voice with filters, Phase and Ring modulation
• 1 sample player per voice with sample position, filters, phase and stereo control
• Expressive instrument: velocity amount per Amp and Pitch modulation (MIDI CC)
• Randomization engine (Drum Synthesizer, Sample Player, Envelopes)
• Advanced Pitch and Amp envelopes with multi control points and delay
• Mute/Choke groups: reduce overlapping and keep your drums tight
• Drag and Drop File Support and multi sample loading
• Mixer: 16 voices (Multi Output – If Supported By HOST)
• Pad controller: voices triggered by Pad (MIDI OUT and Velocity Sensitive)
• Advanced Responsive Design, portrait and landscape views
• AuV3 for iOS (iPad/iPhone) and macOS (sold separately)
• On macOS, supported by: Ableton Live, Logic Pro, GarageBand, Reaper

FAC Drumkit is available now with an intro price of $13.49, which is 50% off the normal price, for a limited time.

Synthesist Starsky Carr, in his latest video, shares his thoughts on the new Expressive E Osmose – a synthesizer he describes as ‘a glimpse of the future’.

Carr discusses his process of learning the Osmose as the 7 stages of enlightenment:

0:00 1 Shock – overview of the hardware

2:11 2 Realisation – whats MPE and how does it work

12:22 3 Conceptualisation – how to use it & controlling the sensitivity

15:21 4 Understanding – getting to grips with the Haken Editor

24:58 5 Rejection – some minor issues and some bigger ones

32:29 6 Acceptance – integrating into your studio

33:12 7 Enlightenment – Sunny Uplands of Synthershire

“The software can be a b*tch at first,” notes Carr, “and its so frustrating that a few tweaks to the manual would’ve saved me a day or so of headscratching.”

But his main takeaway is that, once you’ve experienced the expressive capabilities of the Osmose, “a lot of synths will feel lacking”.

Watch the video and share your thoughts on it and the Osmose in the comments!