Kazrog has released Vac Rac TSL, a plugin based on the Inward Connections Vac Rac tube compressor. And the original hardware designer, Steve Firlotte, helped build the software version. The idea is to bring the character of his boutique analog gear into a DAW.
This is not a clone of one old compressor. Firlotte's Vac Rac range uses tubes and optical gain control, taking cues from classic analog designs while doing its own thing.
Four real units went into the project. Devin Powers supplied the TSL-5 and TSL-4, while Grammy winner Ross Hogarth brought his TSL-3. Another Grammy winner, JJ Blair, provided the original TLM-1, which uses a transformer-free audio path.
Users get three tube flavors based on the TSL models, along with a knob for mixing in the TLM-1 path. That gives producers a few ways to shape the tone without swapping plugins.
As for the actual compression, the ratio goes from 2:1 through 12:1. Each channel can apply as much as 40 dB of level cut. A THD knob lets users dial in light tube color or push things into rougher distortion.
There are two channels, and each gets its own ratio, detector high-pass filter, reduction, and output gain settings. The plugin can work in dual mono, linked stereo, or mid/side mode.
Sidechain filtering gets some love as well. A high-pass filter covers 10 Hz through 250 Hz, with a low-pass option also on hand. That gives users more control over which parts of the signal trigger compression.
Parallel compression is easy to set up with the wet/dry knob. Meanwhile, Analog Entropy models slight differences between components, helping the left and right channels behave less alike.
Metering is fairly flexible. Each channel has a VU display that can show either the output level or how much compression is taking place.
For producers who care about processing quality, oversampling reaches 64x during live use and 256x when rendering offline. Filter tap settings can also be changed, giving users more control over the processing setup.
The interface has black and brown themes based on different faceplate designs from the physical units. Nothing wild, just two looks drawn from the hardware.
Vac Rac TSL costs $49.99 during its launch offer, down from the standard $79.99. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with VST2, VST3, AAX, AU, and LV2 support.
There is no license activation step. Kazrog provides separate files for the paid build and the trial, and the demo has no time limit.
This is not a clone of one old compressor. Firlotte's Vac Rac range uses tubes and optical gain control, taking cues from classic analog designs while doing its own thing.
Four real units went into the project. Devin Powers supplied the TSL-5 and TSL-4, while Grammy winner Ross Hogarth brought his TSL-3. Another Grammy winner, JJ Blair, provided the original TLM-1, which uses a transformer-free audio path.
Users get three tube flavors based on the TSL models, along with a knob for mixing in the TLM-1 path. That gives producers a few ways to shape the tone without swapping plugins.
As for the actual compression, the ratio goes from 2:1 through 12:1. Each channel can apply as much as 40 dB of level cut. A THD knob lets users dial in light tube color or push things into rougher distortion.
There are two channels, and each gets its own ratio, detector high-pass filter, reduction, and output gain settings. The plugin can work in dual mono, linked stereo, or mid/side mode.
Sidechain filtering gets some love as well. A high-pass filter covers 10 Hz through 250 Hz, with a low-pass option also on hand. That gives users more control over which parts of the signal trigger compression.
Parallel compression is easy to set up with the wet/dry knob. Meanwhile, Analog Entropy models slight differences between components, helping the left and right channels behave less alike.
Metering is fairly flexible. Each channel has a VU display that can show either the output level or how much compression is taking place.
For producers who care about processing quality, oversampling reaches 64x during live use and 256x when rendering offline. Filter tap settings can also be changed, giving users more control over the processing setup.
The interface has black and brown themes based on different faceplate designs from the physical units. Nothing wild, just two looks drawn from the hardware.
Vac Rac TSL costs $49.99 during its launch offer, down from the standard $79.99. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with VST2, VST3, AAX, AU, and LV2 support.
There is no license activation step. Kazrog provides separate files for the paid build and the trial, and the demo has no time limit.
