Overview

Fuse Compressor offers up to six bands of upward and downward compression, delivering everything from spectrum balancing to OTT-style effects. Control multiple bands simultaneously using the macro control knobs, or dive into detailed editing for each band.

Both the standalone plugin and effect rack versions come with presets ranging from classic glue compression to new, over-the-top configurations, and more.

1. Modes

COMPRESSOR BANDS: Select the number of bands that will be compressed separately. One band can be used for standard wide-band compression, while six bands can be used for hyper-detailed dynamics control.

STEREO MODE:Choose between STEREO and MID-SIDE compression modes:

• STEREO mode is great for standard compression effects, as well as controlling the balance between the left and right channels when combined with low CHANNEL LINK amounts.
• MID-SIDE mode is useful for controlling and adding stereo width, but extreme settings may result in an unnatural sound.

CHANNEL LINK: This allows you to control the level of separation between the two compressor channels. In STEREO mode, it can balance the left and right channels. In MID-SIDE mode, it can control the stereo image or add extra width.

2. Macro Controls

ATTACK TIME: Adjust the speed at which the compressor reaches its maximum gain reduction (downwards) or boost (upwards) once the input signal exceeds the threshold. Fast attack times can control sudden peaks, but they can also cause audible distortion, especially on low-frequency material. Slow attack times generally sound more natural because they let micro-dynamics through. Often, a medium attack time, tuned by ear, will result in the most organic and punchy results. Note that this setting is program-dependent, especially when ADAPTIVE TIME is active.

RELEASE TIME: Adjust the speed at which the compressor will return to no longer altering the signal’s gain after the input level drops below the threshold. Slower release times are generally more suitable for less dynamic input material, while faster release times will recover from gain changes more quickly. However, faster release times can also create more pumping effects and eventually lead to distortion. Note that the release time is program-dependent, especially when ADAPTIVE TIME is active.

ADAPTIVE TIME: Automatically adjust the ATTACK and RELEASE times for each frequency band to easily create different compression characters. Positive settings will make higher frequency bands respond faster and lower frequency bands slower. This will generally result in more transparent compression, with fewer distortion artifacts. Negative settings will do the inverse and can be useful for creating exaggerated character compression.

DOWNWARD THRESHOLD: Offset the downward compression thresholds for all bands. Any frequency band that exceeds this threshold level will be boosted based on the corresponding DOWNWARD RATIO settings.

DOWNWARD RATIO: Scale the ratio of downward compression across all bands. Higher ratios will result in a more drastic gain reduction. For example, a ratio of 1:1 results in no gain changes, while a ratio of INF:1 will result in limiting behavior.

UPWARD THRESHOLD: Offset the upward compression thresholds for all bands. Any frequency band that falls below this threshold level will be boosted based on the corresponding UPWARD RATIO settings.

UPWARD RATIO: Scale the ratio of upward compression across all bands. Higher ratios will result in a more drastic gain boost. For example, a ratio of 1:1 results in no gain changes, while a ratio of INF:1 will boost any signal below the UPWARD THRESHOLD so that it reaches that threshold level.

TILT: Adjust the effect of all bands simultaneously by tilting the intensity of compression towards lower or higher frequencies. This enables you to achieve your desired spectral balance without needing to adjust multiple bands individually.

MAKEUP GAIN: Offset the makeup gain across all bands. This only affects the wet signal, so it is useful for compensating for any perceived changes in volume resulting from the compression.

SOFT KNEE: Adjust how smooth the transition to compression is as the input level approaches the threshold. Lower settings create a sharp transition at the threshold, which is often desirable for catching transients. On the other hand, higher knee values result in a more gradual compression, which can sound more transparent, but also widen the range in which compression will occur. The compression will become extremely smooth at very high settings and can be used somewhat like saturation.

3. Band Controls

CROSSOVER FREQUENCY: Set the transition point between two compression bands.

BAND BYPASS: Bypass the individual compression band, including the output gain. This is useful if there are certain parts of the frequency spectrum that you want to keep from being processed.

BAND SOLO: Solo one or more bands to hear them in isolation. This is useful for hearing exactly what the per-band compression settings are doing, and where the crossovers are placed.

BAND OUTPUT GAIN: Set the per-band output gain. This can be used for applying makeup gain to certain bands or doing EQ-like tone shaping.

BAND DOWNWARD THRESHOLD: Set the band’s downward compression threshold.

BAND DOWNWARD RATIO: Set the band’s downward compression ratio.

BAND UPWARD THRESHOLD: Set the band’s upward compression threshold.

BAND UPWARD RATIO: Set the band’s downward compression ratio.

BAND THRESHOLDS: Adjust both downward and upward thresholds at once.

4. Utility Controls

INPUT GAIN: Adjusts the gain sent into the effect.

INPUT SEND BUTTON: When active, the input gain will only affect the signal being sent to the effect, leaving the dry signal unaffected. Try combining this with automation or modulation to send only specific parts of your input through the effect.

Try combining this with automation or modulation to send only certain parts of your input through the effect.

DRY WET: Adjusts the balance between the processed (wet) signal and the unprocessed (dry) signal.

OUTPUT GAIN: Adjusts the gain at the end of the effect's processing chain, useful for compensating gain changes or adding creative effects.

OUTPUT SOFT CLIP: Enables a soft-clipping "glue" limiter that prevents output levels from exceeding 0 dB, with the following modes:

• OFF: Limiter is disabled.
• PURPLE: Gentle limiting and saturation, useful for preventing overs while keeping a smoother sound.
• ORANGE: Punchy soft clipping, ideal for more aggressive sounds.