Fuse Audio Labs releases the VCL-25A Vintage Vari-Mu Leveler

[Burillo]

i missed the previous two comps on an intro sale... hoping for a Black Friday now

on topic, i like this. it's a pity that attack time isn't adjustable as it gets kind of clicky on drums on high gain reduction and low release time, but otherwise i like it very much.

Hi Burillo,

The VCL-4 is currently on sale. Use the UVC9-D8ZY-S2S8 voucher code for a 50% off.

Best,
Ray

oh, that's awesome! VCL-4 is one i liked the most... thanks!

[Liero]

Pretty sure BRA haven't made a single FET plugin (yet).

[fuseaudiolabs]

I just realized that, while Ray has done quite a few VCA and opto compressors over the years, it appears he has indeed never done a FET compressor... I wonder why that is?

Hi Jens,

For no particular reason, frankly, except for maybe the fact that I never got my hands on a FET-Compressor. And I believe that particularly the 1176 has been emulated to death, so it's unlikely to see a Fuse emulation of that one - I know, I know there are other cool FET comps out there.

Afair, I had to do deal with a FET in the elysia karacter once, so that one doesn't count as a compressor. That's about it with me and FETs in audio circuits

Best,
Ray

[fuseaudiolabs]

Pretty sure BRA haven't made a single FET plugin (yet).

That's true...the SC-5 comps are (partly discrete) VCA designs in fact if you mean those, Burillo. The VLAs are optos.

[Liero]

I just realized that, while Ray has done quite a few VCA and opto compressors over the years, it appears he has indeed never done a FET compressor... I wonder why that is?

Hi Jens,

For no particular reason, frankly, except for maybe the fact that I never got my hands on a FET-Compressor. And I believe that particularly the 1176 has been emulated to death, so it's unlikely to see a Fuse emulation of that one - I know, I know there are other cool FET comps out there.

Afair, I had to do deal with a FET in the elysia karacter once, so that one doesn't count as a compressor. That's about it with me and FETs in audio circuits

Best,
Ray

I think you might reconsider your stance somewhat. Sure, there are tons of FET's out there but not many (or any) that could compete with Fuse Audio Labs on price/quality ratio. Here's a list of IMO best FET emulations and their problems:

1) Slate Digital FG-76 and revisions - Subscription model or VERY expensive, Virtual Mix Rack has huge initial load time and installation is very bloated

2) UAD 1176's - Need hardware, high latency

3) Waves 1176's - "Waveshell" system that their plugins run on is an antiquited heap of garbage from the 90's

4) Softube FET / Native Instruments VC76 - Made over 10 years ago, not top quality sound and emulation

5) IK Multimedia 1176 - Crappy business model, bloated installation, bad copy protection, good but not spectacular sounding

6) DMG Audio Track Comp - Just very odd behaviour and quirky emulation IMO, I don't understand how people think this is good, although many people love DMG.

7) PSP FETPressor - Not authentic, very clean

8 ) Analog Obsession - buggy hell

Am I missing any?

[Burillo]

apoligies, i mistook Overloud FET for BLA. Liero, technically, you're missing Overloud FET compressor (one of the Gem series), plus there are also other FET comp emulations that are loosely based on 1176 such as FET emulations in Waves Scheps Omni Channel and Hornet ChannelStrip.

EDIT: also, i'd be hard-pressed to call PSP FETpressor "very clean". sure, it's not a distortion machine, but clean, it isn't.

[cturner]

Stillwell Rocket.

I think you lost your argument when you mentioned competition on price/quality ratio. Certainly Fuse plugs are inexpensive, but competing on price seems pretty far from Fuse’s business model from what I can tell. Check out the “Black Rider” preset.

[Liero]

Certainly Fuse plugs are inexpensive, but competing on price seems pretty far from Fuse’s business model from what I can tell.

I don't understand what you mean by that sentence.

I said that _other companies_ will have difficulty competing _against_ FAL because FAL has such good quality at such a low price.

[BrockHardcastle]

Posted hours after the initial release. That went quick

Wonder how it compares to VariComp, my favourite - or MJUC, everyone's favourite?

Agreed the intro price is almost too tempting...

I prefer it over MJUC. I love MJUC but this one is easier to get a great sound fast. I also think it sounds better than MJUC. Another poster mentioned TuCo which is another fav of mine that this will also likely replace. It feels weightier in the way it manages low end. TuCo is great for guitars but not so hot on kick and bass. This new one excels at both.

I spent a few good hours with it before my post and after and stand by it. MJUC is fantastic but the VCL will get a lot more use and be the first I reach for.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Release time at 1.0 seems to last around 4.0 seconds, that's a bit of a stretch to the manual calling it an "approximate".

Program dependency perhaps?

The Floor is nothing but plain white noise, not even pink/purple, weighted or otherwise filtered.

Good thing it can be eliminated entirely then!

The oversampling filter is high and looks steep, so that seems OK, but it has an attenuation under 28 dBfs while below Nyquist... quick test with a 1 kHz/-12 dB sine wave shows that's definitely not enough to avoid aliasing. Even at very low gain settings (3.0, 100% Threshold) there are already harmonics folding back and buzzing. If it doesn't filter out the aliasing, then why bother at all.

Anyway, this section was the reason I'm replying. I'm curious as to how you're testing this. I'm using Plugin Doctor and not seeing anytning like that. In fact, the aliasing performance is quite good. Try this:

1. Load up Plugin Doctor if you have it
2. Load the VCL-25A
3. Go to the Harmonic Analysis tab of Plugin Doctor
4. In VCL-25A, set the input gain knob to 12 o'clock (value of 10.0)
5. Adjust the threshold to 12 o'clock (50)
6. Now go to the Plugin Doctor settings and play with different input levels and frequencies for the harmonic analysis. I'll usually start with a signal as close to 1k as possible with an -18 or -12 db signal, then check higher frequencies (17.5k just randomly became my go-to) to really test for foldover.

Results: pretty fantastic aliasing performance throughout.

I'm really just curious why you're seeing terrible aliasing results and I'm not.

[Halonmusic]

Reminds me of bootsies Thrillseeker VBL.

[bmanic]

I just realized that, while Ray has done quite a few VCA and opto compressors over the years, it appears he has indeed never done a FET compressor... I wonder why that is?

Hi Jens,

For no particular reason, frankly, except for maybe the fact that I never got my hands on a FET-Compressor. And I believe that particularly the 1176 has been emulated to death, so it's unlikely to see a Fuse emulation of that one - I know, I know there are other cool FET comps out there.

Afair, I had to do deal with a FET in the elysia karacter once, so that one doesn't count as a compressor. That's about it with me and FETs in audio circuits

Best,
Ray

I think you might reconsider your stance somewhat. Sure, there are tons of FET's out there but not many (or any) that could compete with Fuse Audio Labs on price/quality ratio. Here's a list of IMO best FET emulations and their problems:

1) Slate Digital FG-76 and revisions - Subscription model or VERY expensive, Virtual Mix Rack has huge initial load time and installation is very bloated

2) UAD 1176's - Need hardware, high latency

3) Waves 1176's - "Waveshell" system that their plugins run on is an antiquited heap of garbage from the 90's

4) Softube FET / Native Instruments VC76 - Made over 10 years ago, not top quality sound and emulation

5) IK Multimedia 1176 - Crappy business model, bloated installation, bad copy protection, good but not spectacular sounding

6) DMG Audio Track Comp - Just very odd behaviour and quirky emulation IMO, I don't understand how people think this is good, although many people love DMG.

7) PSP FETPressor - Not authentic, very clean

8 ) Analog Obsession - buggy hell

Am I missing any?

This pretty much sums it up perfectly! Well said Liero. Agree 100% on all of this.

@Ray: if you do go this route, you can always "add value" to the plugin by taking into account the main 3 variants of the 1176 (blue, rev D and one of the transformerless versions like H or G or whatever those silver beasts were called.. I had a H revision). Also add a proper sidechain filter option (preferrably one that goes all the way up to 1kHz HPF.. and why not make it interesting with a LPF swith too? Could be awesome tonebox/destruction thing to filter out anything but 100Hz and make it go all buzzy and crazy ).

Anyhow, definitely think this could be worth doing. Or just a 117x anthology where you investigate a few variants and weird custom projects that are all over the world. Probably it would be even possible to find the Purple FET schematics somewhere? That unit is a clone that is very coveted today. Never had a chance to hear it myself but apparently it is excellent and quirky.

[DJErmac]

6) DMG Audio Track Comp - Just very odd behaviour and quirky emulation IMO, I don't understand how people think this is good, although many people love DMG.

I am a true DMG Audio fan, but not of their Track series that are, imho, the amateur preset-based serie. I still use Compassion as my main go-to compressor and didn't purchase Track Comp.

I've tried VCL-25A and it's not for me. I'm afraid I don't see what I can do with it. It doesn't sound bad, it just doesn't make anything great either.

EDIT : I'll add a word to say Fuse Audio Labs are doing a great job, my feedback is only about this very product.

[sleepcircle]

well not everything is for everyone. some people don't like dmg audio track comp and some people don't like vcl-25a. i would like to pre-emptively ask that this not turn into a war between factions.

[DJErmac]

Mmmm... no need to worry about this !