Fabfilter Pro-C 3

[HOTF]

I've even included the optimal Gain Reduction range the preset was design for.. so just load up a preset and adjust threshold accordingly (or the 'Mix' slider) to get the optimal amount of GR for your project.

I'm not sure i'm interested in upgrading but this is how all compressor presets should be. Otherwise they useless - super nice touch

[cryophonik]

Still missing a few nice to haves (e.g., tempo sync)

I haven't had a chance to check out Pro-C3 yet, but they added sidechain tempo and MIDI sync. It looks like it can be used full-band, M/S, and even per-band.

[bmanic]

Still missing a few nice to haves (e.g., tempo sync).

You mean for the release and attack? How would you do such a thing where almost all of the algorithms are very program dependent (meaning they have different release times depending on chunk of audio coming in, sometimes even it's frequency).. and also where and how would you measure "a tick"? When the release has gone to null? When it's 50% of the way back? 25%? And how would you deal with the different non-linear shapes of the release curve, again some of which changes depending on the incoming audio.

The only way to have a tempo sync feature for a dynamics processor release that actually sounds "in time" correctly is to create an algorithm that does just that and is very linear and does nothing else interesting.

I don't think people quite understand that it's not a trivial thing at all and wildly varies on how tight it feels depending on incoming audio and feel. I haven't found a single compressor yet that offers tempo sync successfully and most are rather simple designs to begin with.

You can test this yourself with the side-chain tempo sync thing and hear just how wildly the different algorithms vary in their release shapes and how it all changes depending on ratio, knee, hold time of the incoming impulse etc. I even provided a whole folder with ready tailored tempo synced releases ranging from 110bpm to 140bpm just so that people have a quicker starting point for the release shapes.

[cryophonik]

Still missing a few nice to haves (e.g., tempo sync).

You mean for the release and attack? How would you do such a thing where almost all of the algorithms are very program dependent (meaning they have different release times depending on chunk of audio coming in, sometimes even it's frequency).. and also where and how would you measure "a tick"?

I was thinking the same thing, but I as I think I understand it, it seems that you could dial this in using MIDI notes, assuming that release times are tied to MIDI Note On/Off? Also, does it respond to MIDI velocity? Sorry, I bought the upgrade last night, but haven't had a chance to install it, let alone try it.

[bmanic]

Doesn't matter what it is tied to (the MIDI triggering is simply sending an impulse of your chosen length into Pro-C). The real issue is the release itself, once it happens. Think about it.. it's the same problem as having an universal attack time or release time for all compressors. How do you measure it? When a person hears it starting to compress? When the compression cycle is at steady-state (which on some topologies never happens!)? When it's a certain % from unity gain? It's just not possible to do this objectively or scientifically.. as there is no such thing.

Heck it's the one thing you quickly learn with hardware boxes. The markings are all over the place. One compressor says you have 10ms attack time, yet it's way faster than another compressor that says 1ms.

dBx did it most scientifically with their dB/second labeling instead of an arbitrary attack or release timing. That still doesn't address the shape. Are we in the amplitude or dB domain? Logarithmic? Exponential? What's the curvature? And what to do if we are dealing with S-Curves? Or multiple release stage curves? Or multiple attack curves (the Smooth algo has a very distinct double attack phase and the Versatile algo has a secondary slow attack that reveals itself if you go past something like 60ms on the attack knob).

All of these affect how we perceive the "rhythm" of the compressor. So how would we tempo sync it reliably? Hand tweak each and every algorithm at every setting? That still leaves it down to subjectivity.. now it's tweaked by one person who may or may not feel the groove the same way as the customer.

[kraster]

Personally, I’ve always found tempo-synced release times gimmicky at best and conceptually misleading at worst.

Compression doesn’t resolve on a clock; it resolves according to behavior.

Historically, designs like the Fairchild were more accurate in calling these controls time constants. The numbers printed around compressor timing controls have always been rough guides, not absolute durations. I was always taught to think of them less as time duration and more as behavior.

Compressors are fundamentally reactive devices, so what really matters is how their timing is set to respond to the material passing through them.

Because release decay is proportional, the effective release duration depends on the amount of gain reduction, the detector’s behavior, and the surrounding dynamics. In that context, a tempo-synced release is simply mapping a musical interval onto a proportional rate. It may suggest a relationship, but it doesn’t produce deterministic musical timing in the way I imagine many people expect. Like a trance gate or similar.

I've always found that shaping the release (and attack) by ear tends to yield more musical results, because you’re aligning the compressor’s overall behavior with the groove rather than trying to force a time-constant system onto a grid.

The 1176 is a classic example of this. When the release lands in the pocket, it bounces. It isn’t tempo-locked, but it adds feel by reacting dynamically—moving with the music rather than being nailed to the grid.

[Funky40]

I´m going OFF Topic !

The 1176 is a classic example of this. When the release lands in the pocket, it bounces.

What numbers of gain reduction are we talking here ?
And: more traditional music ( Rock, real Drums ) or more club related ( electronic) Music ?

That´d give me some interesting insight. (Since i´m related to completly different types of tasks)

[fisherKing]

Personally, I’ve always found tempo-synced release times gimmicky at best and conceptually misleading at worst.

Compression doesn’t resolve on a clock; it resolves according to behavior.

Historically, designs like the Fairchild were more accurate in calling these controls time constants. The numbers printed around compressor timing controls have always been rough guides, not absolute durations. I was always taught to think of them less as time duration and more as behavior.

Compressors are fundamentally reactive devices, so what really matters is how their timing is set to respond to the material passing through them.

Because release decay is proportional, the effective release duration depends on the amount of gain reduction, the detector’s behavior, and the surrounding dynamics. In that context, a tempo-synced release is simply mapping a musical interval onto a proportional rate. It may suggest a relationship, but it doesn’t produce deterministic musical timing in the way I imagine many people expect. Like a trance gate or similar.

I've always found that shaping the release (and attack) by ear tends to yield more musical results, because you’re aligning the compressor’s overall behavior with the groove rather than trying to force a time-constant system onto a grid.

The 1176 is a classic example of this. When the release lands in the pocket, it bounces. It isn’t tempo-locked, but it adds feel by reacting dynamically—moving with the music rather than being nailed to the grid.

unless you set it to do tempo-based sync. am not getting it; if i want a sidechain effect, and i can do that with C3 internally, or with midi, what's wrong with that?

[MacGyver]

I've tried Pro-C3 plus Pro-Q4 now a bit... Pro-C3 again has very nice low latency, just as it was in C1, too (and most other compressors). This was messed up in Pro-C2, making C2 unusable for composition/mixing at once (as you do it usually in electronical genres), they fixed it now. No review ever mentions latency of the plugin, kind of annoying. Most reviews actually only scratch the surface, without a single own thought or even a single criticism, to not bothering their sponsor and not lowering their attractivity.

For some reason, I never get the results that I aim for when using these products. Seems to me like for example UVI Shade works much better for me, showing me exactly what I hear. The auto zoom in Pro-Q4 is annoying... C3's attack and release seem to completely differ for each mode... The upwards compression seems to be difficult to finetune... Maybe you need to learn each mode individually then.

I was actually testing these two, because of that combination / all-in-one view. But somehow there is no additional information here, even less information / control. They could have shown clashing frequencies for example... Or even transient clashing, in a 2-dimensional view (stereo on x-axis, frequency on y-axis), also for sustained energy... Or even in a scrolling spectrogram view. Then you could zoom into z-axis... Mmmmh But none of such stuff is here, it's simpy the instances in one single view, with reduced control. Even no grid to snap here, the instances are free floating in space, which feels not good to handle...

In the end, an UVI Shade, and a Melda MCompressor or MDynamics with a drawn dynamics curve seem to be way more precise tools, than Pro-C3 or Pro-Q4.

The overall GUI of Pro-C3 is very nice, controls, too, you just need to set magnification in the GUI settings. It's then very similar and compact as it was in Pro-C1.

[tumface]

This was messed up in Pro-C2, making C2 unusable for composition/mixing at once (as you do it usually in electronical genres), they fixed it now. No review ever mentions latency of the plugin, kind of annoying. Most reviews actually only scratch the surface, without a single own thought or even a single criticism, to not bothering their sponsor and not lowering their attractivity.

Dunno what you're talking about? Pro-C2 has no latency, unless you enable one of the options that uses lookahead. It's the same as Pro-C3.

Screen Shot 2026-01-17 at 16.47.03.png

[jtsterays]

This was messed up in Pro-C2, making C2 unusable for composition/mixing at once (as you do it usually in electronical genres), they fixed it now. No review ever mentions latency of the plugin, kind of annoying. Most reviews actually only scratch the surface, without a single own thought or even a single criticism, to not bothering their sponsor and not lowering their attractivity.

Dunno what you're talking about? Pro-C2 has no latency, unless you enable one of the options that uses lookahead. It's the same as Pro-C3.

Screen Shot 2026-01-17 at 16.47.03.png

OS adds a bit too but sub 1 millisecond.

[Ploki]

I never liked the gain compensation in Pro-C 2, to my ears it was always quite off. Is it the same with this new version ?

Download the demo and try out the 6 new algorithms. It's the only way to find out.

Also, please check out the presets. I don't usually recommend presets in compressors but I've spent a HUGE amount of time on them, curating a set that is hopefully useful. Every single one has a description of what it's useful on and how it was intended to be used. I've even included the optimal Gain Reduction range the preset was design for.. so just load up a preset and adjust threshold accordingly (or the 'Mix' slider) to get the optimal amount of GR for your project.

oh my, OTT mode? I'll take it.
Also upward mode.

@bmanic, why did they remove the autoband :/

have to note i bought this on my phone when i saw it was available, good QOL upgrades, new modes, updated interface - i'm all up for it.

[OverBrightBlueLED]

Maybe I'm becoming miserly in my old age but the thought of paying more for a compressor than I paid for my entire DAW just feels wrong

Pricing is almost an insult. This compressor is really nothing to worry about not owning.
Enjoy making sweet music, this comp will have no impact whatsoever on the results of a mix compared to even free software.

https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2020/0 ... essor-vst/

https://www.production-expert.com/produ ... ding-money

There is little you cannot get done in mixing with ZL comp, Kotelnikov, FIRCOMP2 and so many others.

And if you really want to Klanghelm DC8C will do pretty much everything for €23 FULL including punch and snap.

https://klanghelm.com/contents/products/DC8C

No need to feel left out on whatever this release was.

[MacGyver]

Pricing is almost an insult. This compressor is really nothing to worry about not owning.
Enjoy making sweet music, this comp will have no impact whatsoever on the results of a mix compared to even free software.

I totally agree here, only that Pro-C3 is quite comfortable and has a nice GUI.

These two free compressors are esp. feature rich and great:
ZL Compressor (lot's of features, even range) - https://zl-audio.github.io/plugins/zlco ... stallation
Melda MComporessor (draw your own translation curve) - https://www.meldaproduction.com/MCompressor

[kraster]

I've tried Pro-C3 plus Pro-Q4 now a bit... Pro-C3 again has very nice low latency, just as it was in C1, too (and most other compressors). This was messed up in Pro-C2, making C2 unusable for composition/mixing at once (as you do it usually in electronical genres), they fixed it now. No review ever mentions latency of the plugin, kind of annoying. Most reviews actually only scratch the surface, without a single own thought or even a single criticism, to not bothering their sponsor and not lowering their attractivity.

For some reason, I never get the results that I aim for when using these products. Seems to me like for example UVI Shade works much better for me, showing me exactly what I hear. The auto zoom in Pro-Q4 is annoying... C3's attack and release seem to completely differ for each mode... The upwards compression seems to be difficult to finetune... Maybe you need to learn each mode individually then.

I was actually testing these two, because of that combination / all-in-one view. But somehow there is no additional information here, even less information / control. They could have shown clashing frequencies for example... Or even transient clashing, in a 2-dimensional view (stereo on x-axis, frequency on y-axis), also for sustained energy... Or even in a scrolling spectrogram view. Then you could zoom into z-axis... Mmmmh But none of such stuff is here, it's simpy the instances in one single view, with reduced control. Even no grid to snap here, the instances are free floating in space, which feels not good to handle...

In the end, an UVI Shade, and a Melda MCompressor or MDynamics with a drawn dynamics curve seem to be way more precise tools, than Pro-C3 or Pro-Q4.

The overall GUI of Pro-C3 is very nice, controls, too, you just need to set magnification in the GUI settings. It's then very similar and compact as it was in Pro-C1.

In a compressor that is modelling different types of compressor I’d be very suspicious of the modelling if attack and release DIDN’T change between models.

In the real world compressors vary wildly in their timing despite having the same numbers. There are a multitude of reasons why they vary depending on the design.

I think compressors are one device type where talking about them in less technical terms is actually helpful. Terms like grabby, pumpy, gluey aggressive, lazy etc. actually convey more than saying 20ms attack/decay.

If you’re looking for precision then a compressor that sets out to model the idiosyncrasies of various models is going to be at odds.

I was never that taken with C2 but I think that C3 is a massive step up and I don’t think I’ve been as taken with a compressor in a long time.