About Raèld Busscomp
Raèld Busscomp is a VCA bus compressor modelled on the classic console bus compressors: the "glue" compressor for drum buses, mix buses and the master. It's feed-forward, with one gain for both sides so the stereo image never moves, a soft knee that firms up as the ratio rises, stepped ratio, attack and release like the hardware, and a program-dependent AUTO release.
Its window is a tall tower of oxblood enamel between chrome rails: the gain-reduction gauge at the top, the selectors and THRESHOLD in the middle, the trims and levers at the bottom.
Installing
- Close your DAW.
- Unzip
Raeld-Busscomp-1.0.0-Windows.zipfrom the download page or your purchase email, runRaeld-Busscomp-1.0.0-Setup.exeand follow the steps. The plugin goes intoC:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3, and a standalone app is installed too. - Open your DAW and rescan plugins. DAW plugin lists show it without the accent, as "Raeld Busscomp", so type "raeld" in the plugin browser.
Requirements: Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) and any VST3 host, or the standalone app.
Using the controls
- Knobs: drag up or down (hold Shift for fine control), use the mouse wheel, or click and use the arrow keys. Double-click returns a knob to its default. While you adjust it, and when you hover over it, the value shows above the knob. If you prefer turning knobs in a circle, choose Circular knob drag in the SIZE menu.
- Stepped selectors (RATIO, ATTACK, RELEASE, SC FILTER): drag, click the position you want, or use the wheel or arrow keys. They snap into each position; the chosen one is lit.
- Levers: click to flip; up is on. The lamp above lights when it's on.
- SIZE sets the window size (75 to 175%); you can also drag the window's corner. The size is remembered.
Quick start
- Start from a preset close to your source, or from Init.
- Lower THRESHOLD until the needle shows the reduction you want: 1 to 3 dB to glue a mix or a master, 10 dB or more to squash drums.
- Pick an ATTACK: 10 or 30 ms lets the front of each hit through for punch. Pick a RELEASE: AUTO for most things.
- Bring the level back with MAKEUP. Use MIX for parallel compression. Turn on AUTO GAIN to compare with bypass at the same loudness.
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| INPUT | Gain into the compressor, −18 to +18 dB: drives it harder or softer without moving THRESHOLD. |
| THRESHOLD | Where it starts to compress, −40 to 0 dBFS (a sine reads at its peak level). |
| RATIO | 2, 4 or 10 to 1. The knee is soft at 2:1 (6 dB wide), firmer at 4:1 (4 dB) and 10:1 (2 dB). |
| ATTACK | 0.1, 0.3, 1, 3, 10 or 30 ms. Slower lets the front of each hit through. |
| RELEASE | 0.1, 0.3, 0.6 or 1.2 s, or AUTO: quick after a short hit, slower after sustained compression. |
| SC FILTER | Keeps the low end out of the detector (off, 60, 90, 150 Hz), so a big kick or bass doesn't push the whole mix down. |
| EXT KEY | Compress from the sidechain input your DAW sends (for example a kick ducking a bass). With no sidechain connected it listens to the track as usual. Not saved in presets. |
| MID-SIDE | Off (STEREO): one reduction for both sides. On: the centre and the sides compressed separately. Switching is click-free. |
| MAKEUP | Gain after the compressor, −6 to +18 dB. |
| MIX | Blend of compressed and untouched sound. Both stay exactly in time, so any blend is clean. |
| OUTPUT | Gain at the very end, −18 to +18 dB. |
| ANALOG | Gentle harmonics: the VCA's, which grow as it compresses harder, the output stage's, which grow with level, and an output transformer's, which add a little weight to the bass first. Off: completely clean, with no latency. The 4X lever sets its oversampling to 4x (2x when down). |
| AUTO GAIN | Matches the output's loudness to the input's (K-weighted, over a few seconds), so you can judge the compression with bypass without being fooled by level. MAKEUP and OUTPUT don't change the level while it's on. Not saved in presets. |
| NOISE | A very low analog noise floor (−100 dBFS). Off by default. |
| BYPASS | Crossfades to the dry sound, latency-compensated, so toggling never shifts your audio in time. |
The meters
The gauge's needle shows the gain reduction, from 0 on the right to 20 dB on the left. It moves like a VU meter (99% of a change in 300 ms, with a slight overshoot), and the window on the face shows the exact figure. The LED columns either side show the input level (after INPUT) and the output level: the top LED lights at −3 dBFS, the bottom one at −48 dBFS, and each holds its peak for a second.
Presets
| Preset | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Init | 2:1 at −12 dB, 10 ms attack, AUTO release, ANALOG on. |
| Mix Bus Glue | The classic glue: 2:1, 10 ms attack, AUTO release. Aim for 2 to 3 dB on the needle. |
| Master Bus Gentle | Clean control for the master: 2:1, the slowest attack, AUTO release, the sub out of the detector, ANALOG off. 1 to 2 dB of reduction. |
| Drum Bus Smash | 10:1, fast attack and release: the kit squashed and pumping, about 12 dB on the hits. |
| Parallel Punch | Heavy, fast compression (about 16 dB on the hits) blended 40% under the dry drums: size without losing the hits. |
| Vocal Bus | 4:1, 3 ms attack, 0.3 s release, plosives kept out of the detector: vocals sitting together. |
| Piano/Keys Bus | Gentle, even control that keeps the attack of each note: 2:1, 30 ms, 0.6 s. |
| Loud Modern Master | Denser master control: 4:1, 10 ms attack, AUTO release, the low end out of the detector, ANALOG at 4x. 2 to 4 dB of reduction. |
The presets suit material peaking around −6 dBFS. Move THRESHOLD until the needle shows the reduction the preset describes.
What we measured
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Below the threshold, ANALOG off, trims and makeup at 0, any MIX, stereo or mid-side | bit-for-bit the input, with no latency |
| Latency at 48 kHz | 0 with ANALOG off; 23 samples (0.5 ms) at 2x, 28 (0.6 ms) at 4x; reported to your DAW |
| Static curve, every ratio, −40 to 0 dBFS | within 0.000002 dB of the designed curve |
| Attack, time to 63% of the reduction | each setting within 2% and one sample, at 44.1, 48, 88.2 and 96 kHz |
| Release, time to 63% recovered | the setting plus 16 ms (the hold that keeps the bass clean): 0.1 s: 116 ms; 1.2 s: 1216 ms |
| AUTO release, 90% recovered | 210 ms after a 30 ms hit; 1.14 s after 3 s of compression |
| A loud tone on the left only | the right gets exactly the same reduction: the image doesn't move |
| Bass distortion, 2:1, 30 ms, AUTO, 2.4 dB of reduction, ANALOG off | 0.0003% at 30 Hz, under 0.000001% at 40 Hz and above |
| ANALOG, THD with no reduction | 1 kHz: 0.006% at −18 dBFS, 0.05% at −6 dBFS; 30 Hz at −6 dBFS: 0.15% (the transformer saturates the bass first); 1 kHz at −6 dBFS with 7 dB of reduction: 0.12% |
| Harmonics folding back (a 15 kHz tone driven hard) | below −122 dB at 2x and 4x |
| 50% MIX with +6 dB on the compressed path, ANALOG on | within 0.0004 dB from 40 Hz to 16 kHz: no comb filtering |
| CPU (stereo, 48 kHz) | 0.12% of one core with ANALOG off; 0.32% at 2x; 0.52% at 4x |
Modelled on the documented behaviour of console VCA bus compressors (topology, ratios, timing, auto release) and measured on test signals, not against a particular unit. Your ears are the judge.
Mono, stereo and sidechain
Raèld Busscomp runs on mono, mono-to-stereo and stereo tracks; your DAW picks automatically. On a mono-to-stereo track the mono source feeds both sides. The sidechain input appears in your DAW's routing as a second input (mono or stereo); turn on EXT KEY to use it. The MONO button at the top right folds the output to mono, to check how the sound holds up on a mono speaker: it's click-free, works while bypassed, and isn't saved in presets.
Activation and support
Paste your Raèld Busscomp license key, or your Raèld All Access key, into the activation window. A key works on 3 computers. Without a key the plugin runs as a demo with a short dropout every 45 seconds. Questions: info@raeldaudio.com.
Raèld Busscomp is an original design and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any other manufacturer.