Fire The Bus+
by Acustica Audio · Compressor · Bus compressor
Not rated yet
Fire The Bus+ is an Acustica Audio bus compressor with four models based on Hyper compression and an adjustable high-pass filter.
It is meant to glue groups together; the price is not shown on the product page.
Best for: Drum Bus, Mix Bus, Drums. Genres: all genres.
Keywords: bus processing, glue, drums, mix bus, sidechain input, single knob, bass, beginner-friendly, CPU-light, drum bus, full mix, gentle, minimal controls, mixing, pumping, samples & loops, single-band.
What it does
Fire The Bus+ is a bus compressor from Acustica Audio's Fire range that "adds a cohesive timbre to your bus with just a few clicks". It glues groups and mixes with one main control and four compression models, built on Acustica's Hyper compression engine.
- Four models: four compressor characters, each changing the tone and timbre differently; the developer describes the sound as full, with round, controlled bass.
- Single-knob design: one main control sets the amount of compression, so it is quick to dial in.
- Sidechain HPF: an adjustable high-pass filter in the sidechain stops low end from causing pumping.
- Hyper engine: compression and attack/release curves are calculated at every sample, so compression is applied immediately rather than after a delay.
- Low CPU: the developer says the Hyper engine uses about a twelfth of the CPU of standard compressors.
- Track use: also works on single tracks, not only buses.
It was released in October 2022 (Rekkerd). The product page gives no version number.
Source: Acustica Audio product page
When to use it
Fire The Bus+ is the pick for fast glue with minimal tweaking: pick one of four models, set one knob and adjust the sidechain filter. Compared with SSL G-Master Buss Compressor and The Glue, it gives up threshold, ratio, attack and release settings, so you cannot shape the compression as precisely. In return it offers four tonal characters instead of one, and it is quicker to set. The developer also says its Hyper engine uses far less CPU than standard compressors, so many instances are practical.
- Best for: quick glue on drum buses, group buses and the mix bus, and gentle cohesion on single tracks.
- Genres: any.
- Look elsewhere if: you want full control over attack, release and ratio (The Glue, SSL G-Master Buss Compressor) or a detailed modern compressor (Pro-C 3).
Where to buy
- Acustica Audio: see store
Tutorials and reviews
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