Sunray

Name: Sunray
Author: Acustica Audio

by Acustica Audio · Channel Strip · Channel strip suite

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Sunray is a suite of three plugins modeled on boutique US studio gear: a 4-band parametric EQ, a tube compressor/limiter and a preamp plugin.

It comes as VST, VST3, AU and AAX; the shop page did not show a price.

Best for: Vocals, Bass, Guitars, Keys & Synths, Mix Bus. Genres: all genres.

Keywords: tube, hardware emulation, vocals, op-amp, smooth, solid-state, 90s, AAX, bass, bus processing, clean, FET, full mix, gentle, mix bus, mixing, modern, musical, subtle, transformer, vintage.

What it does

Sunray is a three-plugin suite sampled from rare late-1990s boutique American gear that pairs "hand-selected vacuum tubes with high-reliability op-amps". The idea is a vintage look with a modern, clean-leaning sound, split into an EQ, a compressor and a preamp you can use separately.

Sunray EQ: a Class A solid-state 4-band parametric. The low and high bands switch between shelf and peak, the two mid bells have Q from 0.6 to 2.0, and every band gives ±16 dB.
EQ filters and preamp: high- and low-pass filters at 12 dB/oct, plus the unit's own preamp stage built in.
Sunray Comp: a mono tube compressor/limiter with a hybrid tube and op-amp design and very fast attack and release. The developer says it stays subtle even when pushed. It also carries its preamp stage.
Sunray Pre: 6 preamp emulations (2 stereo, 4 mono), taken from either the EQ circuit (Class A, solid-state, transformer-coupled) or the compressor circuit (FET and tube).
Ultra button: shapes the preamp saturation by modelling the hardware's breakpoint behaviour more closely.
Hyper 2 engine: Acustica's sampling technology, which the developer says brings lower CPU use and better stability.

At launch in 2023 it supported 44.1 to 96 kHz, with an intro price and a 30-day free trial.

Source: Acustica Audio product page

When to use it

Sunray is a set of separate colour tools rather than one console channel. Compared with the API Vision Channel Strip Collection or bx_console SSL 4000 E, it does not put a full console strip with dynamics routing in one window, but you can load just the EQ, the compressor or a preamp where you need it. Its EQ is the part users rate highest, with smooth high-frequency boosts and wide ±16 dB bands. Compared with Acustica's own Jade 2, it is simpler and cheaper at list, with one EQ voice instead of three and no separate peak limiter. Compared with Native Channel Strip 2, it is sample-based and aimed at tube colour rather than a fast, light SSL workflow.

Best for: smooth high-end boosts and gentle tube colour on single tracks, vocals and buses.
Genres: any.
Look elsewhere if: you want an all-in-one console strip with a gate (bx_console SSL 4000 E) or aggressive preamp drive (a saturator such as Decapitator).
Tip: calibrate input so -18 dBFS equals 0 dBu; hotter levels push the samples into unwanted distortion.

What producers say

Gearspace users liked the EQ most and found the compressor and preamps less new.

Gearspace thread singled out the EQ as "the standout", with phase colour called "very very musical"; the interface also drew strong praise.
Criticisms: one user felt the compressor sounded like recent Acqua releases, others found the preamps mild, and one wanted the mix knob placed before the output volume.