VCL-373
by Fuse Audio Labs · Compressor · Early-'60s broadcast compressor/limiter
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VCL-373 recreates an early-1960s broadcast limiter/compressor that later found a home in mastering studios.
It models the transformers, feedback compression and class A make-up amp, with continuous drive and dry/wet mix, for $59.
Best for: Mix Bus, Mastering, Vocals, Bass. Genres: all genres.
Keywords: 60s, mastering, broadcast, transformer, feedback, bass, bus processing, glue, mix bus, built-in mix knob, vocals, full mix, gentle, metering, smooth, transistor, circuit-modelled, diode-bridge, hardware emulation, mixing, parallel processing, single-band, tracking, visual feedback.
What it does
VCL-373 is Fuse Audio Labs' model of "an early 60s broadcasting limiter/compressor" that later found its way into mastering studios. It is based on the 1963 revision, which swapped the diode-bridge gain stage for a transistor circuit with lower distortion and better control-voltage tracking.
- Circuit model: audio transformers, the feedback compression circuit and a discrete class A make-up amplifier are all emulated.
- Drive: a continuous drive control that sets how hard the unit is pushed into compression and transformer colour.
- Mix: a dry/wet control for parallel compression without a separate bus.
- Metering: a gain reduction meter.
The current version is 2.7.
Source: Fuse Audio Labs product page
When to use it
VCL-373 is a single-purpose vintage leveler: you set the drive and the mix and let the circuit do the rest. Compared with the Teletronix LA-2A Leveler Collection or CLA-2A, it is a transistor feedback design rather than an optical one, and it costs less than the Universal Audio bundle. It has far fewer controls than Pro-C 3, with no detailed attack, release or sidechain filtering, so it is about colour and gentle control rather than precision. Next to The Glue, it is aimed more at smooth leveling and transformer tone than at punchy SSL-style bus compression.
- Best for: gentle glue on the mix bus or in a mastering chain, and smooth leveling on vocals and bass.
- Genres: any style, especially rock, pop and acoustic work that wants vintage colour.
- Look elsewhere if: you need fine attack and release control or sidechain filtering; Pro-C 3 or TDR Kotelnikov offer much more control.
Where to buy
- Fuse Audio Labs: $59
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