VCME

Name: VCME
Price: 199 USD
Author: Goodhertz

by Goodhertz · Compressor · Mastering compressor with soft clip

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VCME (Vulf Compressor, Mastering Edition) is a lighter, more configurable version of Vulf Compressor for mastering and bus work, with a four-mode soft clip section.

It costs $199 and includes the separate VCME Soft Clip plugin; Vulf Compressor owners get 25% off.

Best for: Mix Bus, Mastering, Drum Bus. Genres: all genres.

Keywords: mastering, bus processing, soft clip, full mix, punchy, mix bus, sidechain input, FET, mid/side, mixing, opto, transformer, tube, vari-mu, aggressive, beginner-friendly, classic, drum bus, enhancement, gentle, glue, built-in mix knob, multi-band, simple, smooth, spectral, transparent, warm.

What it does

VCME ("Vulf Compressor, Mastering Edition") is Goodhertz's bus and mastering compressor. It keeps the vari-mu character of Vulf Compressor but adds standard controls and a lighter touch for full mixes, where the original's aggressive sound can be too much.

Core controls: threshold, ratio, attack, release and makeup gain, with fine (0.5 dB) or coarse (3 dB) stepped settings, a wet/dry mix and suggested threshold and makeup values.
Release style: blends continuously between opto and FET release behaviour, with hybrid settings in between.
Sidechain tilt and EQ: a linear spectral tilt plus a two-band sidechain EQ whose shelves turn into filters, a sidechain high-pass, internal/external blending and sidechain audition. Goodhertz says the tilt can reduce the need for a de-esser or multiband.
Soft clip: four characters: Chino (classic tube), Rødovre (smooth, rounded tube), Detroit (warm, grungy transformer) and Melbourn (punchy British transformer).
Linking and channels: stereo, mid/side and surround linking, including hybrid modes, from mono up to 9.1.6.
Transparent core: the compressor itself has a flat frequency response, so colour comes from the compression and clipper only.

VCME 3 comes with a 25% discount for Vulf Compressor owners and includes VCME Soft Clip as a separate plugin. A 30-day free trial is available.

Source: Goodhertz product page

When to use it

VCME is the pick when you want a bus or master compressor with some vari-mu punch and a soft clipper in the same window. Compared with Pro-C 3 it is more coloured and less of an all-purpose channel tool, but its sidechain tilt and soft clip modes are built for full mixes. Next to SSL G-Master Buss Compressor and The Glue it is more configurable, with opto-to-FET release blending and M/S linking, but it does not give the classic SSL bus sound. It is also pricier than The Glue, though Vulf Compressor owners get 25% off.

Best for: mix bus and mastering compression that adds punch and gentle saturation, plus compression on single sources in a mix, which Sound On Sound found it handles well.
Genres: any; it is aimed at buses and masters that should sound punchy rather than strictly clean.
Look elsewhere if: you want a classic SSL-style glue sound (The Glue or SSL G-Master Buss Compressor) or a clean, surgical compressor (Pro-C 3).
Tip: Sound On Sound suggests starting with the clipper's Drive at 0 and raising it slowly, and using hybrid stereo linking to keep transients defined.

What producers say

Sound On Sound recommends it highly as a compressor that works well beyond mastering.

Sound On Sound (Matt Houghton, February 2026) praised the sound in both mixing and mastering, the uncluttered interface and the flexible saturation, calling it "both supremely configurable and quick and easy to use".
Criticisms: the review raised no real complaints, only a reminder that DIY mastering with it needs reliable monitoring to avoid over-processing.