H76

Name: H76
Price: 24.97 USD
Author: HoRNet

by HoRNet · Compressor · Vintage FET compressor

Not rated yet

H76 is a vintage FET compressor emulation with ratios of 4, 8, 12 and 20 plus an all-buttons mode.

Auto attack and release, auto input level, auto gain compensation, a parallel blend and analog saturation sit alongside a VU meter. It costs €21.99 (about $24.97).

Best for: Vocals, Drums, Bass, Guitars. Genres: Rock & Indie, Pop, Hip-Hop & Trap, R&B & Soul.

Keywords: FET, vintage, metering, auto-gain, hardware emulation, parallel processing, aggressive, bass, drums, vocals, classic, built-in mix knob, mixing, transformer, analog-sounding, heavy, kick, modern, oversampling, resizable UI, room mics, single-band, smooth.

What it does

H76 is HoRNet's take on a classic vintage FET compressor-limiter, aiming for "classic vintage sound combined with modern precision". Alongside the compressor itself it models the input and output transformers and the Class A amplifier stages, and it adds automatic helpers that the hardware never had.

Ratios: 4:1, 8:1, 12:1 and 20:1, plus an all-buttons mode for the aggressive, heavily squashed sound.
Attack and release: automatic, or manual on a 1–7 scale; the developer gives about 20–800 ms for attack and 50 ms to 1.1 s for release.
Analog stages: modelled transformers and Class A amps, with adjustable input and output levels before and after the analog emulation.
Saturation only: the compressor can be switched off while the amplifier emulation stays in, so it also works as a colour box.
Automatic helpers: auto input level that sets the gain for a target amount of gain reduction, automatic gain compensation, and input/output linking to keep the level constant.
Parallel compression: a Mix control blends the compressed and dry signal.
Metering and quality: a VU meter switchable between input, output and gain reduction, and 2x to 8x oversampling with an automatic setting.
Presets and UI: 13 factory presets, preset load/save, and a freely resizable interface with light and dark themes.

The current version is 1.1.0. The demo is fully functional but drops out to silence now and then, does not save settings and ignores host automation.

Source: HoRNet product page

When to use it

H76 is the pick when you want 1176-style FET compression cheaply and with less fiddling. Compared with Universal Audio's 1176 Classic Limiter Collection, it models one generic FET unit rather than several hardware revisions, but it adds auto attack and release, auto input level, gain compensation and a Mix knob. Against Waves CLA-76 it offers similar parallel blending at a lower price. It is far less flexible than FabFilter Pro-C 3, which has many styles, sidechain EQ and detailed metering; H76 has no sidechain filter. Users also point out that it is not an exact 1176 copy, so pick it for the character and workflow rather than for faithful hardware modelling.

Best for: aggressive vocals, smashed drum rooms, kick and bass, and quick level control with the auto modes.
Genres: rock, pop, hip-hop and R&B.
Look elsewhere if: you want several specific 1176 revisions (UA's collection) or a sidechain filter on the detector (Pro-C 3).
Tip: on Gearspace the developer reported mixing a whole song with H76 using only the auto modes; start there and switch to manual timing only where it pumps.

What producers say

Early users liked the sound and especially the auto modes; the main reservations are that it is not a strict 1176 emulation and lacks a detector sidechain filter.

Gearspace thread (July 2024) users praised the auto attack, release and gain reduction, one calling the result "smooth, tasty and nicely gelled", and liked the uncluttered interface.
Criticisms: one Gearspace user heard a similar character at ratio 12 and up on drums but said "this is not an exact 1176 emulation" and wanted a sidechain filter; another was sceptical after earlier HoRNet plugins.
Loopy Pro forum users welcomed it, while one questioned the need for another compressor.

Where to buy

HoRNet: $24.97 (Listed at €21.99; converted at €1 = $1.1355 (ECB rate, 29 Sep 2026))

Tutorials and reviews

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H76