Gluon
by nClear · Compressor · Bus compressor
Not rated yet
Free bus compressor plugin from nClear, released in September 2026.
Best for: Mix Bus, Drum Bus. Genres: all genres.
Keywords: bus processing, drum bus, mix bus, free, sidechain input, glue, 80s, full mix, mixing, oversampling, parallel processing, single-band, stereo-linked.
What it does
Gluon is a free bus compressor from nClear that takes its direction from 1980s console bus compressors. It was released in September 2026.
- Controls: threshold, makeup gain, attack (0.01-60 ms), ratio (1.5:1 to 20:1), release (0.05-2 s plus Auto), Range and Mix.
- Gluon Map: a shared view of every Gluon instance in the project so you can adjust many at once.
- MakeUp Learn: sets makeup gain automatically from about 10 seconds of audio.
- Sidechain and output: high-pass, band-pass and low-pass sidechain filters, stereo linking, 2x/4x/8x oversampling and a clip/limit output stage.
When to use it
A free glue-style compressor with modern touches (Range, Mix, instance map). Similar in intent to The Glue or SSL G-Master Buss Compressor in the rated list, but free and new.
- Best for: mix bus, drum bus and parallel compression.
- Genres: pop, rock, electronic, hip-hop.
Where to buy
- Bedroom Producers Blog: Free
Tutorials and reviews
- Gluon: A Free Glue Compressor That Controls Every Instance
- Gluon — бесплатный Glue-компрессор. Управляй всеми инстансами из одного окна.
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