The most flexible all-in-one dynamics processor
Description
Blue Cat's Dynamics is a full-featured dynamics processor: it can be used as a compressor, limiter, gate, expander, waveshaper, or all at once! The dynamics response of the plug-in can be tweaked with a unique two-threshold system and provides detailed visual feedback about its behavior.
The plug-in includes several filters to control the frequencies affected by the compression. Its continuous VCA/Opto and Peak/RMS control let you smoothly and precisely choose the behavior of the envelope detection like you have never been able to.
The plug-in also provides advanced stereo features, with mid/side processing capability, multiple stereo linking options, and the ability to choose the channels affected by the processor.
An additional brick wall limiter and clipper with optional lookahead protect the output for complete control over the dynamics response.
Three different modes are available for external side chaining, using either the external side chain input, MIDI control, or automation lanes.
The configurable visual feedback shows every detail of what is going on inside the plug-in. You can also record this information as automation curves, to monitor the modifications applied to the signal on top of the audio representation of your favorite host application.
All these features can be controlled from a fully configurable user interface, or from any external controller.
The package includes a mono and a stereo version for optimal CPU usage.
If you are looking for a multiband dynamics processor, check out the Blue Cat's MB-5 Dynamix plug-in, or Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer that can host this plug-in on multiple bands.
Blue Cat Audio Standards:
- Available in most plug-in formats for Mac and Windows.
- Full MIDI control and automation support, MIDI Learn.
- No CPU load on idle: processing shuts down when fed with silence (optimal CPU usage).
- Customizable user interface with transparency & zoom.
- Automation and MIDI output: record output parameters as automation curves or send MIDI CC messages to other plug-ins for powerful side chain effects.
- Smooth Bypass: noiseless plug-in activation / deactivation.
- Undo/Redo.
- Full featured integrated presets manager.
- Copy/paste the state of the plug-in between instances.
- Any sample rate supported.
Version 4.4
- Single Installer on Mac (all plug-ins formats).
- Apple Silicon (M1 processor) support.
- Dropped 32-bit support on Mac.
- Now requires MacOS 10.9 and newer.
- Arrow keys can now be used to navigate presets.
- Added MIDI control support (MIDI CC messages) for Next and Previous Preset commands, with MIDI learn.
- Improved MIDI & automation control settings with lock, reset and "save as global setting" capabilities.
- Improved smooth plug-in bypass (faster and smoother transition).
- Unicode support.
- Windows: improved GUI loading performance.
- VST3: fixed random crash in Ableton Live 11 upon load.
- Mac Audio Unit: fixed plug-in listing in some host applications (Plogue Bidule).
- Mac: fixed GUI performance issues on native P3 displays and improved performance on other displays.
- Mac: fixed mouse wheel that required large movements to change parameter values.
- Mac: fixed mouse cursor flickering issues.
- Mac: fixed Esc key not closing fine edit parameter dialog.
Features
- Full featured dynamics processor: compressor, gate, limiter, expander, waveshaper with a unique two thresholds system.
- Total control over the processor: continuous peak/RMS and Opto/VCA modes selection, peak envelope shape control, depth control to limit the gain range, lookahead.
- Total control over the signal: dry/wet control for parallel compression, input and side chain filters.
- Stereo or mid-side processing with multiple channels linking options.
- Post brickwall limiter or clipper with lookahead.
- Optimal monitoring: dynamics response, envelopes and gain reduction real time display with zooming capability. The main compression information can be recorded as automation curves.
- Best quality: up to 4x oversampling for the best sounding quality.
- Multiple side chaining modes: a unique way to perform side chain compression, ducking, gating and much more.
- Fully configurable user interface for optimal experience.
- No latency (except with lookahead).
Tech Specs
MAC
OS X Mac OS 10.9 or newer.
CPU: An Intel or Apple Silicon processor.
Plugins: VST-2, VST-3, AU, AAX
WINDOWS
Windows Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows 7, 8 or 10.
CPU: An SSE2-enabled processor (Pentium 4 or newer).
Plugins: VST-2, VST-3, AAX