MixWave are a plugin and sample library company with an eclectic mixture of plugins emulating high‑end audio outboard, guitar pedals and amps, and drum sample libraries. All of their plugins are top notch, and I was excited to be sent their latest offering, a plugin emulating the Fearn VT-7 compressor.
About D.W. Fearn
D.W. Fearn are an extremely high‑quality manufacturer of outboard gear for audio professionals. All of their units are tube‑based, and they have a reputation for retaining clarity of tone and signal while adding the sought‑after tonal characteristics of vacuum tubes. Having used my business partner’s legacy VT‑1 on many projects, I can confirm the superb quality of that particular preamp across a wide range of sources.
The Fearn VT-7 is a mixbuss and mastering compressor, well known for its ability to add transparent compression, even at more aggressive settings.
First Impressions of the Plugin
I had a couple of projects on the go, so I placed the plugin on the master buss of several tracks.
The plugin looks like a one for one copy – it’s a simple affair on the surface, with your usual threshold, makeup, attack and release controls. A central knob control enables the compressor to be stereo linked, or dual mono, with controls for each side if you choose to unlink them. There’s an extra option with a HPF on the linked side, at around 100Hz I think.
At the top of the GUI, a few extra features give the software more flexibility than the hardware unit. Input and output gain adjustments, high‑ and low‑pass filters on both ends, a mix knob for parallel compression, and oversampling options from 1x to 8x are all included. Oversampling dramatically alters the sound but comes at a computational cost — maxing the setting at 8x oversampling pushed my M2 Max desktop to around 15% CPU usage.
There’s also a preset menu. I have the pre-release copy, so there are no presets currently available for me to try, but I’ve been reliably informed that there will be 200 presets, and judging by the calibre of people who’ve contributed to the presets of their other plugins I’m assured that the menu will not be lacking great starting points for use.
Harder/Softer Instead of Ratio
Instead of any kind of ratio control on this compressor, there’s an unusual Harder/Softer knob. My ears aren’t good enough to be able to tell exactly what this knob does, but I’m fairly certain that it’s doing more than just adjusting the compression ratio. It sounds like it’s affecting the attack and release times somewhat too. I’m not sure. It was great fun experimenting with this control in tandem with attack and release, just hearing all the flexible ways it can be used.
While I dream of owning the original hardware someday, having this algorithm at my fingertips in plugin form feels like a gift
Sound Quality
What IS clear about this plugin, is that it is total and utter magic. I could not believe the incredible lift in quality I was getting from installing it on the mixbuss. Unfortunately I don’t have a VT7 lying around to compare apples to digital apples, but what is undeniable, is that this is an exceptional piece of software.
Placed on my mixbuss, it did the usual gluing, but added a gorgeous, subtle sheen on top. The extra harmonics that the digital tube adds just brought more dimension and life to the mix. It doesn’t over colour the sound, but definitely adds something very attractive.
On most of the tracks I tried it on, (more organic sounds, typically string quartet and subtle electronics) I kept it at the subtle end, with slow attack, faster release, about ¾ of the way round the knob onto the ‘soft’ side of the ‘ratio’, just hitting 1 or 2db of compression. It bought everything up into focus without really making itself known. I’ve struggled to find good, subtle compression for orchestral sounds, and this just worked incredibly well.
For more rhythmic tracks I experimented with the hard/soft knob, and while I was able to hear the compression the further I went to the ‘hard’ side, I was very impressed with just how much compression I was getting without it feeling squashed and lifeless, especially when paired with the wet/dry knob to bring back some of the uncompressed signal.
Conclusion
One of the main characteristics of good outboard pres and compressors is the ability to ‘play’ into them, and the forgiving and musical nature of the outgoing result. I don’t often feel the same way with plugins, but this one was definitely an exception. It was very hard to make it sound bad, even using it extremely. Smooth is the word!
While my hope is that one day, I’ll be lucky enough to own the original hardware for my work, I’m truly impressed how the advancement of the algorithm enables me to have plugins like this one, from Mixwave. It really is an excellent mix tool.
Designed for mix buss, it’s useful on any source – from breathing life into sample pianos and strings, to playing the LA2A part on a vocal, and so on. It’s a fraction of the cost of the real thing, and as such is a total no brainer if you’re looking for a smooth finishing compression for your music. Highly recommended.
The MixWave Fearn VT-7 plugin comes in all major formats and is currently available at an intro price of $139 (regular $189).
For more information, visit the official MixWave Fearn VT-7 product page.
