VCL-373 Vintage Compressor/Limiter

Dressed in Sheepskin

Best of Broadcast

The VCL-373 is a compressor/limiter from the early 1960s designed for the highest demands of German broadcasters, attached with a very high price tag at the time. Its all discrete class-A audio path in combination with highest grade components and transformers made it the perfect last part in the chain for controlling dynamics before actually going on air.

Big and Tight

The effect of the VCL-373 goes from carefully densening the sound up to big and tight compression with great saturation, while keeping a fairly steady output level. It works pure magic on sources which already have a healthy volume and just need that extra creamy push. Vocals, drums and instruments significantly improve in loudness and gain a truly solid feeling.

Extended Versatility

With basically just two controls for the input drive and the release time, the VCL-373 is more than easy to use and provides great sounding results in no time at all. For further flexibility, the plugin ads some convenient features including a continuous drive control, gain compensation, GR metering and a mix control to the original hardware design.

Everything Better

The VCL-373 sounds very realistic and its dynamics control is easy and effective. Instruments will profit big time from its interesting color, and it works pure magic on spoken word and podcasts. In mastering, it achieves significant loudness while keeping the felt dynamics fully intact at the same time. Yes, it’s actually one of those very rare ‘just make everything a bit better’ plugins.

Features

• Broadcast Heritage: Designed in the 1960s for German broadcasters, featuring a discrete Class-A audio path and premium transformers.
• Tight Compression: Delivers smooth compression with added saturation, perfect for enhancing vocals, drums, and instruments.
• Simple & Versatile: Original controls for input drive and release; plugin adds modern features like gain compensation, GR metering, and mix control.
• Sound Enhancement: Adds warmth and punch, ideal for vocals, spoken word, and mastering, improving clarity and perceived loudness while preserving dynamics.

System Requirements 

Mac (64-Bit only)

• Intel compatible or Apple Silicon CPU
• 2GB RAM
• Mac OS 10.12 or newer
• A display resolution of 1280x1024 pixels or more
• A VST2, VST3, AAX or AudioUnits compatible host

Windows (32- and 64-Bit)

• Intel compatible CPU (at least 2 GHz recommended)
• 2GB RAM
• Windows 7 or newer
• A display resolution of 1280x1024 pixels or more
• A VST2, VST3 or AAX compatible host