Try free for 14 days ↗NORTHFX / COMPRESSOR FOR EVERYTHING
One compressor for everything.
Most sessions end up with five different compressors: one for the drums, one for the vocal, one for the bus. PERMAFROST is one compressor for all of it, from transparent control to thick glue, with a release that breathes in time with your song.
Clean, Bus, Punch, Smooth and Vari, each with its own color.
GROOVE times the release to the song's grid.
PUNCH GUARD lets every hit through before it grabs.
14-day free trial. Full version, no licence key needed. Buy when you are ready.
Windows 64-bit · VST3 · Contact NORTHFX for pricing and delivery.
CLEAN transparent digital control, BUS VCA glue, PUNCH fast FET bite, SMOOTH opto with a program-dependent release and VARI vari-mu tube, where the ratio grows with the level. Each brings its own detector, timing, knee and analog COLOR that grows with the compression.
GROOVE times the release so the compressor is back by the next step of your song's grid: 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16 or 1/8 triplets, from your DAW's tempo and position. AUTO and MANUAL release are there too.
PUNCH GUARD lets the first milliseconds of every hit through before the compressor grabs, up to 20 ms. Kick and snare keep their attack while the rest is glued.
LISTEN measures a few seconds of your track, names it (drum bus, bass / 808, vocal, mix bus or instrument) and sets the model, threshold, ratio, timing and sidechain filter for it. A starting point; your ears decide.
BANDS 2 or 3 split the signal and compress each band on its own, with its own threshold offset, amount and solo. Tame a booming low end without touching the vocal.
An internal sidechain with high pass and tilt, or an external one from your DAW to duck the bass under the kick. Stereo link, mid/side, lookahead of up to 5 ms, parallel MIX, AUTO GAIN and A/B at the same loudness.
THE INTERFACE
The WAVE view shows the last five seconds: the gain reduction hanging from the top, the peaks the compressor takes away frozen to ice, the GROOVE grid of your song. The RING view shows the last bar pressing in from the rim like frost.
| Format / system | VST3 · Windows 10 / 11, 64-bit |
|---|---|
| Audio / sidechain | Mono and stereo · internal or external sidechain |
| Models | Clean (digital) · Bus (VCA) · Punch (FET) · Smooth (opto) · Vari (vari-mu) |
| Release | Manual · Auto · GROOVE (1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/8T) |
| Bands | 1, 2 or 3 (Linkwitz-Riley) with threshold offset, amount and solo |
| Latency | None · 1, 3 or 5 ms with LOOKAHEAD (reported to the host) |
| Presets | Drums, Mix & Master, Vocals, Bass & 808, Instruments, Sidechain, Creative · user presets |
| Licence | One person, up to two computers · 14-day full trial |
PERMAFROST / FAQ
Yes. The BUS and VARI models are made for glue on groups, the mix bus and the master, and CLEAN gives transparent control without color. AUTO GAIN and A/B at the same loudness let you judge the compression and not the level.
It times the release to your song: each time the compressor has grabbed, it lets go so that it is back by the next grid step (1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16 or 1/8 triplets), using your DAW's tempo and position. The pumping lands on the groove.
Yes. Switch the sidechain to EXTERNAL and route a signal, for example the kick, to PERMAFROST's sidechain input in your DAW. The bass ducks under every kick.
No, unless you switch on LOOKAHEAD (1, 3 or 5 ms). That latency is reported to your DAW, which compensates it.
Any VST3 host on Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), for example FL Studio, Ableton Live, Cubase, Studio One, Reaper, Bitwig and NORTHFX Studio, the free DAW.
Yes. PERMAFROST runs as the full version for 14 days. After buying, activate it with your licence key; one licence covers one person on up to two computers.
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