Vac Rac TSL - Out Now

Today we're releasing Vac Rac TSL, developed in close collaboration with Inward Connections. It's the official emulation of the Inward Connections Vac Rac TSL*, a two-channel tube optical compressor found in some of the most legendary studios in the world.

The distinctive way its tubes bloom under program material has made the Vac Rac a favorite for vocals, drums, mix bus and mastering work. Now you can put that sound on every track in your session.

A Modern Boutique Tube Limiter

The Vac Rac series are modern-day boutique tube limiters, hand-built by Steve Firlotte of Inward Connections. Rather than chase a specific vintage design, Firlotte draws on the lineage of classic tube optical limiters while making his own tonal choices. The result is part compressor, part tube saturation box, with a bloom and warmth that work on a wide variety of sources.

Steve worked directly with our team on this emulation, so Vac Rac TSL captures how the hardware actually behaves in a mix, not a generic "vintage" approximation.

Three Units, Three Voicings

Vac Rac TSL lets you switch between three voicings, each modeled from a different hardware unit:

• TSL-5 - The default, modeled from a current TSL-5 in Devin Powers' collection. The most versatile and modern-sounding option.
• TSL-4 - An alternate voicing modeled from a TSL-4, also from Devin Powers' collection, with slightly different tube character.
• TSL-3 - The earliest variant, modeled from the personal unit of Grammy-winning producer/engineer Ross Hogarth. It has a faster attack and release and a touch more aggressive pre-tube high-pass.

Transformer or Transformerless

The Transformers control blends between the stock, transformer-coupled signal path and a transformerless-modded variant. The transformerless path was modeled from the original Vac Rac modular unit owned by Grammy-winning producer/engineer JJ Blair. Positions in between smoothly crossfade the two chains, each with its own emphasis, box tone and tube behavior.

Hardware-Faithful Controls

Like the original, Vac Rac TSL is a two-channel unit. Each channel has its own set of controls:

• Detector HPF - Sidechain high-pass from 10 Hz to 250 Hz, or off
• Ratio - 2:1 to 12:1
• Reduction - 0 to 40 dB of gain reduction
• Makeup Gain - 0 to 40 dB
• Bypass and VU Output - Per-channel bypass, and VU meters that show gain reduction or output level

By default it runs as a dual mono compressor on stereo tracks and buses. Engage Link to link the sidechain across both channels, or switch to mid/side mode for width-independent processing.

Built for the Mix

We've added the modern conveniences you'd expect from a Kazrog plugin:

• THD - Drives the tube stages harder or softer, from subtle warmth to extreme distortion
• Sidechain HPF and LPF - Shape what the compressor responds to on each channel
• Stereo Link and Mid/Side - Process left/right, linked, or mid and side independently
• Wet/Dry Mix - For parallel compression on drums and buses, or subtler mastering moves
• Analog Entropy - Kazrog's component tolerance modeling, for a sense of width on stereo sources without phase issues
• Input and Output Gain - With an optional inverse Gain Link
• Oversampling - Up to 64x in realtime and 256x offline, with selectable Filter Taps
• A/B Compare, adjustable Window Size, and two themes based on alternate faceplates from the original hardware

Efficient and Cross-Platform

Vac Rac TSL is available in VST3, VST2, AAX, Audio Units and LV2 formats on macOS, Windows and Linux. No iLok, no authorization - install it with the free Kazrog Plugin Manager and go. A free, time-unlimited demo is available.

Vac Rac TSL is available now for a launch price of $49.99 (regularly $79.99).