VM-COMP
The Ultimate Glue Compressor
The most faithful emulation of a modern yet legendary tube compressor/limiter – perfect glue for mixing and mastering
149,00€
An industry-standard tube compressor
Variable-bias tube compressors deliver smooth, transparent gain control, and naturally “glue” buses, mixes, and masters together.
Unfortunately, the original hardware is expensive and difficult to integrate with in-the-box workflows. Software emulations exist, but most owners of the hardware agree that they cannot be compared to the original unit, as there’s always “something” missing.
With its unique Topology Preservation Technology, Pulsar VM-Comp sounds objectively identical to the hardware in every production context, but also introduces improvements such as visual sidechain EQ editing and extended timing ranges.
■ Sounds objectively identical to the hardware
■ Signature “glue” compression on buses and masters
■ Complete Sidechain EQ, Look-ahead & Look-behind
■ Zero-latency for tracking / oversampling for mixing
■ 100+ presets and modern analyzers
Pulsar Mu becomes Pulsar VM-Comp
(Free Update for Mu owners)
Listen In Action
The tracks below showcase VM-Comp being used on dry recorded track and against the original hardware.
Rock Drum Bus
Funk Mix Bus
Metal Drum Loop
Funk Guitar Bus
A Modern Take on a Legendary Compressor
Pulsar VM-Comp is a stereo compressor operating in either Left/Right or Mid/Side modes, designed with mixing and mastering applications in mind, but also flexible enough for tracking. It can be used for levelling, limiting, or just to add a bit of analog warmth with its emulated tube signal path.
Real-Time Visuals
While reproducing the accurate SIFAM metering of the original unit, Pulsar VM-Ccomp also provides a more modern visualization mode for fine-tuning compression settings, representing the waveform and gain reduction both over time and instantaneously.
Full-featured Sidechain EQ
Pulsar VM-Comp also offers various options that apply to the sidechain signal. A popular mod of the original device was to add a high-pass filter, but Vm-Comp goes even further, offering a more complete equalization section, enabling to precisely adjust the compressor’s response to bass, midrange and treble using only four knobs. And you can now freely edit the Pulsar VM-Comp sidechain EQ with an on-screen curve editor
Master Transients with Total Timing Control
Another addition is the possibility of advancing (look-ahead) or delaying (look-behind) the sidechain signal. This enables you to take ultimate control over transients, letting the compressor start to react before they happen, or even after they happen, opening up all kinds of creative uses.
Extended Attacks and Releases
Faster attacks and releases let you dial in a more aggressive, mid-forward timbre, impossible to achieve with the original unit. Discover even more creative uses of this powerful “color box” that is the VM-Comp.
How Does It Sound?
Transparent but musical
The sound of Pulsar VM-Comp is impressively transparent with a touch of warmth. It manages transients in a soft and musical way, even with extreme settings, unlike a FET or VCA compressor. With VM-Comp, you can add movement while respecting the natural dynamics of a source.
Mastering
The most classic use of VM-Comp is in mastering: it brings the discreet "polish" and "glue" to subtly warm up any mix. It can be used either transparently as a leveller (with long attack and release), as a compressor to add glue (slow attack with fast release), or as a limiter (fast attack and fast release). Using VM-Comp in Mid/Side mode gives you another way to increase stereo image, or to curtail an overly wide mix.
Drum buss
Pulsar VM-Comp can quickly create the “glue” needed for cohesive drum buss processing, while still respecting transients – even those of a kick drum. Depending on the chosen gain reduction and release time, it can restore the room ambience essential for certain styles of music – especially when used as a parallel compressor.
Acoustic guitar
On an acoustic guitar, with a relatively low gain reduction setting, Pulsar VM-Comp creates a nice organic groove, while respecting the transients of the instrument. This subtlety is useful for livening up a dull, stiff guitar track, giving it edge and personality.
Snare drum
Pulsar VM-Comp can give body and consistency to thin snare drums sounds, even while preserving their transients, which are essential for helping them break through the mix. When pushed a little harder, VM-Comp can help you recover sustain, harmonics, or even ambience.
Vocals
Pulsar VM-Comp sounds particularly good on vocals – especially with fairly high input and medium attack and release. It gives them the analog-style warmth to help them sit naturally, even in a dense mix.
“Pulsar VM-COMP is a beautifully responsive compressor, adding depth and width to material in such a solid, subtle way as to almost be invisible. It cuddles the sound. I love it.”
Vessel
Electronic Producer | Musician
Red Sex | Paplu (Love That Moves The Sun)
“Since I have Pulsar VM-COMP, I use it in almost every project. Pulsar Audio really did an amazing job on this one, I am really a new fan now! The sound is just right, super calm feeling and the interface is nice and easy to use. Thank you Pulsar Audio!”
Robert Babicz
Music Producer | Mastering Engineer
Dark Flower | Human
“Being a fan of extra warmth in the low-mids, the Pulsar VM-COMP works its magic on bass.”
Koen Heldens
Grammy-nominated mixing engineer
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse | XXXTENTACION | Kanye West
“I use Pulsar VM-Comp plugin on every mix. It gives me true tube smoothness which rounds off any harshness. Aside from the dynamics control that you get with a compressor /limiter, I find that Pulsar Audio plugins give me the truly wonderful analog character and focus that I require.”
Neal Merrick Blackwood
Producer | Mixing Engineer | Songwriter
Johnny Cash | Cindy Lauper | Willie Nelson
“Slower releases are an important part of mixbus processing for me. And the Pulsar VM-COMP reacts beautifully at the slowest releases while handling complex materials. Oh and also, it is the one I use on bass – with a special setting – if I feel the bass doesn’t stand out consistently enough.”
William Robertson
Mixing Engineer | Record Producer
Mick Jagger | Travis Scott | Nicki Minaj | Will.I.Am | Future
Featured videos
Pulsar VM-Comp Review
Add punch and life to a drum bus
Pulsar VM-Comp & MP-EQ
Main Features
Topology Preservation Technology
Our modelling technology guarantees a perfect emulation of the original device’s behavior. From the saturation of the magnetic flux in the transformers, to the precise response of the tubes, to the effects of tiny calibration defects, everything is perfectly reproduced. For more info, take a look at our technical article on the subject.
Powerful sidechain EQ
High-passing the sidechain is possible with Pulsar VM‑Comp, but so is a lot more, thanks to an entire sidechain EQ section. Five filter types are available here, as is band solo and sidechain audition to help perfectly tailor your signal and arrive at the ideal detection response.
Mid-Side processing
Pulsar VM‑Comp comes with built-in optional M/S encoding and decoding, enabling a signal’s mono and stereo information to be processed separately with different settings. The Listen buttons simplify the setting by allowing you to listen to Mid or Sides signals in isolation, and the modern visualization can be set to monitor only the channel you’re working on, so you always know what you’re doing.
Look ahead, look behind
This innovative feature lets you shift the timing of Pulsar VM‑Comp’s gain reduction compared to the input. Look-ahead enables the VM‑Comp to start reacting to transients even before they happen, ensuring perfect limiting. Conversely, the look-behind delays the gain reduction, so that fast transients can be left unprocessed while the gain reduction kicks in after them. This opens up various possibilities like clipping transients separately after VM‑Comp has done its work.
Advanced metering section
Gain reduction, input level and output level are all visible in different ways. The scrolling gain reduction meter offers a view of gain reduction and the audio signal; VU-style metering shows instantaneous gain reduction for both stereo channels; and LED-style input, output and gain reduction is available to calibrate peak and RMS loudness.
Extended Attacks and Releases
Faster attacks and releases let you dial in a more aggressive, mid-forward timbre, impossible to achieve with the original unit. Discover even more creative uses of this powerful “color box” that is the VM‑Comp.
External sidechain
Pulsar VM‑Comp allows to define an external sidechain input, as all compressors should in the digital age. This opens a very wide range of applications: ducking, de-essing, filtering the sidechain signal with your favourite EQ, or even applying dynamic processing.
Low CPU consumption
We spent a ridiculous amount of time optimizing VM‑Comp to consume as few system resources as possible – despite the complex algorithms at work. Pulsar VM‑Comp takes full advantage of modern CPUs to do more with less. But if your computer can stand it and you enjoy making it suffer, you can always turn oversampling on, processing at rates up to 384kHz!
System Requirements
CPU
- Intel Core i3 / i5 / i7 / i9 / Xeon or AMD Quad-Core minimum
Memory
- 4 GB RAM
- 1 GB free disk space
Operating System
- Windows 10 64 bit
- Windows 11 64 bit
GPU
- OpengGL 2.0 compatible GPU
Monitor
- Resolution: minimum 1024x768, recommended 1920x1080
- Refresh rate: 60 Hz
CPU
- Intel Core i3 / i5 / i7 / Xeon / Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4, M5)
Memory
- 4 GB RAM
- 1 GB free disk space
Operating System
- MacOS 10.11 or later
GPU
- OpengGL 2.0 compatible GPU
Monitor
- Resolution: minimum 1024x768, recommended 1920x1080
- Refresh rate: 60 Hz
Compatible plugin formats
AAX Native
64 bits only
Audio Unit
64 bits only
VST 2.4
64 bits only
VST 3
64 bits only
Downloads
Our software is protected with PACE Anti-Piracy, so you will need an iLok account to use it. On Windows, our installers will automatically install the iLok License Manager on your computer. You can find additional information and support on the PACE iLok website.
FREE Full-feature 14-day trial
These installers set up the complete plugin version and allow to start a full-featured 14-day trial period.
Blue Bundle
Original price was: 298,00€.249,00€Current price is: 249,00€.
Pulsar VM-Comp is also designed and built to complement our industry standard tube compressor plug-in, Pulsar MP-EQ. This powerful combo already constitutes a complete mastering chain that allows a very musical and colorful control of the spectrum and dynamics.
