FOCUSRITE FAST PLUGINS
If you’re looking for quick results with minimal fuss, this new range of plugins from Focusrite could be an ideal option. Clue is in the name…
FAST (AU, AAX, VST, VST3) is a new plugin range from Focusrite, developed with smart plugin pioneers Sonible, and it marks the first release from Focusrite’s new online platform, The Collective (see below).
On the face of it, two of the three plugins – FAST Equaliser and FAST Compressor – cover typical ground. Meanwhile the third plugin, FAST Reveal, provides frequency-specific ducking and is designed to help differentiate between two tracks that occupy the same frequency area. Nevertheless, the important thing here is that all three plugins use an analysis-infused platform designed for quick results, with informative feedback and further editing via a two-tier (FAST and Detailed) user interface.
You’re not required to use the onboard analysis (Learn) feature; however if you do, all three plugins have a pretty similar modus operandi. You start by selecting a core plugin specific instrument profile – Drums, Bass, Vocals and so on – and you then play your track to analyse its content (Learn). The analysis generates three graded processing flavours to choose from and then there are plugin-specific ways to apply the results. For FAST Equaliser this is Intensity (0 to 150%), for FAST Compressor a Compression amount and for FAST Reveal a Ducking amount (0 to 100%). Beyond this the FAST Equaliser also has a bunch of profilespecific gains (Flavour Sliders) with task-specific labels. So the snare drum profile includes Punch, Knock and Presence for example. You can change profiles at any time, and for all three plugins further editing is done in the Detailed parameter windows. If you want to analyse a different section of audio, simply select Relearn.
It’s educational
This is all pretty slick and the FAST analysis gave us some great results. What’s more, there are some nifty features worth exploring in the Detailed views. FAST Equaliser is a 7-band design with resonant high and low shelves and adjustable high and low-pass filters (up to eighth order). Convenience features include background analyser display, individual band solo and on-screen node-based adjustments. FAST Compressor meanwhile includes optional Input/Output gain compensation, Dry/Wet mix and a tonal option called Spectral Balancing that aims to dynamically improve transparency. We also particularly like the compressor’s colourcoded visualiser, which not only shows the before-and-after-compression waveform, but also the effect of the currently selected parameter (Attack, Release and so on).
FAST Reveal is probably the most interesting of the plugins and also potentially a bit confusing. It prioritises one track over another (they call them background and foreground tracks) and to achieve this, the foreground track is actually assigned as the side-chain, with the plugin placed across the track you want to duck (background). It works pretty well and can be used in quite subtle ways. Detailed parameters include Precision and Speed, and for us the individual solos for input, side-chain and ducked components were particularly useful.
Overall these three FAST plugins are very well executed and whatever your abilities, the intelligent features will speed up your workflow. For novice or intermediate users, the outcomes can also be educational. That said the rent-toown payment model may not appeal to all.