Focusrite FAST Series plugins

From £5.99/month Focusrite meets Sonible for these new ‘smart’ mixing tools. Si Truss takes a spin…

- Si Truss

UK interface dons Focusrite first announced their partnership with Austrian plugin developer Sonible back in 2019, and last summer released a co-branded freebie in the form of auto-EQ plugin Balancer. We’re now seeing the true fruits of the collaboration with the launch of Focusrite’s new software hub, The Collective, and a trio of Sonible-powered FAST plugins.

The three plugins inaugurating the range are FAST Equaliser, FAST Compressor and FAST Reveal. As with Balancer last year, at the heart of each is Sonible’s impressive intelligent analysis technology, which can listen to incoming audio and create a mixing preset tailored to fit the current track.

FAST Equaliser and FAST Compressor are intentionally straightforward in design. Hit ‘Learn’ in either and the plugin listens to the input for a few seconds before creating an EQ or compression treatment to improve what it’s hearing. Each offers a selection of profiles to help the plugin work out the intended application – eg drums, acoustic guitar, vocal low, vocal high – plus hard, soft and neutral ‘flavours’.