Focusrite has launched a new range of plugins which use AI to make processing which has previously been difficult for people without a background in engineering easier to engage with and more accessible without dumbing down. The first three plugins launched are an EQ, a compressor and a ducker. We have the details.
FAST Equaliser
EQ takes time to learn. Everyone understands bass and treble but making the right decision requires experience. FAST Equaliser has been designed to locate the active sweet spots in your audio and give you tailored controls to sculpt the tone and fit sounds perfectly in the mix. It automatically finds the right EQ curve for your audio within seconds and presents the controls to you using descriptive language so you can make adjustments that bring out the best in your sound, and keep moving.
FAST Compressor
Compression is the thing everyone talks about but to learn to use a compressor properly is hard. Even harder than EQ. FAST Compressor is designed to maintain control over dynamics and help your sounds fit in the mix while keeping you in the zone. It’s smart but not completely automatic so you can dial in the right sound with some help if you need it.
FAST Reveal
Ducking can be anything from gently pushing an element down to make room for another all the way to hard pumping effects. Ducking doesn’t have to be obvious to be useful in your mixes and by balancing two signals competing in the same frequency range mixes can become clearer and easier to mix. FAST Reveal “reveals” the frequency of the track in the foreground by ducking the track in the background, whenever there are clashes in the frequency spectrum.
To appreciate the thinking behind these plugins watch the video below which shows the EQ and compressor in use on a vocal. The example nicely illustrates how this AI-driven approach presents the user with a limited set of choices but by switching to detailed view a more experienced user isn’t shut out if they want to tweak the AI-driven starting point.
The FAST plugins have been tested on both Mac and Windows (where applicable) in the following DAWs:
Ableton Live 9 & 10
FL Studio
Reaper 4 & 5
Pro Tools 11 or later (Pro Tools First is not supported)
Logic Pro 9 & 10
Garageband
Reason 11
Studio One 5
Cubase 10.5
The plugins are supplied as a 64-bit VST, VST3 AU, AAX