New York, NY (March 22, 2024)—The Three-Body Technology (TBT) Cenozoix Compressor (64-bit VST2, VST3, AAX, AU, distributed by Plugin Alliance) is a new, comprehensive plug-in. It provides a whopping 24 different compressor styles. A dozen are emulations of classic units, and the others feature TBT’s own “modern” algorithms. What’s more, it offers a large set of controls—many of which are innovative—to manipulate compression behavior.
If you’re wondering about the name, TBT says on its website that it references the Cenozoic Era, “a time of massive mammalian progress, after the extinction of the dinosaurs.”
The GUI features a large graphic display that’s split into two areas: The Threshold Panel features a large blue control point that you can drag to change the Threshold. The latter shows the incoming waveforms, the amount of gain reduction and also lets you adjust the Threshold—in this case, with a line you can pull up and down.
The twelve emulative compressor choices include FET, Opto, Diode Bridge, Vari-Mu and VCA simulations. Although TBT doesn’t identify the models specifically, the names they’ve given them—such as Brit VCA, Blue FET, Vintage Tube etc.—and the look of their knobs, strongly hint at the original units being emulated. The twelve modern compressor choices have descriptive names like Tight, Clean, Drum, and Smooth.
The Cenozoix Compressor’s control set goes well beyond what’s typical on a compressor, offering a large selection of adjustable parameters, most of which are available for both the vintage and modern algorithms. For example, there’s a Feed-Forward/Feedback knob to change the compressor’s character over a continuous range.
The knob labeled Odd/Even gives you control over which type of harmonics get created. The Peak/RMS knob enables a choice between one or the other of those two compression modes or a balance between them.
The Clamp knob turns up a process that re-compresses transients that initially “leak” through due to slow attack times. The De-Click control reduces clicks from ultra-fast transients when you’ve dialed in hard compression. The Punch/Pump slider gives you transient shaping ability.
Product of the Week: Waves SuperRack LiveBox
You can control the release manually or use the Smart Release feature, which automatically adjusts the attack and release times based on the program material and the compressor type. The sidechain controls let you switch from stereo to mid-side operation and even let you process the mid channel from the side channel and vice versa. Oversampling and Lookahead functions are also avaialab.e
Those are just some of the features of this bountiful compressor plug-in. Go to the Three Body Technology website to download a 14-day free trial or purchase it for $139. The Cenozoix Compressor is also included in the Plugin Alliance Mega subscription bundle.
