U-HE | Presswerk Compressor Plug-in U-HE

Presswerk

Presswerk: Dynamics processor with musical soul

Presswerk is more than an emulation of a single hardware compressor. Like Satin, Presswerk is a toolkit, drawing ideas and inspiration from a number of sources. It starts with warmth of classic analogue units and adds features only possible in the digital realm. The result is a powerful compressor with a rich feature set and a very musical soul.

Presswerk was designed to fit into any workflow, no matter what task you throw at it. Presswerk gives you the tools for better sound.

Presswerk in the spotlight…

• 6 special views for better workflow: Easy, Vocal, Drum, Bus, M/S and Limiter
• Capable of internal sidechaining, with bipolar delay, low cut and high cut filters (6 or 12dB per octave)
• Internal parallel (New York) compression
• M/S mode
• Skinnable UI
• Over 120 factory presets for common compression tasks

Presswerk is a powerful dynamics processor with a musical soul. An easy-to-use interface and a rich feature set give you hands-on control over all details of your sound. Presswerk doesn’t emulate famous compressors, it blends the warmth of classic hardware models with developments that are only possible in the digital domain.

Presswerk has all the features you expect in a compressor…

• Sidechaining: Use ducking to create more space in your mixes, or get creative with keying and pumping effects.
• Adjustable compression curve and envelope: Find the best settings, get the most out of your audio using the soft knee, compression ratio, attack and release and other controls.
• Loud: Oh yes, Presswerk is more than capable of making your tracks louder.
• Soft clip: Roll off those harsh peaks and avoid distortion when output levels get too high.

plus what we added to enhance Presswerk’s capabilities:

• 6 special views for better workflow: Drum Compressor, Vocal Compressor, M/S Program Compressor, Easy Compressor, Bus Compressor, Limiter (see the screenshots above).
• M/S mode: More detailed stereo signal processing
• Dual Phase Rotator (DPR): applies a radio broadcaster’s trick to reduce unwanted asymmetries in the signal. It smears phases, increases headroom a little and adds bass ‘oomph’.
• Saturation: This is where Presswerk really shines—adding colour and character to your audio. Apply Saturation sparingly for subtle warmth and transient-taming, or crank it up to create tape overdrive-like effects.
• Internal parallel compression: The Mix controls let you blend the compressed and uncompressed signals. This helps preserve some of the original, natural dynamics.
• Variable detection topologies:
  • Feed-forward is modern and ‘surgical’, it tracks the input very precisely.
  • Feed-back is ‘musical’, loose-sounding and forgiving—like classic hardware.
  • Interactive continuously analyzes the signal and blends FF and FB accordingly.
• Adjust and store global preferences
• New MIDI learn controls

Requirements

• Mac OS X 10.9 or newer
  or
  Windows 7 or newer
  or
  Linux
• Host software / DAW
• 1GB RAM, more recommended
• 50MB free disk space
• 1000 × 600 or larger display
• Modern CPU required:
  Windows/Linux: Intel Nehalem or newer, AMD Bulldozer or newer
  Mac: Intel Nehalem or newer, Apple M1
• Linux: glibc version 2.28 or newer

Formats

Presswerk  is not a standalone product, it requires host software. Presswerk is compatible with nearly all DAWs.

macOS:
AUv2, VST2, VST3, 64-bit only
temporarily no AAX (read more)

Windows:
VST2, VST3, AAX*
32-/64-bit

* AAX requires Pro Tools 10.3.7 or later