Let me cut to the chase. The Glue is a
magic lamp. It’s one of those tools that
immediately makes you go, “So that’s how
they do it!” It’s also mindlessly simple to
use. The quickest way is to slap it on your
master bus, tweak the knobs until it sounds
good, and maybe follow it with a loudness
maximizer plug-in. If the rest of your mix is
well-crafted, The Glue will push it over the
top and make the low end throb while
ratcheting up the midrange punch. Personally,
I’d compare it to the compressors in
high-end software suites whose prices can
run into four digits.
The knobs cover all the usual bases:
threshold, ratio, attack, release, and
makeup gain. Plus, the wet/dry knob is
great for NYC-style compression tricks,
and the range knob affects the overall
intensity of the compression — everything
from adding a
touch more
aggression to
completely
flattening an
entire track.
Not long
after Josh
Gabriel (of
top club duo
Gabriel and
Dresden) tried it out, he told me, “With so
many compressors out there, producers
usually have a favorite for each situation.
For the mix bus, my new choice is The
Glue. It does exactly what it says — glues
everything together.”
If you’re making music that relies on
thump-you-in-the-chest punch, this could
be the only compressor plug-in you’ll need
for a long time. Seriously.
PROS
Incredibly punchy, dance floor-ready
compression. Sidechain capable. Very
affordable.
CONS
Configuring for sidechain use is a tad
fiddly.
INFO
$99, cytomic.com