Êpica Audio has released The Hammer compressor for macOS, which is free for a limited time.
As a lowly macOS user, too set in my ways to jump ship (and not responsible enough to steer two ships), I’m occasionally left on the sidelines. At the same time, the Windows folks enjoy various plugins I might never have.
The release of The Hammer compressor is one of the rarer occasions when I can say sorry, Windows, it’s macOS-only! Joking aside, it’s early days, and I Imagine a Windows release will come down the line at some point.
The Hammer is a pretty straightforward compressor, at least in terms of functionality. There are very few controls to familiarize yourself with; the interface has four adjustable parameters: Comp, Output, Attack, and Release.
Comp adjusts the threshold and gain, and the Output slider ranges from -12dB to +12 dB. The remaining two sliders adjust the compressor’s Attack and Release speed.
Although the interface indicates what to expect from The Hammer, it has a distinct quality that could help drag out some of the core characteristics of the sound, whether it’s vocals or an instrument.
The interface might divide opinions with its cartoon-like, 1980s computer appearance; however, I quite like it.
I played around with The Hammer on various sources, and if you want some extra warmth, it does that pretty easily. If you wish to enhance the tone and bring out a fuller, richer sound that magnifies the character of a sound without becoming overbearing, it does that, too.
As a keyboardist, I sometimes want more attack or aggression on certain sounds, but that often becomes too transformative, and much of the original character is lost.
Having run through banks of keyboard sounds, including many that aren’t obvious candidates, I found that The Hammer gives a nice punchy attack while maintaining the original character, and that’s one way I’ll put it to use again.
Despite the name, The Hammer isn’t just a tool for smashing everything, and it reminds me to mention Vidar Audio’s Hammer compressor that we covered previously (check it out if you missed it last time).
There are currently two plugins on the Êpica Audio website (The Hammer and Drivedown), with more coming soon.
The latter one, Drivedown, costs $59 (plus tax), and although I can’t confirm, we might see a similar price for The Hammer when this limited-time offer expires.
It seems that the common theme from Êpica Audio will be plugins that have an immediate impact with minimal tweaking, and I think that works well in most cases.
The Hammer is quick and easy to download, but remember it’s only free for a limited time, so get it while you can.
Download: The Hammer (FREE for a limited time)
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