KERN Audio has released PUSH, a three-character compressor plugin for macOS and Windows. You can get the complete KERN Audio bundle for $59 (down from $69) until Sunday, May 25.
PUSH is the fifth plugin in the KERN lineup, following SMOOTH, WARM, WIDE, and the free CHECK mono compatibility analyzer. We had covered the developer’s mixing bundle earlier this year, and PUSH now joins the paid lineup as the dynamics tool in the chain.
The main idea is that PUSH should sit before your final compressor, not replace it. It works across 40 ERB-spaced frequency bands, applying dynamics in a way that follows how our ears group frequencies rather than using a few broad crossover zones.
KERN describes it as “the step before your compressor,” which makes sense if you often use one plugin to clean up the signal before hitting an SSL-style bus comp, 1176, LA-2A, Pro-C, or whatever your usual final dynamics choice might be.
There are three characters on board.
SETTLE is the slow bus glue mode, TIGHT is for faster transient control on drums, bass, and percussion, and DRIFT is the more unusual one because it uses per-band upward compression to lift quieter details like room tone, sustain tails, breath, and top-end air.
That DRIFT mode is probably the most interesting part for me. We have no shortage of compressors that pull peaks down, but a simple way to bring out ambiance or quiet detail without dragging up the low-end mud is a useful problem to solve with a plugin.
The interface follows the same KERN philosophy as the rest of the lineup. You get AMOUNT, SPEED, FOCUS, and MIX controls, plus a character selector. The deeper compression curves, timing behavior, and gain computer decisions are handled internally rather than exposed as a long list of parameters.
PUSH also includes a real-time spectral display that shows the compression activity across the 40 bands. Four sensitivity nodes let you guide which frequency areas the plugin leans on, and there are buttons for DELTA monitoring, automatic loudness compensation, and external sidechain input.
Under the hood, PUSH uses magnitude-only processing, so the plugin applies gain changes without altering phase. KERN also included cepstral gain smoothing to keep neighboring bands from fighting each other, and the plugin ships with 36 factory presets named after the specific mixing problems they target (nice touch!).
All KERN plugins are $29 individually, but the four paid plugins (SMOOTH, WARM, WIDE, and PUSH) are available in a $59 launch-intro bundle through May 25, 2026. The bundle moves to $69 after that, while existing $59 bundle owners get PUSH for free in their downloads.
It’s also worth noting that a low-latency LIVE mode is finished on SMOOTH and rolling out to PUSH and WARM in the coming weeks.
PUSH is available in VST3 and AU formats for macOS 10.13 or higher and Windows 10 or higher, with a standalone version also listed in the specs. There is no iLok or subscription, and the fully functional demo uses a 45-second audio fade without requiring an email for download.
Download: KERN Audio PUSH ($29)
Last Updated on May 20, 2026 by Tomislav Zlatic.
