Fuse Audio Labs has launched Tube Lab, a classic channel strip plugin constructed round a multi-tube preamp, a Baxandall-style EQ, and an optical compressor with versatile module routing.
In case you’re aware of Fuse Audio Labs (we coated the superb free VPRE-72 Classic Tube Preamp and VREV-666 Spring Reverb plugins prior to now), the developer has severe analog modeling credentials.
Reimund Dratwa, the corporate’s founder, has designed modeling plugins for manufacturers like ACME, Black Rooster, elysia, Millennia, Neold, and Vertigo, amongst others.
And it is smart that this expertise exhibits in Tube Lab.
The preamp part provides 5 traditional tube varieties (12AT7, 12AU7, 12AX7, 6DJ8, and 12DW7), every with its personal steadiness of headroom, density, and grit.
At decrease achieve settings, you get delicate coloration. However whenever you push the drive more durable, issues get fats and aggressive, and it sounds implausible.
The tube choice makes it fairly versatile, and this factor can add shine and heat to something from vocals and bass to drums and full stems.
There’s additionally the three-band Baxandall EQ, which works in broad strokes fairly than surgical precision and sounds very musical. I really like utilizing the sort of EQ to rapidly tilt the tone of a monitor.
Dynamics are dealt with by an opto compressor with traditional and fashionable modes. There’s additionally an non-obligatory computerized achieve management, so you’ll be able to deal with the compression character with out continuously compensating for stage modifications.
One other cool characteristic is the versatile sign stream. The preamp, EQ, and compressor modules could be freely reordered, so you’ll be able to mainly customise the sign path.
Working the compressor earlier than the EQ, or the EQ earlier than the preamp, modifications the character of the processing and offers you the flexibleness {that a} fixed-order channel strip can’t supply.
You possibly can watch the demo video embedded above to listen to the plugin in motion throughout totally different devices and settings, together with some good examples of what it might probably do on the grasp bus.
Tube Lab is out there in VST2, VST3, AAX, and AU codecs for macOS (10.12 or newer, Intel and Apple Silicon) and Home windows (7 or newer).
It’s at the moment on sale for $29 (common value $69) till Could 2nd. A completely useful 14-day trial is out there on the Fuse Audio Labs web site.
Extra data: Fuse Audio Labs Tube Lab ($29 intro / $69)
Final Up to date on April 3, 2026 by Tomislav Zlatic.
