Rockedge Audio have released RA-CS1, available at the intro price of $59.00, increasing to $79.00 after the promotion.
RA-CS1 is the answer to those of us who are tired of 1970s console channel strip emulations. It’s a stereo channel strip purpose-built for modern sessions. Four stages in one fixed chain: Expander, 8-band parametric EQ, Compressor, Drive. Learn the chain once, and cleaning up any track turns into a fast, repeatable move. Gain staging is built in: input gain, polarity inverter, and an Auto mode that listens to 3 seconds of your audio and shows you the measured peak and RMS before you decide to apply. Presets save as files to follow you across projects and DAWs. And crucially, it stays light on CPU even with 2× oversampling across the whole path: no EQ cramping or aliasing from saturation.
The Input stage is minimal: a gain knob, a polarity inverter, and one AUTO button. Gain staging becomes a single press: play a representative section of the track, hit Auto, and it measures peak and RMS over 3 seconds. A confirmation panel shows you the readings and the suggested gain adjustment before anything is applied.
The downward expander sits at the front of the chain, cleaning up noise and bleed before any other processing touches the signal. Threshold, Ratio, Range, Attack and Release give you enough control to be surgical or transparent, whatever the source.
Eight fully parametric bands — from high-pass filtering to surgical cuts to broad shelving. Each band is a node on the spectrum chart: click to place it, drag to move it. Solo or mute any band to hear exactly what it’s doing. High-pass and low-pass filters sweep from 12 to 48 dB/oct.
The Feedforward compressor sits after the EQ, shaping the dynamics of a spectrally balanced signal. It’s a VCA compressor, stereo-linked, with the familiar controls: Threshold, Ratio, Knee, Attack, Release. Gain reduction is shown in real time. A Mix knob blends the compressed signal with the dry signal for parallel compression — anywhere from full parallel to fully wet.
The cherry on the cake: a drive stage at the end of the chain adds harmonic colour once the dynamics are settled. Four saturation modes — TUBE, TAPE, JFET, BJT — dial in anything from subtle warmth to full-on aggression. A Mix knob blends dry and saturated signal for parallel saturation. The LINK button ties Drive and Makeup together so every increase in drive is offset by an equal Makeup reduction, keeping output level consistent while you explore the character.
The Output stage is a gain knob with a MATCH button. It measures your input and output over 3 seconds and suggests an Output Gain so the processed level matches the original. Apply or cancel.
RA-CS1 is available to PC and Mac users VST3 and AU).
For more information on RA-CS1, click here:
NOTE: Some of the links you click on may be affiliated. Clicking and purchasing using these links helps support and fund The Beat Community. Thanks for your support.
