Acustica Audio Smoke is a 1950s model of American radio sound. The set of plug-ins includes emulations of rare equipment.
The Smoke Stereo EQ is inspired by the “purple style” EQs, as Acustica Audio likes to say, when it really means “Pultec”. However, there are also some things that are different here. For example, a wider frequency range to boost high frequencies. According to the manufacturer, the passive design provides very musical EQ curves with a “special” sound.
Unlike all hardware, 15 different preamps are available – of course, only purely virtual ones. You can activate up to 16x oversampling for better sound quality. You can also choose from two models for high and low frequencies. By the way, there are four bands available, all fully parametric.
The heart of the kit this time is the Smoke Comp, that is, the compressor. It uses the famous 1956 Var-Mu compressor (its reissue). There are six release settings and three modes of operation for different audio material. And of course, the manufacturer once again drew attention to the nice emulation of a preamplifier with a tube character. And since this compressor is the heart of the kit, you can even purchase it separately.
— See also: Acustica Audio Jet: Hybrid 2 Band Dynamic EQ – Basic Version Free! —
Smoke Strip is a channel strip that combines the best elements. So you get a fully parametric 4-band EQ with high and low pass filters and compressor emulation. Each plug-in comes in two versions: ZL (stands for Zero Latency) and Standard.
Plugins work like VST2, VST3, AAX and AU on macOS and Windows. Aquarius manufacturer software is required for installation and licensing. Acustica Audio Smoke is on sale until April 20, 2022 for only 99 euros instead of the usual 149 euros. You can also purchase “Smoke Comp” separately for 79 euros.
More details on the official website: Acustica Audio.
