RA-CS1

Signal Chain

Input

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.

Expander

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, and Release give you enough control to be surgical or transparent, whatever the source. A fixed 5 ms lookahead allows you to catch transient onsets in full.

8-Band Parametric EQ

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.

Compressor

The feedback 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.

Drive & Saturation

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.