Native Instruments - NI Supercharger GT

Native Instruments' latest plugin effect, Supercharger (VST/AU/RTAS/AAX), is a valve-based compressor emulation. Its interface centres on a big Compress knob with gain reduction and output metering on either side.

The left-hand (input) side houses a Trim knob (+/-30dB) and a Sidechain button, the latter activating an external sidechain routed via your DAW's usual method. On the right (output) are Output level (+/-20dB) and Wet/Dry Mix knobs, and two mode buttons: Punch and Dirt. Punch activates a slower attack time, while Dirt applies a touch of saturation to the input signal. Supercharger also includes 14 presets and A/B memory slots.

The compressor design features automatic make-up gain, so the idea is that you simply use the Input Trim knob to get the signal to a suitable level, then crank the Compress knob to go from no compression right up to maximum pumping.