Peak shapingFounders’ price until 30 November
RSL Crucible Get louder without losing the punch.
RSL Crucible bends peaks through the RSL 2181 VCA into a diode clip cell, so the level comes up and transients still land. CLEAN holds a precise ceiling. IMPACT adds character.
AU, VST3, AAX on macOS 11 or later; VST3, Standalone on Windows 10 or later (64-bit). Activates through RSL Hub on up to 4 computers. Also included in RSL All Access.
Made for
Who it is for
Producers and beatmakers
Put snap on a drum bus, a hard edge on a kick or snare, or weight and growl on an 808, with factory presets built for each.
Mix engineers
Hold a mix bus, stem or vocal bus together by taking the tops off the loudest peaks so the rest can come up.
Mastering engineers
Set a clean ceiling ahead of or in place of the final limiter, with 8x oversampling, a true peak guard and dither for the export.
The idea
What it does
RSL Crucible is an analog peak shaper: a clipper for buses, sources and masters that takes the tops off peaks so the rest of the signal can come up.
A clipper lets you raise the level of a mix or source by holding its loudest peaks at a fixed line. Most clippers are a single curve. RSL Crucible is built as a small circuit instead, and every control on the faceplate is a part of it.
The RSL 2181 VCA rounds the peaks on their way in, then a diode clip cell holds the line. Two clamp personalities and four diode types decide how the edge sounds. A display, two clip lamps and DELTA show you exactly what it is taking off, so you can drive into the line by eye and choose the edge by ear.
Signal flow
How it works
The signal runs INPUT, DRIVE, RSL 2181, clip cell, OUTPUT, then the optional true peak guard and dither.
Drive into a fixed line
THRESHOLD sets the level, in dBFS, where the clip cell holds the signal, and the display draws it across the screen. DRIVE pushes the signal into that line. Raise DRIVE for density and level, or lower THRESHOLD for a lower, safer ceiling.
Round the peaks with the RSL 2181
A detector follows the peaks and tells the RSL 2181 VCA how hard to work, so peaks arrive at the clip cell already rounded. SHAPE sets how much of the work it does. TRANSIENT PRESERVE lets attacks through unrounded, and LOW END PROTECT stops the low end driving the detector without filtering the audio.
Hold the ceiling in the clip cell
A pair of diodes and a rail hold the signal at the threshold. Nothing passes it. MODE, TOPOLOGY, KNEE and ASYMMETRY decide the edge, and the optional TRUE PEAK guard and DITHER come last.
Features
Everything in the plugin
THE KNOB ROW
- DRIVE, -24 to +24 dB
- THRESHOLD, -24 to 0 dB
- SHAPE, SOFT to HARD
- KNEE, TIGHT to WIDE
- TRANSIENT PRESERVE, LESS to MORE
- LOW END PROTECT, 20 to 500 Hz
- OUTPUT, -24 to +24 dB
THE EDGE
- CLEAN: a transparent precision feedback clamp
- IMPACT: a passive shunt clamp with a harder, heavier edge
- Silicon, germanium, LED and zener diode pairs
- ASYMMETRY for even harmonics, with a ceiling link
- Click-free crossfades when you change MODE or TOPOLOGY
BETWEEN THE SAMPLES
- Oversampling at 1x, 2x, 4x or 8x
- Render at 16x when the host bounces offline
- TRUE PEAK look-ahead guard at THRESHOLD plus OUTPUT
- DITHER to 16 or 24 bit, last in the chain
- Fixed latency at every setting
SEEING THE CLIP
- WAVEFORM view with the threshold line and CLIP readout
- SPECTRUM view of input against output
- TRANSFER view of the core’s static curve
- SCALE at 1s, 5s or ∞, plus HOLD
- +CLIP and -CLIP lamps on the circuit
LISTENING AND CHECKING
- DELTA to hear only what the core removes
- AUTO GAIN moves OUTPUT against DRIVE for level-matched comparison
- CHANNEL LINK: L/R, M/S or OFF
- INPUT and OUTPUT meters in PEAK, RMS or LUFS
- 17 factory presets, plus your own as .rgpreset files
How to get it
Own it, or get every plugin
RSL All Access
This plus 5 more
$15/ mo, billed yearly
Every RSL plugin and every new one, with every update. No card for the trial. Or $18 monthly.RSL Complete
All 6, yours to keep
$349once
Founders’ price, then $449. Every current plugin; new ones are not included.Specs
Compatibility and licensing
- Operating system
- macOS 11 or newer, or Windows 10 64-bit or newer including Windows 11
- Plugin formats
- macOS: Audio Unit, VST3 and AAX. Windows: VST3 and Standalone
- Pro Tools
- Yes, on macOS: the installer includes AAX. There is no AAX on Windows yet
- Activation
- Installed and activated through RSL Hub on up to 4 computers, with no license key
- Current build
- Version 1.0.2 on macOS and Windows
- Channels
- Mono or stereo
- Architecture
- macOS universal binary (Apple Silicon and Intel); Windows 64-bit
- Oversampling
- 1x, 2x, 4x or 8x; optional 16x when rendering offline
- Latency
- Fixed: 169 samples at 44.1 kHz, 173 at 48 kHz, 224 at 96 kHz. Reported to the host
- True peak
- Optional look-ahead guard at THRESHOLD + OUTPUT; OUTPUT readout in dBTP
- Dither
- Off, 16 bit or 24 bit, last in the chain
- Metering
- Peak, RMS or LUFS (short-term)
- Presets
- 17 factory presets; user presets as .rgpreset files
- Interface
- 50 to 150 percent window size; opens at 75 percent
Questions
Questions before you buy
Will it run on my machine?
RSL Crucible runs on macOS 11 or later as a universal binary for Apple Silicon and Intel, and on 64-bit Windows 10 or later. The current build is v1.0.2 on both.
Which formats do I get?
On macOS you get AU, VST3 and AAX. On Windows you get VST3 and a Standalone app.
Does it work in Pro Tools?
Yes on macOS, through the AAX version. There is no AAX build for Windows yet.
How many computers can I use it on?
Up to 4. It activates through the RSL Hub app when you sign in with your Renegade Sound Labs account, so there’s no license key to copy or paste.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. You can try the plugin free for 14 days.
What happens to the price after the offer ends?
The founders’ price of $69 runs through 30 November. After that it’s $99. It’s a one-time purchase, yours to keep with its updates. You can refund it within 14 days of purchase, for any reason.
Is it included in RSL All Access?
Yes. RSL All Access is $15/mo billed yearly or $18 monthly, and starts with a 14-day free trial with no card needed.
How is it different from a compressor or a limiter?
It isn’t a compressor: there is no attack and release, and the clip cell works on the waveform itself, sample by sample. It sits on drums, bass and buses, or on the master ahead of or in place of the final limiter. With TRUE PEAK on, nothing leaves it above the ceiling between samples either.
Does it add latency?
A small, fixed amount: 173 samples at 48 kHz, about 3.6 ms. It’s the same whatever the switches are set to, and every host with delay compensation corrects for it automatically.
Pairs with
Works well alongside it
RSL Crucible
Get louder without losing the punch.
Founders’ price: $69 through 30 November, then $99
- Secure checkout
- Instant access in RSL Hub
- Up to 4 computers
