Mastino 60

VCA with a bad temper.

Not transparent glue. Not a polite leveller. Mastino 60 is a fast hard-knee VCA-style compressor built for material that needs grip: drums, bass, guitars, synths, and parallel buses.

Set the threshold, choose how hard it clamps, shape the detector with the sidechain filter, then blend with Mix. Stereo Link keeps the image stable when you need it, or lets each side move when you want more motion.

Linux + Windows.
VST3 / CLAP.
Offline-first.

CLAP · VST3 Linux | Windows

Signature Moves

Drum Clamp

Fast gain reduction, hard-knee attitude, and enough recovery movement to make close mics and buses feel more urgent.

Bass Lock

Hold low-end notes in place without turning the attack into paste. Use the detector filter when the lows push too hard.

Parallel Crush

Drive it harder than you should, then pull Mix back. The useful range is not hidden in a menu.

What Is Mastino 60

Hard-knee VCA-style compression

Mastino 60 is a direct compressor: threshold sets where the clamp begins, Compress sets how hard the detector turns gain down, and Output brings the level back where it belongs. It is built for decisive dynamics work rather than invisible levelling.

The sidechain filter changes what the detector listens to. Push it when kick drums or bass fundamentals are making the compressor overreact; pull it back when you want the full signal to drive gain reduction. Stereo Link controls whether the detector behaves as one linked stereo control path or lets each side move more independently.

Mix is built in because this style of compression often sounds best when the obvious version is blended under the clean one. Quality modes let you pick the right CPU/accuracy point for tracking, mixing, or rendering, while the plugin reports fixed low latency to the host.

Mastino 60 is offline-first. The plugin does not phone home during use, does not collect telemetry, and does not require an internet connection after activation. One license file, one plugin.

Control Surface

Control	Function
Threshold	Input-dependent compression threshold · Lower until the gain reduction meter moves with the groove
Compress	Compression amount / ratio control · Moderate for control, high for clamp and parallel work
SC Filter	Detector low-frequency shaping · Raise it when kick or bass makes the compressor overreact
Stereo Link	Detector linking control · Higher for stable stereo image, lower for more channel movement
Mix	Dry/wet parallel blend, 0-100% · 100% for control, 10-40% for parallel crush
Output	-40 to +40 dB post-compression trim · Level-match before bypass comparison
Quality	Live (1x) / Design (2x) / Mix (4x) / Master (8x) · Live for tracking, Mix for everyday work, Master for final renders

Suggested Placements

[ drum bus ] -> Mastino 60 -> clipper / limiter

Drum Bus Grab. Lower Threshold until the groove starts leaning forward, raise SC Filter if the kick dominates, then trim Output into the next stage.

[ bass ] -> Mastino 60 -> EQ -> [ bus ]

Bass Lock. Use moderate compression to keep notes stable before tone shaping. Blend with Mix if the transient needs to stay exposed.

[ parallel bus ] -> Mastino 60 (heavy) -> blend under source

Parallel Crush. Push the compressor until it is too obvious, then bring Mix down. Useful on drums, percussion rooms, aggressive bass, and synth buses.

System Requirements

OS	Windows 10+ 64-bit / Linux 64-bit (Ubuntu 20.04+, Fedora, etc.)
CPU	Any 64-bit x86
Latency	Fixed low latency, host-compensated
Sample rate	44.1 kHz - 192 kHz
Activation	Email activation — No iLok, No Dongle
Formats	CLAP · VST3 · Windows / Linux
Version	1.0.0

Operational FAQ

Q: Does Mastino 60 add latency?

Yes. Mastino 60 reports fixed low latency to the host so your DAW can compensate automatically.

All Mastino 60 FAQs →