Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario pairs the superglue of Vari-Mu compression engine with a very musical 4-band EQ on every channel – Low and High shelves, Low-Mid and High-Mid bells, fixed Q, freq and gain at your fingertips.

Our compression DSP concepts have been clearly evolving; we wanted a vari-mu compressor that sounded like a $15k hardware unit, but we wanted it with Auto-Gain so we wouldn’t be fooled by volume changes; listening to the gooeyness spread with no volume change is the candy. Invariably, the EQ needs a nudge either going in or coming out of the compression, so the EQ is for that purpose; it’s not about being corrective, it’s about making it just a little more delicious. We called it Lake Ontario because, like its namesake, it has depth, character and a beautiful, quiet authority. Some things make their presence known without vanity, without needing change.

Threshold, Attack, Release, and a 4-position Ratio (1.5:1 / 2:1 / 4:1 / 6:1) shape the glue; an always-on micro-saturation stage keeps things warm even with the Saturation knob at zero. Stereo, Dual, and Mid-Side modes cover everything from a stable mastering bus to fully independent left/right character.

The EQ Order switch reorders the whole signal path – sculpt the tone before it hits the compressor, or let compression happen first and shape what comes out the other side. Auto Level trims output to hold loudness where it started, so you can judge the processing on its own merits instead of a volume trick. Link ties both channels’ controls together for fast setup, with an option to break them apart for Mid-Side work.

Nine factory presets cover subtle bus glue, vocal warmth, drum bus punch, a transparent mastering setting, and a Mid-Side widening preset built specifically to show off independent Mid/Side control.

Features:

• Vari-Mu compression engine
• 4-band EQ per channel, fixed Q, freq + gain per band
• Switchable Comp>EQ / EQ>Comp signal order
• Auto Level (automatic output gain matching)
• Stereo / Dual / Mid-Side modes
• Link – tie both channels together, or break them apart for M-S work
• Dual VU meters, switchable GR / Output display
• 9 factory presets
• Windows / macOS (Universal) / Linux, VST3 + AU