“Compression really is the salt of music mixing. It’s the ultimate tool of a mix engineer and the Vulf Compressor is a really boutique, top-shelf Himalayan pink sea salt. This can really change the direction of a song. It’s kind of a one-trick pony in the best sense, in that it gives our songs a really distinct sound and some people will just put it on the entire track. It’s been a really cool addition to people finding out about Vulfpeck through this plugin. I really believe in it. We would not be selling it or commanding that price if it wasn’t a total game changer.”
“On the outside it may look like a Volvo, but under the hood it’s a monster truck!!”
“I bought the compressor.”
Sometime around the turn of the century, an unknown Japanese DSP engineer engineered a radically weird compression algorithm for the Boss SP-303 Dr. Sample Sampler.
Years passed, and this “Vinyl Sim” compression languished in obscurity, a dark art known only to practitioners of instrumental beatmaking, producers like J Dilla and Madlib.
But then Vulfpeck’s Jack Stratton read about the compression algorithm on a forum and enlisted two friends, Devin Kerr and Rob Stenson (co-founders of Goodhertz), to bring that algorithm to life in a digital form.
But Devin did more than just bring it to life — he expanded the algorithm, fine-tuned the sound, perfected its oddity.
And now that compression is the Vulf Compressor.
Vulf Compressor in use
HAIM - I've Been Down
“I’ve Been Down” features Wow Control and Vulf Compressor on the keys to recreate the sound of “an old or sampled recording.”
Dua Lipa - Don’t Start Now
Vulf Compressor was featured on Dua Lipa’s lead vocal on her multi-Platinum, Grammy-nominated single, “Don’t Start Now.”
BTS - FAKE LOVE
“There’s also another ghost snare, the ‘vibe perc snare’, on which I have the Vulf, which is a very vibey, slightly vintage‑sounding compressor, which can sound brutal. Sometimes brutal is good! It has a great sound to it, and it is compressing the room” — James F. Reynolds (Mix Engineer)
Holy Trinities: Tambourine
Vulf Compressor gets a shout-out in this video from Jack Stratton on his three favorite tambourinists.
A Brief History of Vulf Compressor
In a short podcast, Jack Stratton tells the story of the Vulf Compressor from inception to realization.
“Cars Two” (Trem Ctrl → Vulf Compressor → Faraday Limiter)
Manipulating the opening drum sample of Vulfpeck’s “Cars Two” with a chain of very intense Goodhertz plugin processing.
Vulf Compressor Demo 001
The very first demo of Vulf Compressor, from the spiritual guide behind its development, Jack Stratton
Merch!
Vulf Compressor T-Shirt
