60-odd years ago, if an artist released both mono and stereo versions of their music, the mono version was usually the definitive one. There’s a reason original mono vinyl copies of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band can sell for multiple times the price of their stereo counterparts - it’s the mix the band actually spent time on. See, back in the late ’60s, many listeners had not updated their home systems to stereo yet, and recording techniques were still very mono-oriented. Even on stereo releases, instruments like drums and piano were often still recorded to a single mono channel. Obviously, a lot has changed since then, but believe it or not, mono is still a thing.

The attack and release behavior of a compressor is often the real core of its personality. Can we agree that compressors have personalities? I like to imagine the Fairchild 670 as sort of a “no wearing white after Labor Day” traditionalist, or the ELH Distressor as an energy-drink-chugging overachiever, knee-deep in side hustles and rarely seen sleeping. I could keep doing these all day, but lucky for you I’m going to stop with just one more – our own FUEL plugin. Its personality? Maybe your new best friend.