Acustica Audio Coffee 2023

Coffee is a mojo monster! This suite comprises a series of plugins inspired by the world of vintage sound but re-engineered with contemporary studio needs in mind, preserving that feeling of authenticity that engineers look for in modern productions (and rarely find).

The Best Coffee You'll Ever Try
Coffee embodies 6 different hardware units merged into 2 EQs, a high pass/low pass filter section, 5 dynamics processors including a limiter, and 31 preamp emulations. It is designed to let you squeeze the unique sonic character of germanium transistors into your mixes. Thanks to the nature of its architecture, the rich, warm sound it offers can perfectly blend into any track, no matter the genre.

Coffee EQ
Model A is a faithful recreation of a legendary American mixing desk EQ, which was used in its glory days at one of the most famous recording studios in the UK.

Model B is a revisited vintage analog unit made in the US, combining a passive bass equalizer, an active presence control, a treble section, and a germanium based preamp.
It essentially functions as a 3-band equalizer, re-arranged as a 4-band model for the sake of usability.

Coffee Pre: Tonal Choices for the Highly Trained Ear
Coffee Pre comprises several different preamp models, giving you a wide array of tonal choices. We sampled a range of high-end hardware units in order to provide you with the frequency/phase response and harmonic distortion of an incredible 31 preamps. These are divided into 3 switchable banks: Line, Feed, and Custom. If you want to add some extra mojo, the preamps included in Feed banks have a feedback control that allows you to determine the amount of character to apply to the mix.

Coffee Comp: Compression is the Eye of the Beholder
The Coffee channel strip and compressor modules are equipped with 4 dynamic processors derived from 2 different units: a Vari-mu tube compressor, and an all-discrete, transformer-coupled compressor/limiter.

Modes 1, 2, and Ultra are based on a modern reissue of a British Vari-Mu mono tube compressor from the 1960s. Its remarkably simple design employs just 3 tubes in a differential signal path. However, our modern adaptation is not an exact copy of the original unit; instead, it sports an accurate circuit recreation that has been enhanced to make it function efficiently with modern production requirements and equipment.

The most crucial difference between the original hardware and the plugin is the addition of attack control times.

While Mode 1 represents the default operation settings of the British Vari-Mu unit, Mode 2 introduces a new feature that wasn't part of the original hardware. It's called “fuse,” and it changes the character of the compressor dramatically. The release time is significantly shorter, resulting in a super-punchy, squashy signal.

While the two other modes bring a lot of sonic flavor to the table, the Ultra mode is where this compressor really shines. (We could have called this setting “Invisible Superglue for Your Tracks,” and the name would have been spot-on, if slightly less poetic.)

You'll notice is that, despite its ultra-fast reaction times, the compression occurs in an exceptionally euphonically transparent way. This is typical of high-end Vari-Mu tube hardware machines, which is part of what makes them such a superb tool for applications ranging from the mix bus up to refined stereo mastering.

The original machines that we sampled were mostly characterized by a “hard knee” style dynamic range control. We enhanced the setting by also including a “soft knee” setting to produce a mellower, rounder, invisible intervention, greatly expanding on the compressor's overall versatility. Whether your aim is to “glue” a simple drum kit together or to put the final touch on a 50-track mix, Ultra is up for the job.

Mode3 and Lim are based on an American compressor/limiter design derived from a recreation of the dynamic section found on one of UK's most iconic vintage mixing and mastering consoles. You get these stellar features, plus a few new ones - enhanced attack and release times, and extra gluey distortion - in this powerful plugin.
It sounds phenomenal when added to any source, bringing generous amounts of vintage character and presence into the mix.

While mostly remaining true to the sound of the vintage unit, the reissue also adds new features and extra control. Mode 3 emulates the faster response of the original unit, while Lim emulates its limiter section, which was designed to emulate the response of what is arguably the most iconic of all.