La Crème 3: Channel Strip Plugin by Tone Empire

The core of La Crème 3 is a Vari-Mu tube compressor modeled with Neural LSTM technology. Its controls include threshold from -20dB to +5dB, attack from 1ms to 70ms, and release from 200ms to 8000ms. A wet/dry mix control supports parallel compression, and a sidechain high-pass filter from 60Hz to 250Hz helps prevent pumping. Auto-gain keeps output level consistent while you adjust settings.

The 4-band parametric EQ covers a low shelf from 20Hz to 250Hz, a low-mid band from 200Hz to 2kHz, a high-mid band from 1kHz to 8kHz, and a high shelf from 3kHz to 20kHz. Each shelf offers a range of plus or minus 16dB. Pre and post EQ placement is selectable relative to the compressor.

Tone Empire describes its approach, Neural Component Modeling, as training LSTM networks directly on analog hardware instead of recreating circuits with equations. The developer says this captures nonlinearities and frequency-dependent responses that circuit equations do not.

When the session runs at 44.1kHz or 48kHz, La Crème 3 engages 2x oversampling so the neural model runs at its native rate. At 88.2kHz, 96kHz or higher, oversampling is bypassed. The plugin processes internally at 64-bit and lists about 1.5ms of typical latency.

The 2-band stereo expander offers separate low and high width controls, using all-pass decorrelation to add width while keeping mono compatibility.

The preset library contains more than 150 presets in 10 categories: Mastering, Mix Bus, Vocals, Synths, Bass, Guitars, Drums, Orchestra, Lo-Fi and Creative.