Pro-C 3 by FabFilter compressor plugin interface

Pro-C 3: Professional Stereo and Surround Compressor by FabFilter Free Download

Rated 5.0/5 on Plugin Boutique (17 ratings)

Pro-C 3 is a compressor plugin from FabFilter for stereo and surround dynamics processing. It offers 14 compression styles, analog-style Character modes, sidechain EQ, and support for immersive audio up to 9.1.6.

VST3VST2AUAAXCLAPWindowsmacOS64-bit

AVAILABLE ATPlugin Boutique

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Free trial available from the developer

01Overview

Pro-C 3 is FabFilter's compressor for mixing and mastering work. It covers transparent control, mix bus glue, upward compression and aggressive pumping effects within one plugin. The developer positions it as a stereo and surround compressor, with metering, visual feedback and workflow tools built into the interface. It runs on Windows and macOS in VST3, VST2, AU, AAX and CLAP formats.

Best for

Mix bus glue
Mastering dynamics control
Dialog compression
Surround mixing
Rhythmic pumping effects
Upward compression

Developer: FabFilter
Category: Compressors
Store: Plugin Boutique

02Key features

What you get

14 compressor styles across Modern, Classic and Utility categories
Six new algorithms in version 3: Versatile, Smooth, Upward, TTM, Op-El, Vari-Mu
Character modes with Tube, Diode and Bright options and adjustable Drive
Auto Threshold mode for input-level-independent compression
Host tempo pulse triggering with Sync, Offset and Pulse Length controls
Sidechain EQ with Pro-Q shapes and slopes up to 96 dB/oct
Surround and Dolby Atmos support up to 9.1.6 with flexible linking
Oversampling up to 32x and lookahead up to 20 ms

03In depth

Compression styles and character

Pro-C 3 provides 14 compressor styles grouped into Modern, Classic and Utility categories. Version 3 adds six new algorithms: Versatile, Smooth, Upward, TTM, Op-El and Vari-Mu. TTM combines upward and downward multiband dynamics processing.

Character modes add analog saturation, coloring and drift, with Tube, Diode and Bright options. Drive and Pre/Post routing are adjustable, so you can shape the tone of the compression as well as its amount.

Sidechain, timing and workflow controls

The sidechain EQ offers freely configurable multiband filtering with Pro-Q shapes, including all-pass, slopes up to 96 dB/oct and brickwall high-pass and low-pass options. Auto Threshold keeps compression behavior consistent regardless of input level, which suits inconsistent sources such as dialog.

Host Sync triggers compression from the tempo pulse, with adjustable Sync, Offset from 50 to 200 percent and Pulse Length. Lookahead goes up to 20 ms. The animated level display and optional knee display show input, output and gain reduction in real time. The preset browser supports folders, tags, metadata, favorites, and copy/paste of settings between instances.

04Specs

Will it run?

Formats, systems and requirements as listed by Plugin Boutique. Missing details are left out, not guessed.

Developer	FabFilter
Type	Plugin
Category	Compressor
Formats	VST3, VST2, AU, AAX, CLAP
Operating systems	Windows, macOS
Architecture	64-bit
Free trial	Yes

05Upgrades

Upgrade and crossgrade options

Option	Store link
Pro-C 3 Upgrade	Plugin Boutique ↗

06FAQ

Questions, answered

What formats does Pro-C 3 come in?

Pro-C 3 is available in VST3, VST2, AU, AAX and CLAP formats.

Which operating systems does Pro-C 3 support?

Pro-C 3 runs on Windows and macOS. Windows requires Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 or Vista, in 64-bit or 32-bit. macOS requires 10.13 or higher, 64-bit only, on Intel or Silicon processors.