Sonic Surge 2: Multiband Optical Compressor Plugin by Rave Generation

Sonic Surge 2 offers two compression modes. Multiband mode treats the three bands independently, with separate threshold, ratio, attack and release settings for each. Fullband mode applies a single, cohesive compression stage using the high band parameters, distributed across all three bands in proportion, while keeping the multiband structure for tone shaping and band drives.

The crossovers are 4th-order (24 dB/octave) Linkwitz-Riley filters. The low crossover adjusts from 60 to 300 Hz and the high crossover from 1200 to 6000 Hz. Adaptive spreading is included to reduce phase issues between bands.

Each band has a tone curve that works in two directions. The positive setting adds harmonic density through Inflator-style waveshaping, while the negative setting applies dynamic expansion for more openness. A pre-compression or post-compression switch changes how the compressor reacts to the added harmonics.

Harmonic Drive adds tape-like saturation from 0 to 100 percent. Low-Frequency Relaxation high-passes the compression detector, so bass can pass through less affected, and the Mono Maker collapses content below a selectable frequency to mono for a tighter low end. Smart Clip 0dB uses dual-stage soft and hard clipping to limit digital overs at 0 dB.