Bring a mix together, give drums more punch, or blend in a little extra density. An independent take on British console bus compression — with connected control across your Gluon instances.
Free to use. No activation. No paid feature locks.
macOS Universal · 1.1.1Windows x64 · 1.1.0Linux x64 · 1.1.0More tech info…
Bring the pieces together.
Punch, density and movement.
Blend in as much as you need.
A Gluon on drums, another on synths, one on the mix bus. Open Map in any instance to see their settings and levels together, then make changes without opening every plugin window.
For example: lower every threshold by 1 dB in one step.
Discovery depends on your DAW’s plugin hosting. Compatibility details
Subtle on a mix. More assertive on drums. Start a loop and switch between the original, Gluon, and Gluon with the limiter.
Playback stays in the same place, so you can hear the change as it happens.
One loop. Three versions. Switch while you listen.
Find the response you like, then shape how much of it reaches the mix.
Keep a light touch on the main bus, or push harder for movement. Expanded attack, ratio and release choices give you room to shape the response, with Auto release that adapts to the material.
Attack 0.01–60 ms · Ratio 1.5:1–20:1
Release 0.05–2 s + Auto
Lookahead 0 / 1 / 3 / 10 ms · Delta monitoring
Use Range to rein in the compression without starting over with Threshold, Ratio or timing. The gain-reduction needle and numeric readout keep the action visible while you listen.
Switchable 12 / 20 / 40 dB meter scales
Choose Hard Clipper, Soft Clipper or Limiter after the compressor and Mix. Enable the output stage independently — including with compression switched off. Morph the Soft Clip curve, or set Limiter Release from 5–150 ms or Auto; then adjust the final level with Out Volume.
Output oversampling: Off / 2× / 4× / 8×
Limiter lookahead: 1 / 3 / 10 ms
Press L and play ten seconds of your material. Gluon compares the input with the compressed blend and sets a fixed MakeUp value to bring their perceived levels closer.
The gain then stays put, so you can listen to the compression and fine-tune by ear.
A one-shot measurement, taken before the output clipper or limiter. Run it again after changing the compression.
Start with a factory preset, compare two ideas, undo a change, or carry settings to another instance.
macOS 1.1.1 · Windows/Linux 1.1.0 · Free · Mono / stereo · Optional external sidechain
The macOS 1.1.1 AU installer was tested on Intel macOS 10.14.6 with Logic Pro 10.4.8; Intel macOS 10.13 has not yet been tested in a DAW. A compatible DAW is required. Compressor lookahead, output mode, limiter lookahead and oversampling affect latency.
Map connects instances of the same Gluon plugin module running in the same host process. Different plugin formats or instances isolated in separate sandbox processes may not see each other. If your DAW opens several projects in one process, Map can show instances from more than one project.
Track names depend on what the host provides. Remote controls and meters work even when the other plugin windows are closed. Map is control communication; it does not route audio between tracks.
1.1.1 · October 7, 2026 · macOS
1.1.0 · October 1, 2026
1.0.0 · Initial public release.
My starting point was the British console bus-compression tradition of the 1980s, including the bus compressors in Solid State Logic consoles and software interpretations of that approach. I developed Gluon’s DSP independently, then added the controls I wanted in my own sessions.
Also inspired by particle physics. Gluons hold quarks together. This one holds your mix together.
Gluon is an independent plugin by nClear (Ilia Tsvetkov), not affiliated with or endorsed by Solid State Logic. The name identifies a historical reference; no exact sonic match with another product is claimed.
Classic bus compression. Connected control.
Independently developed. Free to use.
No particle accelerator required.