BruceJames.studio
HotPressor
A live vocal compressor that knows what the vocal is supposed to look like — squash it flat, safely
PEAK / LEVEL / PROTECT
FOH + Monitor · one license
Version
1.0.0
Platform
Windows, macOS, Linux
Formats
VST3, CLAP, AU, AAX, Standalone
User Guide
brucejames.studio
HotPressor

Contents

01
01 · Overview

Squash a live vocal flat, without the danger

Ordinary compressors do three dangerous things when you lean on a live mic: they chase feedback into a howl, they raise stage bleed along with everything else, and they slam makeup gain into an empty mic the moment a vocalist wanders off it. HotPressor refuses to do any of them, because it knows what the vocal is supposed to look like.

It ships as two separate plugins from one engine — HotPressor FOH and HotPressor Monitor — sold as a single product, one license. There is no mode switch between them: a monitor rig should never be able to sit accidentally in FOH mode, so the split is at the plugin level, not a toggle.

In one line

Insert it on the vocal channel, set your drive and squash, and HotPressor holds the vocal flat while a feedback guard, a bleed guard, and a hard cap on makeup gain keep it out of trouble — all without a single threshold knob.

HotPressor User GuideBruceJames.studio · v1.0.0
02 · Concept

How it works

02

There is no threshold anywhere in HotPressor. Internal targets are fixed; you work the plugin with Input Trim, the two Control knobs, and a squash budget. Four ideas explain almost everything else it does.

01A fast catcher feeds a slow rider

Signal passes through two stages in sequence: Peak Control ("Grab") is a sub-millisecond catcher with a high ratio that stops plosives and shouts before they poke through; Level Control ("Ride") is a slow gain ride that settles the vocal toward its target level. Because Grab runs first, Ride never gets provoked by a transient it was never built to handle — the safe order for a live mic. Each stage has its own Response knob, which scales that stage's adaptive time constants 0.25×–4×. Deliberately not a raw attack or release: a raw attack knob could disable the plosive catch entirely, and a raw release would replace program-adaptive recovery with a fixed one.

02The leveler cannot make things worse

Level Control can cut deep, but it can only boost a little — boost is the direction that starts feedback — and it freezes rather than adds gain the moment the gate closes or the vocal looks off-mic. Slamming makeup gain into an empty mic is how ordinary compressors turn a wandering vocalist into a howling PA; this stage physically can't do that.

03Max Squash is a budget, not a sound

Max Squash tracks a slow, roughly 8-second average of total gain reduction. Push past it and the plugin doesn't clip or duck audibly — it raises its own stage thresholds slowly and hysteretically (quick in, very slow out) until the average is back in budget. Set it to the most reduction you are willing to live with for a whole show, not for one loud phrase.

04Nothing outside the vocal's window gets touched

Window Start and Window End define the band HotPressor considers "vocal." Detection is pre-filtered to that band, so noise outside it can never drive gain — and all positive gain (auto-makeup, a positive Output trim) is applied only inside the window, so makeup physically cannot raise a noise floor the plugin was never listening to. Cuts stay broadband, because cutting is always safe.

Running underneath, always

A Feedback Guard (narrow adaptive notches) sits first in the chain, ahead of both stages, and feeds them a cleaned signal — the compressor never keys off a ringing tone. A Bleed Guard (a soft downward expander keyed to what the vocal model expects) runs alongside it. Both are covered in the parameter reference; see FOH vs Monitor for how aggressively each behaves per variant.

HotPressor User GuideBruceJames.studio · v1.0.0
03 · Two products

FOH vs Monitor

03

One engine, two plugins tuned for opposite jobs. Never put the FOH plugin on a monitor rig — separate plugins exist so that can't happen by accident.

HotPressor FOHHotPressor Monitor
LatencyA few ms allowed (lookahead); reports 0 today~Zero, always — the singer hears themselves
SquashMaximum, polishedModerate — singers need dynamics to pitch and pace
Feedback GuardConservativeAggressive — the headline feature
Bleed GuardAssertiveErrs open — a dropout in the ears is worse than bleed
GritYes — feedback-safe mid-band saturationAbsent by design
CollapseYes — bounded dip-and-bloom on hard hitsAbsent by design
OrderPeak>Level or Level>PeakFixed Peak>Level — fewer decisions at the wedge
Why no mode toggle

A monitor mix has no room for a howl and no lookahead budget to hide one. Rather than trust a toggle, HotPressor ships FOH and Monitor as separate plugin targets with separate defaults baked in — you insert the right one on the right channel and can't flip it into the wrong behavior mid-show.

One purchase, both plugins

A single license unlocks HotPressor FOH and HotPressor Monitor on the same machine. Put FOH on the house vocal channel and Monitor on each wedge or IEM mix that needs it — no extra cost, no extra activation.

HotPressor User GuideBruceJames.studio · v1.0.0
04 · Setup

Installation and authorization

04

HotPressor runs as VST3 and CLAP on Windows, macOS (universal), and Linux; AU on macOS; AAX for Pro Tools on Windows and macOS; Standalone on Windows and macOS. Windows, macOS (universal), and Linux (VST3 + CLAP) are all supported.

Install

  1. Close your DAW before installing so it rescans plugins on next launch.
  2. Run the installer on Windows or macOS, or unpack the Linux tar.gz and run install.sh — it installs per-user to ~/.vst3 and ~/.clap, or system-wide with --system.
  3. Launch your DAW and let it rescan. Both HotPressor FOH and HotPressor Monitor appear as separate plugins in your plugin list.
  4. Insert the FOH plugin on the vocal channel at front of house, and the Monitor plugin on each wedge or IEM mix that needs it. Never the reverse.

Authorization

Click Authorize in the header and enter your license key (format HTPR-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX) from your purchase confirmation. One key activates both HotPressor FOH and HotPressor Monitor on that machine — there's no separate key per variant. No iLok, no dongle; once activated, HotPressor works fully offline.

Demo mode

Before authorization, HotPressor runs as a fully-featured demo with periodic short mutes, and any offline bounce renders silent. This is deliberate and not softened for the live-FOH use case: an unlicensed copy has no business running a real show. Evaluate it at soundcheck, then buy at brucejames.studio when you're ready to gig with it.

Where the license lives

The license file is stored in your OS app-data directory under HotPressor/ (on Linux, ~/.config/HotPressor/license.json). It is not part of a normal project or DAW-session backup — rebuilding or replacing a system drive will need a reactivation, which is expected.

HotPressor User GuideBruceJames.studio · v1.0.0
05 · Get going

Quick start — a soundcheck ritual

05

Set it up once at soundcheck while the singer works the song, then leave it. This is the FOH ritual; the Monitor plugin follows the same shape with fewer controls to touch.

  1. Insert it on the vocal channel — the FOH plugin at front of house, the Monitor plugin on wedge or IEM mixes.
  2. Unlock (the header Lock button, ON by default) and set Input Trim so the input columns sit around the level target line while the singer works the song, then re-Lock.
  3. Push Peak Control until spikes stop poking through the mix.
  4. Push Level Control until the vocal sits still.
  5. Set Max Squash to the most gain reduction you're comfortable living with for the whole set.
  6. Leave the rest at defaults until you have a specific reason to touch it.
Recommended starting point — FOH

Peak Control 60% · Level Control 50% · Grit 25% · Max Squash 14 dB · Window 100 Hz–8 kHz · Order Peak>Level. Close to the factory default — most rooms only need Input Trim and Max Squash touched.

Recommended starting point — Monitor

Peak Control 35% · Level Control 40% · Bleed Guard 6 dB · Max Squash 9 dB. Lower squash than FOH on purpose — singers need some dynamics left to pitch and pace against a wedge.

HotPressor User GuideBruceJames.studio · v1.0.0
06 · Reference

Interface tour — FOH

06

A header strip with the license and safety controls, a read-only spectrum display in the middle, two rows of knobs, and a footer of session-level toggles.

HotPressor FOH plugin interface 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
1WordmarkHotPressor FOH.
2Settings gearRTA position, reset to defaults, updates, support, about.
3LockAmber, ON by default. Disables Bypass, Null, Input Trim, and Output — the mid-show mis-click guard. Never blocks host automation.
4BypassDisabled while Lock is on.
5NullOutput minus dry — disabled while Lock is on.
6Spectrum displayInput vs. output per band, thresholds, level target. Read-only — see next page for the color code.
7Gain ReductionCurrent GR with a running meter bar.
8Input TrimDrive into the engine. Locked with Output.
9Peak stagePeak Control ("Grab") and Peak Response.
10Level stageLevel Control ("Ride") and Level Response.
11GritMid-band saturation. FOH only.
12CollapseBounded dip-and-bloom on hard hits. FOH only, default 0%.
13Bleed GuardDownward expander depth.
14Max SquashThe long-term reduction budget.
15WindowStart and End — the band HotPressor treats as vocal.
16ResolutionAnalysis bands feeding the display and future spectral path.
17OutputOutput trim and Mix.
18OrderPeak>Level (default) or Level>Peak. FOH only.
19Feedback GuardOn/off toggle for the notch bank.
20RTA MicWhere the optional measurement mic sits — see next page.
Peak Control's dial is skewed

The first ~10% of the knob's throw covers half its visual sweep — that's where real live settings live. Double-click any knob to reset it to default.

HotPressor User GuideBruceJames.studio · v1.0.0
07 · Reference

Interface tour — Monitor, and the RTA mic

07

The Monitor plugin shares its layout with FOH minus the FOH-only controls — no Grit, no Collapse, no Order — and a shorter footer — Feedback Guard and RTA Mic, with no Order dropdown.

HotPressor Monitor plugin interface 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1WordmarkHotPressor Monitor — same header controls as FOH, no variant-specific header buttons.
2Spectrum displaySame read-out as FOH; the "down" quadrant note reflects the tighter feedback margins at a wedge.
3Input TrimSame as FOH.
4Peak stagePeak Control + Peak Response — lower default (35%) than FOH.
5Level stageLevel Control + Level Response — lower default (40%) than FOH.
6Bleed GuardErrs open compared to FOH — a dropout in the ears is worse than bleed.
7Max SquashLower default (9 dB) — singers need dynamics to pitch and pace against a wedge.
8Feedback GuardDeploys faster and deeper than FOH — the headline feature at the wedge.
9RTA MicSet to Monitor World here — see the callout below.
The RTA mic is optional — genuinely optional

HotPressor is fully functional with nothing connected to the RTA input. If you do route a measurement mic — at FOH or at monitor world, whichever this variant is protecting — set RTA Mic to match, and it only sharpens feedback confirmation and bleed decisions, drawing a thin white room-reference line in the display. Not required, not expected. Skip it and HotPressor works exactly the same.

HotPressor User GuideBruceJames.studio · v1.0.0
08 · Reference

Parameter reference — signal path

08

Ranges and defaults are given as FOH / Monitor where the two differ. A dash means the control is absent on that variant.

Drive and stages
ControlRangeBehaviour
Input Trim±12 dB · 0 / 0Drive into the engine, upstream of detection. Locked together with Output under the header Lock.
Peak Control0–100% · 60 / 35"Grab." Amount of the fast peak-catching stage. The dial is skewed — the first ~10% covers half the throw, where typical settings live.
Peak Response0.25×–4× · 1× / 1×Scales Peak Control's adaptive time constants. Not a raw attack knob — the program-adaptive behaviour stays intact at every setting.
Level Control0–100% · 50 / 40"Ride." Amount of the slow leveling stage. Freezes rather than adds gain when the gate is closed or the model reads off-mic.
Level Response0.25×–4× · 1× / 1×Scales Level Control's adaptive time constants.
OrderPeak>Level / Level>Peak · Peak>Level / —FOH only. Default order keeps plosives from provoking the leveler; Level>Peak clamps more uniformly for a "studio consistency" flavour. Monitor is fixed Peak>Level.
FOH-only shaping
ControlRangeBehaviour
Grit0–100% · 25 / —Mid-band saturation, feedback-safe by construction — it adds only the nonlinear residual of a band-passed copy at unity small-signal gain, so drive never raises loop gain.
Collapse0–100% · 0 / —Bounded dip-and-bloom (max 4 dB, 2 ms in, ~120 ms bloom out) on a hard hit — the "over-driven" feel of a slammed FET stage. Always a deeper cut, never a boost, so it cannot feed back. Never on Monitor — a singer who feels themselves dip when they push creates a gain war.
Output
ControlRangeBehaviour
Output±12 dB · 0 / 0Trim after the engine. Positive trim is window-confined like all other boost; locked with Input Trim.
Mix0–100% · 100 / 100Dry/wet blend. 100% is fully processed.
HotPressor User GuideBruceJames.studio · v1.0.0
08 · Reference

Parameter reference — protection and output

09

The controls that keep HotPressor safe on a live mic, plus the window that decides what counts as "vocal."

Protection
ControlRangeBehaviour
Bleed Guard0–24 dB · 10 / 6Depth of the downward expander keyed on the vocal model. Opens fast, closes slow — a chopped word is worse than a moment of bleed. Monitor errs open on purpose.
Max Squash6–24 dB · 14 / 9The long-term (~8s) reduction budget. Sustained over-budget squash raises stage thresholds slowly and hysteretically — a soft back-off, never a pump.
Feedback Guardon/off · on / onNarrow adaptive notch bank, sitting first in the chain. Monitor deploys faster (~150 ms vs ~340 ms) and deeper (−18 dB, to −30 if a ring survives) than FOH.
Window and resolution
ControlRangeBehaviour
Window Start60–250 Hz · 100 / 100Low corner of the band HotPressor treats as vocal. Nothing below it can drive gain or be lifted.
Window End5–20 kHz · 8k / 8kHigh corner of the vocal window. Continuous knob, not a stepped selector.
Resolution8–128 bands · 48 / 48Analysis bands feeding the display today; the phase-2 spectral path will consume this directly.
Header and footer
ControlTypeBehaviour
Locktoggle, ON defaultDisables Bypass, Null, Input Trim, and Output so a mid-show mis-click can't kill the vocal. Never blocks host automation.
BypasstoggleDisabled while Lock is on.
NulltoggleOutput minus dry, for confirming what the plugin is adding. Disabled while Lock is on; has no effect while Bypass is on.
RTA MicFOH / Monitor WorldWhere the optional measurement mic sits, if one is connected. Fully optional — see the interface tour callout.
HotPressor User GuideBruceJames.studio · v1.0.0
09 · Practice

Workflows and recipes

10

Starting points, not rules. Set Input Trim first, then the two stages, then decide your budget with Max Squash.

01Aggressive FOH squash without chasing feedback

Push Peak Control and Level Control hard, then watch the amber back-off line in the display — that's Max Squash doing its job instead of you riding a fader. Raise the budget only if the amber line is engaging constantly.

Peak Control upLevel Control upMax Squash watch the amber line

02Protecting a wandering vocalist

Leave Level Control's boost ceiling alone — it's intentionally tiny — and trust the freeze behaviour when the singer steps off mic. Don't try to compensate with a higher Input Trim; that just raises the noise floor the plugin sees, not the vocal.

Level Control default ceilingInput Trim set at soundcheck, then Lock

03A feedback-prone room or wedge

On Monitor, trust the more aggressive Feedback Guard defaults rather than fighting it manually. If a room mic is available, route it to the RTA input and set RTA Mic to match — it sharpens confirmation but is never required.

Feedback Guard onRTA Mic optional, match placement

04Giving a lead vocal some edge at FOH

Bring in Grit gradually for a driven, present vocal without new feedback risk — it's unity small-signal gain by construction. Add a touch of Collapse for the "slammed" feel on hard hits; keep it small, since 4 dB is the hard ceiling by design.

Grit to tasteCollapse small

05Keeping stage bleed out without chopping words

Raise Bleed Guard depth gradually and listen for chopped syllables at the start of phrases — the expander opens fast and closes slow specifically to avoid that. If words are getting clipped, the depth is too high for this stage; back it off rather than tightening a release you don't have direct access to.

Bleed Guard raise graduallyListen for chopped starts
HotPressor User GuideBruceJames.studio · v1.0.0
10 · Support

FAQ and troubleshooting

11
Where's the threshold?
There isn't one. That's the whole premise — internal targets are fixed, and you work the plugin with Input Trim, Peak Control, Level Control, and Max Squash instead. See How it works.
Max Squash doesn't seem to do anything.
It's a slow ~8-second budget, not a knob you hear directly. Watch the amber back-off line in the display — that's Max Squash working. If it's never engaging, you have headroom to squash harder.
Do I need the RTA mic?
No. HotPressor is fully functional with nothing connected to it. It only sharpens feedback confirmation and bleed decisions if you route one.
Why can't I move Bypass or Output?
Lock is on. It's the mid-show mis-click guard and deliberately disables Bypass, Null, Input Trim, and Output. Unlock it in the header, make your change, and Lock it again before the show.
The demo keeps going silent.
By design — periodic short mutes, and any offline bounce renders silent. It's not softened for live use; buy a license before the gig.
Feedback Guard notched a synth pad / organ / test tone, then let go.
Working as designed. Real feedback collapses when the guard cuts its loop; a steady musical tone doesn’t — so if a notch at full depth doesn’t kill the tone, HotPressor concludes it isn’t feedback, backs the notch out smoothly, and won’t re-engage at that frequency until the tone has been gone for a moment.
Why is there no Grit or Collapse on my Monitor plugin?
They're FOH-only by design. A singer who feels a dip or added drive when they push a monitor creates a gain war with their own voice; Monitor stays predictable instead.
It's asking me to reactivate after an OS update.
This shouldn't normally happen. If it does, reactivate with the same key — it isn't consumed by reactivation — and contact support if it recurs.
Can I run FOH and Monitor from the same license on different machines?
One license covers both plugins on one machine. For a second machine — a backup laptop, a second wedge rig — contact support about additional activations.
HotPressor User GuideBruceJames.studio · v1.0.0
11 · Legal

License and contact

12

License

Use of HotPressor is governed by the end user license agreement included with the distribution as license.txt. One license covers both HotPressor FOH and HotPressor Monitor on the same machine. Please refer to that file for full terms.

Included files

The distribution archive contains the installer along with readme.txt for installation notes, CHANGELOG.md for version history, and license.txt for the agreement.

Support and contact

Studio
BruceJames.studio
Web
brucejames.studio
Support
support@brucejames.studio
Version
HotPressor 1.0.0
Before you write in

Include your DAW and its version, your OS, and whether you're running the FOH or Monitor plugin — it helps support resolve issues faster.

HotPressor

The living compressor · Windows, macOS, Linux · VST3, CLAP, AU, AAX, Standalone

HotPressor 1.0.0.

HotPressor User GuideBruceJames.studio · v1.0.0