KERN PUSH vs FabFilter Pro-C 3: different tools for different jobs

the problem broadband compression cannot solve

you know the move. drum bus into Pro-C 3, Bus algorithm, 3:1 ratio, auto-gain on. the body tightens, the snare sits, the mix sounds more finished. then you notice: the cymbals are pumping against the kick in the 2-5 kHz range, and the low-end thump is triggering gain reduction that ducks the entire spectrum. you reach for the sidechain EQ. it helps. but the detector is still reading one number for the whole signal.

broadband compression sees level. one detector, one gain-reduction value, applied everywhere from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. when a kick drum hits hard at 80 Hz, the compressor pulls down the cymbals at 8 kHz by the same amount. that is the design. it is not a flaw. it is how broadband dynamics work, and it is why bus compression sounds like bus compression.

spectral compression is a different problem. KERN PUSH splits the signal into 40 bands spaced on the Equivalent Rectangular Bandwidth (ERB) scale[^2], then compresses each band independently. the kick triggers gain reduction only in the low-frequency bands. the cymbals are handled separately in their own bands. the two never interfere.

what Pro-C 3 does well

Pro-C 3 earned its position. 14 algorithms covering everything from transparent brickwall limiting to Opto character to Vocal specialty mode. the visual feedback is the best in the category: real-time gain-reduction trace, interactive transfer curve, and a sidechain EQ that inherited every filter shape from Pro-Q 4. Dolby Atmos support up to 9.1.6. CPU stays reasonable across many instances. auto-gain lets you A/B honestly without loudness bias tricking your ears. character modes (Tube, Diode, Bright) add color without leaving the plugin.

if you need one compressor for everything, Pro-C 3 is the right answer. it does not do spectral processing (except the three-band TTM multiband mode), but it does broadband dynamics better than anything else at its price. that is not marketing. that is the consensus of a decade of mixing engineers reaching for it first.[^1]

what PUSH does differently

PUSH is not 14 flavors of broadband. it is three characters of spectral compression, each built for a different job across 40 ERB bands.

SETTLE is bus glue. gentle per-band downward compression with slow release curves. it does what you want a bus compressor to do, but per-band: each frequency range settles into place independently. the low end does not fight the top. think of it like a well-run meeting where everyone gets heard, instead of one loud voice setting the volume for the room. (that is the one analogy. i will stop.)

TIGHT is transient grip. program-dependent ratio that increases on transient peaks and relaxes between them. when a snare hits, the bands around 2-4 kHz compress harder for the transient, then back off. the result is controlled attack without the sustained pumping that broadband compression introduces on dynamic material.

DRIFT is per-band upward compression. quiet spectral content gets lifted toward the median, filling in the gaps between peaks without raising the peaks themselves. this is the character Pro-C 3 cannot replicate at all. broadband upward compression exists (Pro-C 3’s Expand mode inverts the ratio), but per-band upward compression across psychoacoustic bands is a different animal entirely.

the positioning is simple: PUSH is the step before your compressor. it pre-shapes the spectral dynamics so your broadband compressor only has to handle the broadband job. Pro-C 3 glues. PUSH shapes what goes into the glue.

the comparison table

(this is where most comparison guides get dishonest. the table says PUSH is cheaper, so PUSH wins. no. the table says they solve different problems at different price points. read the “when to use which” section.)

when to use which

get PUSH if

• you want spectral dynamics on a bus or stem before your broadband compressor catches the rest. the per-band processing tames frequency-specific peaks that a single detector cannot see.
• you mix in Ableton or Logic and do not need AAX or Atmos.
• you want per-band upward compression (DRIFT). no broadband compressor offers this.
• budget matters. $29 is not $199.

get Pro-C 3 if

• you need the single most versatile broadband compressor on the market. 14 algorithms, character modes, Atmos, AAX, sidechain EQ, A/B snapshots. it covers every broadband use case.
• you work in Pro Tools and need AAX. PUSH does not ship AAX.
• you need Dolby Atmos up to 9.1.6. not even close.
• you want zero-latency tracking. Pro-C 3 offers 0ms with lookahead disabled. PUSH LIVE mode runs ~12ms.

get both if

• you mix drums, dense arrangements, or anything where spectral and broadband dynamics serve different purposes. PUSH first, Pro-C 3 second.
• you want to A/B the two approaches on hard material and pick the cleaner result per source.

the honest gap

what PUSH lacks: no lookahead (spectral processing uses a fixed FFT window instead). no AAX. no Atmos. no sidechain EQ. no A/B snapshots. no visual algorithm switching. three characters, not fourteen. the UI is five knobs and a spectrum. if you need the Swiss-army compressor, PUSH is not it.

what Pro-C 3 lacks: no per-band spectral processing with psychoacoustic weighting (TTM multiband is three crossover bands, not 40 ERB bands). no per-band upward compression. no cepstral gain smoothing[^3]. and it costs 7x more for a fundamentally different job. that price gap is not a value judgment. Pro-C 3 earns its price with scope. PUSH earns its price with specificity.

frequently asked questions

frequently asked questions

is PUSH a real alternative to Pro-C 3?

they solve different problems. PUSH is spectral pre-shaping across 40 ERB bands. Pro-C 3 is broadband dynamics with 14 algorithms. most sessions benefit from both. PUSH at $29 does not replace a $199 broadband compressor. it handles the spectral work the broadband compressor cannot.

what does Pro-C 3 do that PUSH cannot?

14 broadband compression algorithms, a 6-band sidechain EQ with all Pro-Q 4 shapes, up to 32x oversampling, Dolby Atmos up to 9.1.6, AAX for Pro Tools, adjustable lookahead up to 20ms, and A/B snapshots. Pro-C 3 is the Swiss-army compressor. PUSH is a specialist.

what does PUSH do that Pro-C 3 cannot?

per-band compression across 40 psychoacoustic ERB bands. per-band upward compression via the DRIFT character. spectral-aware gain smoothing via cepstral DCT. program-dependent ratio on transients via the TIGHT character. and it costs $29 vs $199.

can i use PUSH and Pro-C 3 together?

yes. the recommended chain is PUSH first (spectral pre-shaping), then Pro-C 3 (broadband glue). PUSH tames per-band peaks so Pro-C 3 only has to handle the broadband dynamics. the result sounds more relaxed than either alone.

does PUSH have a low-latency mode for tracking?

yes. PUSH v1.1.0 added an opt-in LIVE mode at ~12ms latency. toggle it on for tracking, off for mixing. Pro-C 3 offers 0ms latency with lookahead disabled.

references

a note from the developer

i use Pro-C 3 on my own mixes. i have for years. it sits on the drum bus, on the vocal chain, sometimes on the master. it is good at what it does, and what it does is broadband dynamics.

PUSH sits before it.

the idea was never to replace Pro-C 3. it was to handle the part of the dynamics problem that broadband compression is structurally blind to: frequency-dependent peaks that a single-number detector averages away. a kick drum at 80 Hz should not duck your cymbals at 8 kHz. that is not a controversial opinion. it is just physics. the broadband detector sees one number. the spectral detector sees 40.

i built PUSH at $29 because the spectral compression step should not cost $199. it is a focused tool. five knobs, three characters, one job. the honest version of this comparison is that most sessions benefit from both: PUSH to pre-shape the spectral dynamics, then Pro-C 3 (or whatever broadband compressor you already own) to glue the result. they are complementary, not competing. if you only buy one compressor plugin this year, buy Pro-C 3. if you already own a broadband compressor and want to hear what spectral pre-shaping does to your buses, try the PUSH demo. your ears will tell you whether $29 is worth it.