BlackAsh SC-5

80s All-American Compressor

BlackAsh SC-5 Frontplate
Regular - Create 14-day trial license

You need to be registered in order to demo our products.

Manual Download

BlackAsh SC-5 Manual

Supported formats

AAX plugin support VST plugin supprt VST3 plugin supprt Audio Unit plugin support

Supported platforms (32/64 bit)

Requirements

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS (MAC)

  • Intel Core CPU or Apple SIlicon M+ Processor
  • 1GB of RAM
  • Mac OSX 10.10 or newer (M1/M2 supported)
  • VST, VST3, AU or AAX compatible host (64bit)
  • Display resolution of 1280x1024 pixels or more

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS (WINDOWS)

  • SSE2 compatible processor (Intel Core CPU recommended)
  • 1GB of RAM
  • Windows 7 or newer
  • VST, VST3 or AAX (x64) compatible host
  • Display resolution of 1280x1024 pixels or more
 

Overview

Accurately modeled after the 'black' version of a classic and sought-after VCA compressor the SC-5 opens up a whole world of versatility: You‘re going for super gentle compression to sweeten up the signal on your masterbuss? You‘re looking for a colorful or smashed sound on your drum buss? You want to tame lively and dynamic material? The BlackAsh SC-5 handeles it all. Compared to its brother, the BlueAsh SC-5, the BlackAsh SC-5 brings you slightly different compression behaviour, a different harmonic structure paired with a darker sounding audio-path and the option to feed in external sidechain signals.

Features

External sidechain input

The BlackAsh SC-5 adds an external sidechain input that can be engaged by depressing the “Ext SC” button. The BlackAsh SC-5 is a feedback compressor design, thus feeding an external sidechain input into the existing feed-back loop circuit would result in feed-forward topology, which would result in different compression behaviour. To overcome this problem, the external sidechain input is treated just like the normal audio signal, while the resulting control voltage is fed into a mirror VCA that modulates the audio signal. This way feed-back operation can be retained in both the normal and external sidechain modes.

Auto gain compensation

The BlackAsh SC-5 is a fixed threshold compressor: More compression can be achieved by increasing the input gain. This will of course boost your signal's volume. Drag the input gain knob while holding the right mouse button and the output gain will be adjusted so the perceived output level will remain approximately the same.

Authentic circuit emulation

Our real time SPICE type component based circuit simulation approach allows to authentically capture the sound and feel of the analog counterpart in all nuances. Every crucial part of the circuit, including the custom VCA design, the dual time-constant detector circuit, the feedback compressor loop and the audio path have been faithfully modeled.

SSE2 optimized code

DSP operations are pipe-lined using the SSE2 instruction set. This ensures highest possible performance operation despite very complex computations.

Auto-adjusted oversampling for maximum audio transparency

Aliasing artifacts are efficiently attenuated using a low latency linear phase Dolph-Chebyshev poly-phase design. The oversampling is auto adjusted to your session‘s sample rate to save valuable CPU power while offering the most transparent sound possible.

HighDPI / Retina support

All our plug-Ins support high pixel density on Mac OSX and Windows to bring you the most enjoyable user experience on high DPI displays. Please refer to your manual to find whether your DAW is HighDPI capable if you‘re working on Windows.

Examples & Videos

Customer Reviews

5
mi opinion by Julio (2025-10-18)

"Lo considero un potente compresor, calidad asegurada. Produce tu Música"

5
Review by nikita (2025-10-18)

"great compressor "

5
Excellent by D.M.G (2025-10-17)

"Lives up to expectations for sure"

5
Excellent by D.M.G (2025-10-17)

"Lives up to expectations for sure"

5
Amazing by Lucas Hungulo (2025-10-17)

"Congratulations, i really love this plugin "

5
Fantastic by Clovis Ricardo Flores Grandmaison (2025-10-17)

"Fantastic compressor, very nice..."

5
Excellent by Sávio Alves (2025-10-17)

"I really love this plugin! Execellent performance!"

5
Excellent by Sávio Alves (2025-10-17)

"realy love this plugin, excellent performance "

5
Amazing by Javier Ramirez (Fire DJ LFM) (2025-10-17)

"Good compressor, it does an excellent job providing a wide range of effects, allowing you to work with compression levels from the softest to the most aggressive."

5
usei na voz by antonio luiz (2025-10-17)

"top esse plugin!!"

5
Excelente by Diego (2025-10-16)

""Este plugin é muito bom!""

5
exelent by carlos alexandro (2025-10-16)

"Excellent performance"

5
excellent by roberto (2025-10-16)

"this product is really good"

5
¡¡De los mejores VCA!! by Hec Cervans (2025-10-16)

"Desde que tengo el BlackAsh SC-5 en mi biblioteca, se ha vuelto uno de esos plugins que simplemente encajan a la perfección. No solo por cómo controla la dinámica, sino por el carácter cálido y ligeramente oscuro que aporta a cualquier pista. Es de esos compresores que no buscan llamar la atención, pero terminan dándole cohesión y profundidad a todo lo que tocan. Cada vez que lo abro, siento que mi mezcla respira con más intención, como si todo encajara con un toque de elegancia analógica."

5
Excelent by Menezes Mezil (2025-10-16)

"Excelent Product, i Like"

5
Mr. by Gary (2025-10-16)

"Still a newbie to mixing but I must say I really love the saturation in this unit BlackAsh SC-5. Maybe something I am looking for to influence my mixing style."

5
Reseña nuevo plugin VPRE-73 by Cristofer Luna (2025-10-16)

"Me encantaría poder probar el plugin, ya que he podido probar algunos de sus plugins y de verdad son de muy alta calidad."

5
Reseña nuevo plugin by Cristofer Luna (2025-10-16)

"me encantaría poder probrarlo porque he podido probar algunos de sus plugins y me parecen geniales y de muy alta calidad"

5
Excellent by Léo Lopes (2025-10-16)

"This plugin is very good , excellent performance "

5
excellent by guilherme (2025-10-15)

"love this plugin"

5
excellent by guilherme (2025-10-15)

"love this plugin"

5
Great by Eneias (2025-10-15)

"Great plugin!"

5
excelente by Yoser (2025-10-15)

"Es un producto de una excelente calidad para darle un buen uso y pues lo utilizo mucho"

5
Fire Plugin by 9Zi (2025-10-15)

"Sound so clean.That's Crazy ."

5
BEST PLUGIN by EMIDIO OLIVEIRA TEIXEIRA (2025-10-14)

"THE BEST PLUGIN. EXCELENT!"

5
"Beautiful character and saturation" by 王胥骥 (2025-10-14)

""Beautiful character and saturation""

5
Amazing plug by Feathers (2025-10-13)

"Beautiful character and saturation"

5
This is a compressor with a truly excellent sound. by Jun koyama (2025-10-13)

"It's a rather peculiar compressor that, simply by inserting it, causes sounds to blend together."

5
Exelente complemento by NelsonArita (2025-10-12)

"Fantásticos plugins de los mejores que he visto, me sirve para tonos cálidos, densos y cremosos. En las voces y el bajo es increíble. Produce tu Música"

5
wunderbar by Reinhard Walther (2025-10-12)

"gefällt uns sehr gut"

5
GOOD by ivan zamorano (2025-10-12)

"VERY VERY NICE SOUND, THANK YOU, Produce Tu Musica"

5
Un excelente compresor by Jose Playdrumestudio (2025-10-12)

"Me gusta mucho trabajar con este compresor y siempre consigo lo que le pido y la musicalidad que ofrece es excelente."

5
Bueno by Antonio Arellano (2025-10-12)

"Gran plugin "

5
With love from Japan by uhr (2025-10-12)

"This plugin has excellent texture and is truly outstanding!"

5
With love from Japan by uhr (2025-10-12)

"This plugin has excellent texture and is truly outstanding!"

5
Excelente by Miguel Benites (2025-10-12)

"Una emulación muy fiel y un poderoso compresor. Produce tu musica"

5
Excelente by Gabriel Galeno (2025-10-12)

""Una emulación muy fiel y un poderoso compresor. Produce Tu Música""

5
Excelente by Gabriel Galeno (2025-10-12)

""Una emulación muy fiel y un poderoso compresor. Produce Tu Música""

5
fokyea by ro (2025-10-11)

"sounds awesomeee"

5
Excelente by Rolando Pérez (2025-10-11)

"Es una emulación muy fiel y puede sacarle el jugo a tus creaciones. Produce Tu Música"

5
Excelente by Cesar Aching (2025-10-11)

"Una emulación muy fiel y un poderoso compresor. Produce Tu Música"

5
Lo Mejor by Alejandro (2025-10-11)

"Uno de los mejores compresores, además de fiable. Produce tu Música."

5
perfect by Lucas (2025-10-11)

"Excellent plugin, great compressor"

5
Extraordinario by Arquimedes Gonzalez (2025-10-11)

"Fresno negro SC-5 es una gran herramienta de trabajo que supera mis propias expectativas."

5
Excelente by Fernando (2025-10-11)

"Gran compresor cumple muy bien su funcionamiento Produce tu música "

5
Review by SoHira (2025-10-11)

"Excelente calidad, diseño increible. Lo probe en mi bus de baterias y hace tremendo trabajo"

5
Review by SoHira (2025-10-11)

"Excelente calidad!!"

5
Black by Alexander (2025-10-11)

"a good plugin!"

5
excelente by Julio Cesar Antezana (2025-10-11)

"de los mejores compresor para bus, produce tu musica"

5
Great plugin !!! by Piotr Paweł (2025-10-11)

"Great plugin, I've been looking for this warm sound for quite a while!!! I recommend it!!!"

5
Super by Piotr (2025-10-11)

"I was just looking for something similar and found it, great!"

5
good plugin by Oatindy1 (2025-10-11)

"Thank for you good plugin ever !"

5
Great by Quincy Ndekwe (2025-10-11)

"This product is great"

5
Very Versatile Compressor by Thanapatsachot (2025-10-11)

"really love the sound out of it !!! much appreciated"

5
Very good by Thanapatsachot (2025-10-11)

"Versatile Compressor from Black Rooster"

5
Excelente Plugin, muy buen compresor!! by Jose Miguel De Robertis (2025-10-11)

"Recomiendo este compresor para Buss de Bateria y Bajo, Excelente Plugin!!!"

5
Great Comp by Omar Steve (2025-10-10)

"Great sounding compressor Add in my mix and sound is love como definitely on my master bus Great great "

4
Musically Great! by Kordor Pyrbot (2025-10-10)

"What a fantastic plugin!"

5
BlackAsh SC-5 by Daniel St. Pierre (2025-10-10)

"Excellent modeling with side-chain. If you're looking for that classic sound this will get you there."

5
Excellent by Eleazer Lytep (2025-10-10)

"Wow! This plugin is unbelievable! Must try!!"

5
Excellent by Eleazer Lytep (2025-10-10)

"This plugin is unbelievable!! "

5
An amazing product by Luis Nieves (2025-10-10)

"I love this bundle!"

5
BlackAsh SC-5 by Maximiliano (2025-10-10)

"El BlackAsh SC-5 tiene un carácter distintivo: musical, cálido y ligeramente agresivo. Es excelente para darle cohesión a mezclas densas, controlar transientes sin perder punch, y añadir color sin exagerar. Su respuesta dinámica lo hace ideal para géneros como jazz experimental, música concreta o cualquier producción que requiera precisión y textura. "

5
review by juan montoya (2025-10-09)

"Excellent!!! , The Canary plugin sounds very good"

5
Congratulations by Manuel (2025-10-09)

"This pluggin is so good!"

5
Congratulations by Manuel (2025-10-09)

"This pluggin is so good!"

4
Genial su diseños de sus plugins by Jose Castro (2025-10-09)

"No he probado está marca de plugins, pero se ven de buena calidad ."

3
Try it on guitar DI by Baltimore Digital (2025-10-09)

"No doubt BlackAsh sounds good on the drum buss. But a little trick I learned from another sound engineer was to use this one like a virtual guitar pedal for DI'd electric guitar. So, prior to whatever amp sim you may be using. I gave it three stars because it's not exactly a versatile compressor and can be tough to gainstage. But it is a standout because I don't think any other company has tried to emulate the mid-1980s hardware the BlackAsh is based on. Try it on snare drum too."

4
Could have been a 5 star by Oscar (2025-10-08)

"This is one of my favourite compressors to add character. Just one issue. I am gainstaging at a moderate level and I need to add some gain trim before the compressor kicks in. With a control for headroom or tandem in and out gain this one would without doubt be a 5 star rated piece of gear. "

4
Could have been a 5 star by Oscar (2025-10-08)

"This is one of my favourite compressors to add character. Just one issue. I am gainstaging at a moderate level and I need to add some gain trim before the compressor kicks in. With a control for headroom or tandem in and out gain this one would without doubt be a 5 star rated piece of gear. "

4
Music Producer/Mixer by Praveen (2025-10-08)

"clean, tight compressor for drum bus"

Leave a Review

Industry Reviews

Greg Wurth

Greg Wurth

Producer/Mixer/Engineer Mary J Blige, Steve Vai greg-wurth.com

"I’ve never used the hardware version of the SC-5 but I really dig the coloration that you can get out of the plugin. It’s definitely a useful compressor to have in the arsenal."

Koen Heldens

Koen Heldens

Producer/Mixer/Engineer XXXTentacion, Timbaland, Taryn Manning mixedbykoenheldens.com

"The BlackAsh and BlueAsh comps are great Ashly emulations, just thickness in the right places! I love the combination of the VLA2A and the BlueAsh comp in series on lead vocals. Phat controlled vocals!"