What if Fabfilter takes a different approach this time? Since they are probably not selling Pro-C2 and Pro-MB as much as they sell Pro-Q4 and combine both dynamic processors in one plugin to do compression and expansion with the option for multiband, i see it as a "wise" and good idea to regain its place as the king of digital compressor...

 

They could add something like the dynamics knob on Saturn, it would even make more sense in a dynamics processor. Other than that I'm hoping for saturation options like they did in Pro-Q4 and a low level expansion option, similar to the Density module on Neutron.

Also, I don't have the numbers but I would guess Pro-MB does not sell that much nowadays, so it would be awesome if they just integrated multiband functionality into the new Pro-C, I'm quite confident it would compensate sales wise.

 

Yeah it's officially confirmed on their socials, it will be Pro C-3.

 

UAD is still better

 

So... PrO-TT ?

Edit : Ok, saw the video. Nice stuff. Interacting with Pro-Q instances is really cool, between those two you can probably cover 90-95% of all dynamic processing you'd need. I wonder if you can link parameters (so you can, for example, attenuate spectral processing on Q while adding colored expansion on C, I dunno, just an example out of my shiny metal ass)

 

Last edited: Jan 14, 2026 at 4:45 PM

So yeah, looks incredibly boring like I expected. If they manage 0% CPU usage with saturation, then I see some value on it. Other than that, just an upgrade for the people still using C2.

 

I also bet that it will have way more modes and deeper customization of the modes (like Unisum and DMG Compassion). Communication between plugin instances is probably a given. They might even include some form of spectral compression like Smart:Comp.

 

I commented yesterday on their Facebook page that i hope they don't implement unnecessary AI and don't follow this AI trend just for the sake of it, Fabfilter responded that there will be no AI, simple as that.

 

Out soon... FabFilter Pro-C 3

Pro-C 3 is the next major version of our professional compressor plug-in, featuring six new compression styles and unique character modes for smooth saturation, vintage color and analog drift. You also get a highly improved side chain section, full immersive / Dolby Atmos® functionality, auto-threshold and Pro-Q 4 instance list integration.

The Pro-Q 4.10 update brings multi-plug-in support to the Instance List (supporting Pro-Q 4, Pro-C 3, Pro-G and Pro-DS, more to follow), turning the industry standard EQ into a full multi-track channel strip.

FabFilter Pro-C 3 will be available from January 15, 2026, via https://www.fabfilter.com/shop

 

Yes very true. The best spectral comp to me is the one by Melda Production. They arent the presstiest looking but they are damn sure up there with the best sounding and VERY easy to use. I've been amazing the past few weeks discovering their plugins during the sales. Absolutely brilliant plugins. What puts people of is the lack of videos or turtorials around on them. From my experience they are like the fine wines of plugins while everything else is beer. The just arnet the prettiest looking however they are extremely well thought outand easy to use. cant recommend them enough and ive been playing with music and plugins for 20+ years

 

They will and we will still buy or use them, they know this and so do we lol

 

Last edited: Jan 14, 2026 at 10:52 PM

Good, that would be extremely out of character for them.

 

Interesting ideas, i will say though about the Pro-Q 4 saturation i don't love it personally, it adds way too much noise for my taste.

 

There's a guy on youtube called Chandler Guitar who does really good tutorials on Melda.

His videos don't get many views tho. Melda isn't popular.

 

Hmm...

Manual here (< Link)

 

OK, there are plenty of new modes and customization options, but would it be so hard to remove that lookahead switch? I mean, if I'm setting any value more than 0 I think it's pretty safe to assume I'd like it to be turned on.

 

I liked the first half of your comment. I'm going to use it

 

OK, there are plenty of new modes and customization options, but! Why on earth did they spend all this time and energy adding harmonics/saturation/distortion, INSTEAD of what Pro-C2 was lacking which was customizability in terms of WHICH frequencies are being compressed. Perfect example: You want to sidechain compress, but ONLY the low end? Well, Pro-C 2 just is no good for that. Gotta use Pro-Q4 or Pro-MB instead. If they have Pro-MB2 coming soon, then this i would completely understand and nevermind, rant over. But how could they possibly overlook that function? I was expecting to be blown away and instead I'm seeing Pro-C 2 but just with a fancy suit on