What Mix Bus Glue sets
Mix Bus Glue is the first preset in Bond-609’s 33-preset 1.4.0 bank, and the manual’s own recommendation for this job. It uses a gentle ratio and a slow attack so the transients speak, and the Auto release so the bus breathes on hits and settles on held sections.
| Control | Setting | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Threshold | −13 dB | Range −30 to 0 dBFS |
| Ratio | 2:1 | Switch: 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 6 |
| Attack | 22 ms | Switch: 0.4, 1.5, 3, 9, 22, 41 ms |
| Release | AUTO | Switch: 100, 250, 400, 800 ms, 1.5 s, AUTO |
| Makeup | +2 dB | Range −10 to +20 dB |
| Mix | 100% | |
| Sidechain HP | 60 Hz | Detector only. The audio is not filtered |
| ANALOG | On | Diode-bridge grit, class-A warmth, output iron on the lows |
| Limiter | Off | |
| Stereo | LINK | One detector and one gain, so the image holds |
| AUTO GAIN | On |
How much is enough
The manual’s advice is to aim for 1 to 3 dB on the needle. On a mix bus that is a lot: more than 3 dB of constant reduction and the mix will start to lose its dynamics. Play the loudest chorus and set Threshold so the needle only touches 2 or 3 dB on the strongest hits and spends most of the song under 1 dB.
Do this with the mix at a sensible level. Threshold is measured against the level of your mix, so a quiet bus needs a lower threshold. Bond-609’s range is −30 to 0 dBFS, which has plenty of room for a mix that peaks well below full scale.
Attack and release: what to change and why
The 22 ms attack lets the front of each drum hit through before the compressor clamps down. Move it faster (9 ms or 3 ms) and the mix gets denser and flatter; move it slower (41 ms) and it gets more open. The release switch sets the recovery after a short hit. After sustained programme, a slower second stage takes over and the unit lets go roughly twice as slowly, and in AUTO about thirteen times more slowly. That is why AUTO breathes: a drum hit recovers quickly, but a held chord leaves the compressor settled.
If a fixed release works better for the track, choose one that matches the tempo: fast enough to recover before the next beat. 250 ms or 400 ms are common places to start.
Keep the low end from driving it
A loud kick or bass will dominate the detector and make the whole mix pump. Sidechain HP puts a high-pass on the detector only, which leaves the audio untouched. 60 Hz is the preset’s value. If the mix still ducks on the kick, raise it. Master Slow Glue and Tape Glue use 38 Hz, and Drum Bus Punch uses 85 Hz.
The limiter, and when to use M/S
Bond-609 has a limiter section on the same gain element, with its own ceiling from −19.5 to 0 dBFS or off. It is a 33609-style limiter, not a brickwall: a transient faster than 2 ms can pass the ceiling briefly. It acts on the compressed, made-up signal before Mix and Auto Gain, so with Auto Gain on the limiter’s ceiling is not the output ceiling. The Bus Glue + Limiter preset puts it at −1.0 dBFS and moves the compressor to 3:1, 9 ms and Auto release at −18 dB, and it is a good place to start if the bus peaks too hard. For a safe final peak, use a proper limiter after it: see mastering for streaming with SUS4 Limiter.
The M·S stereo mode gives the mid and the side their own detector and gain. A loud centre, such as the kick, bass or a lead vocal, then no longer pumps the width. Master M/S Tighten is the preset to try: it uses M/S, 2:1, a 22 ms attack and Auto release at −12 dB, with Analog off and the limiter at −0.5 dBFS.
Check it fairly
Bond-609 reports 63 samples of latency to your host, which delay compensation absorbs. Use A/B or bypass at matched level: Auto Gain does that for you, over about 2.5 seconds, so give it a moment after you switch. Then listen for the three things that tell you it is working: the drums feel connected to the rest of the mix, the sustained parts do not duck on every kick, and the bypassed version sounds slightly looser, not louder.
Sessions from before 1.4.0 open with the limiter off and the stereo mode on Link, so an old mix sounds the same until you change something.