Review: FUEL by Musik Hack

New plugin developer Musik Hack made waves recently with their initial release, Masterplan. It’s been well received and favourably reviewed both here and elsewhere. Since our review, Masterplan has become an indispensable tool in our mixing projects, allowing us to push the boundaries of loudness.

FUEL is the latest offering from Musik Hack. At first glance, it looks like a miniature version of Masterplan. Is it worth owning if you already have Masterplan, or can FUEL by Musik Hack ignite a spark of its own? Let’s find out!

Fine-tuned maximization & saturation toolkit that combines the best of your favorite plugins in one simple tool: no stacking required.

Fire, Metal, Ice and More Metal 

At first glance, I wasn’t a huge fan of the FUEL UI. This is very much a subjective matter. The red graphics and flame-burnt accents weren’t really my style – thankfully, clicking the big red FUEL icon allows you to switch colours.

The available skins tend to use similar industrial design styles, but I did find a couple of options I like. The graphics are definitely high quality and look great even on bigger screens. The layout is simple, intuitive, and easy to use. You don’t have to spend time tinkering to figure out where everything is.

At the top of the interface are Input and Output knobs with extremely handy mini-LUFS-S meters below. These are my favourite feature of this UI and one I’ve wished for in other plugins. Next to the output knob are selectors for Bypass, Unity gain, Live mode (low latency) and Oversample. These are ideal located right near the Output, so you don’t have to search around or dig into a dropdown menu to find these fundamental utilities.

The most prominent feature of FUEL’s interface is certainly the huge LOUD knob at the centre. No need to guess what this dial does! In fact, the LOUD algorithm is borrowed from Musik Hack’s own Masterplan plugin and is described as a proprietary blend of clipping, limiting and saturation. A Bass knob also appears in Masterplan’s UI, but I don’t believe FUEL’s version is exactly the same – more on this later. 

To the left is the Comp knob, with an option to add either regular old boring compression or OTT (“over the top”) style compression. Below this, the Body slider doesn’t directly affect the main compression, but instead dials in upward compression to add weight. To the right of LOUD is the Soft Clip dial, with a slider below to add clipping Crunch. 

The three knobs near the bottom are Bass, Thick and Mix controls. Bass, as expected, adds considerable low end, while dialing up Thick blankets saturation across the mix, with a focus on the mid range. If you find the controls so far have poured a little too much FUEL onto your fire track, you can use the Mix control to turn it down a notch.

Finally, the Preset menu provides a comprehensive list for just about anything you might want to apply FUEL to. There’s also a fun random button you can experiment with when the mad scientist mood strikes. 

Big, Fat, Thick and Loud

FUEL’s aim is to replace a whole suite of plugins. It must be one of the most comprehensive saturation or thickness boxes on the market, with the singular purpose of making your material as dense as your heart desires. It starts with with our old friend, the LOUD knob, which adds near-pristine level up to 4dB, after which things get progressively crunchier.

Speaking of crunchy, the dedicated crunch and soft clip functions provide impressive and precise control over the “spice” on your transients. The soft clip is remarkably clean with oversampling when used in moderation, and crunch dials in the amount of traditional “clipper sound” you prefer. 

Compression in FUEL reacts nicely to different material and is one of the plugin’s most transparent controls. Particularly with the unity toggle, it’s easy to dial in a clean squeeze almost every time. For more character, the OTT function is “over the top”, as advertised, with exaggerated tails and everything you’d expect from a solid OTT algorithm. The Body slider is described as adding upward compression for heft. It does appear to add something in the low and low-mid ranges and sounds quite nice on the right material. 

The Bass knob effect is quite subtle. I’ve been on the fence with this function because it works great on some tracks, but not on others. Tighter sources seem to yield better results, but on material with a looser low end, FUEL’s Bass tends to exacerbate the issue. The Thick knob adds nice saturation, though it tends to become more focused in the midrange when pushed further.

Personal Thoughts 

Within fifteen minutes of using FUEL, I felt like I’d found the holy grail of saturation and loudness. Over the next few days, I threw it on every single session. Within two weeks, I started to realise I may have overdone it on most of the material.

Don’t get me wrong, FUEL is a powerful tool – almost too powerful at times. It’s quite different from Masterplan in that it feels more heavy-handed compared to Masterplan’s subtler approach. This makes sense, as FUEL is geared towards use in production and mix sessions.

I love the compressor for mixing, especially on percussive material. It feels clean and yet delivers extremely punchy results. On busses and full mixes, it’s a pleasure to mix with the goal of adding FUEL toward the end.

If you have sources already geared toward density and loudness, FUEL might take them too far without you realising it. Without fresh ears and a fully reliable monitoring system, this tool can easily push material over the proverbial edge.

I suggest using FUEL with focus and attention, as the effects can surge from “subtle” to “too much” in a flash. In particular, be aware of how transients smear as FUEL heats up and make sure the amount of smear is intentional. In the end, FUEL can be a lot of fun, but its best used with balance and some degree of caution. Maybe keep a fire extinguisher handy, just in case.

Grab your own copy of FUEL from our partners at Thomann Music.

Find further fun FUEL facts at Musik Hack.