New Music Gear Monday: Sonible pure:level Dynamic Leveling Plugin

One of the most tedious tasks in any mix is dealing with level inconsistencies in a vocal or dialogue track. A singer gets excited and the level spikes, then backs off during a softer phrase, and suddenly you’re riding the fader constantly instead of actually mixing. Compression can help, but it changes the dynamics in ways that can make a track feel squashed or unnatural if you push it too hard, and automation and clip gain takes time to incorporate. That’s the problem that Sonible’s new pure:level plugin is designed to solve, and it does it in a way that feels almost invisible.

Content-Aware Leveling

pure:level uses AI-powered analysis to keep your vocals, dialogue, and instrument tracks at a consistent level without killing the natural dynamics of the performance.

The difference between this and a compressor is an important one. A compressor reacts to level changes by reducing gain when a threshold is crossed, which can create audible pumping or squashing if the settings aren’t dialed in carefully.

pure:level approaches the problem differently, analyzing the content of the track and adjusting levels in a way that preserves the feel of the performance while evening out the inconsistencies.

The plugin is simple to use, which is very much in line with Sonible’s design philosophy across their entire pure: and smart: product lines. You get the processing you need without having to spend time learning a complicated interface.

All you need to do is hit the Analyze button and play a few seconds of the track, and pure:level does the rest. You can change how aggressively it acts with the Intensity selection, and how fast it works with the Speed control to dial in the perfect level for the track.

The Group Feature

What makes pure:level particularly interesting for mixing is the group feature.

If you have stacked vocals, layered guitars, or any situation where multiple tracks need to move together as a cohesive element, you can link them through the plugin so that the levels of the entire group are managed from a single window.

The key here is that grouping them doesn’t collapse their individual dynamics into one undifferentiated blob. Each track keeps its own character while the group stays balanced as a whole.

This is an extremely useful feature for anyone who works with doubles and harmonies, since getting those layered tracks to sit together without constant fader adjustments is always time-consuming.

Pricing and Availability

pure:level is priced at $25 (introductory price, regular price $39) and is available for both Mac and PC. It supports VST, VST3, AU, and AAX formats, covering essentially every major DAW environment. Mac users also get native Apple Silicon support. A 30-day trial is available so you can put it through its paces before committing.

You can find out more about the Sonible pure:level plugin here, or watch the video below.