What are your favourite compressor plugins?

Orvillain

Orvillain

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I'm a suckah for a good 76 and LA2A plugin. The ones in T-Racks are my favourites as it goes. Really big fan of T-Racks in general.

The CLA 76's are crap. The 2A's are a bit better.

I don't think the UA LA2A collection is any better than native plugins tbh, and I know you can get them using their Spark service (I have them) but I'd rather reach for the above, or even the Black Rooster plugins.
 
waves rcomp and renaissance axx get used a ton on every mix here.

UAD Fatso is great on busses, I love the mpressor plugin too (versatile like a distressor but the negative ratios and inverse release curves can be awesome for injecting groove).

Tokyo Dawn Kotelnikov is great and free, you get attack and release for the peak and RMS detection and can blend between the 2.

Arturia are making killer stuff, love their STA level.

UAD API2500 is cool.

Fuse Audio Labs make some quirky bits, their dev made a lot of the better Plugin Alliance and Black Rooster opto compressors.

IK’s Distressor is amazing.
 
My go to ones are UAD SSL (I can get it to the same flavor as my hardware SSL comp) and the ones on both the UAD API and SSL channel strips.
I also dig the API 2500 from UAD. I used to use the waves one but the UAD one seems more betterer. That’s really about it for me. Simple and boring, I know.
 
I dig the Waves SSL ev2 channel strip lately, good compressor. Love the API 2500 in UA Spark which I'm checking out.
Another fave is the Jon V Fircomp, when you just want pure compression without any colour, it's like magic :giggle:

And it's free! https://plugins4free.com/plugin/3257/
The DBX 160 simulation in Logic is great too.
 
I use the CLA-76 on all my vocal tracks. :rofl Sometimes two of them!

I like all three of the CLA comps and usually put the 3A on acoustics/strings.

Easily my favorite compressor is the Brainworx Townhouse Buss Comp; I use it to parallel compress all my drum tracks and it’s the first thing that goes in my master buss when I start a new session. I don’t even tweak it, I just use the presets and they’re perfect. I never got into using the presets on plug-ins until I saw Devin Townsend doing it with some vocal compression, “I just throw it on here and whatever it’s set to works, so why f*ck with it?” I guess I needed a free pass from him, but sometimes it works!
 
1691725068521.jpeg
 
I did not own any 3rd party comps other than what came with some bundles … new to this.

Using the ones in Logic, Izotope (Neutron4 and Ozone10) and Native (SSL)

Looking to learn from those who have traveled the path.
 
CLA comps were used a lot before my Waves plugs shit the bed. Used the native ReaComp for side chain compression. Now I just use Fabfilter Pro C2 for all of the above.
 
I still use the IK Black 76, I guess I just know what it does by now. The IK LA2A from the same lineup I can take or leave, I really like the Black Rooster 2a and 3a.

Other than that... Waves BSS402 is great, I like it so much I bought a real one. IK Bus Comp for Bus duty, and the Neve 3360 whatever the number is makes a solid drum bus comp - transient punch, but thick sounding.
 
Not really a favorite but the ones I use the most are the compressor and limiter in Studio One.
Secondary would be from Plugin Alliance -- Elysia Alpha and Millenia TCL-2, and sometimes the Lindell 354E.
 
FuzzyAce said:
Lindell 354E
Click to expand...

I use the single band version of that, the 254? Or something? numbers. Meh.

Anyway, like it a lot, but somehow I end up not needing it much in practice. I'm meaning to try it out on mix bus duty when I get to mixing a project that's on the go.
 
Cirrus said:
I use the single band version of that, the 254? Or something? numbers. Meh.

Anyway, like it a lot, but somehow I end up not needing it much in practice. I'm meaning to try it out on mix bus duty when I get to mixing a project that's on the go.
Click to expand...
It's a daunting looking plugin, and I don't use it too often. It does work well on a mix bus, and most times I'll thumb through preset and just tweak from there. I prefer the simpler approach, at least with the interface. Probably why I go with the built-in studio one more times that not. I have quite a few T-Racks compressors but honestly haven't used them in a number of years. Need to because I do like them.
 
Couple that are a bit different and sort of overlooked.

Elysia Alpha Compressor and Tone Projects Unisum.

They’re more suited for mix bus, with slow attack, medium/slow release, REALLY low ratio just for general mastering style compression. They both really excel for that, and have some very nice features on top (clipping in alpha, flexibility/modern features in Unisum)
 
Lot cheaper than an actual LA-2A. Downloaded. Bet it makes me sound like Chris Cornell now. :beer
 
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