Neil Rogersĭespite having only two controls, the LA‑2A compressor is a notoriously difficult piece of hardware to model. I also like to use it as the last stage of processing on a drum bus, to shave off a few of the loudest transients before they interact with any master bus processing. A transparent, simple‑to‑use limiter, it allows you to manage the loudness of your mixes and masters with ease. I’ve used Pro‑L on every mix for several years now. A beautifully elegant click‑and‑drag interface makes complex dynamic effects child’s play to set up and easy to visualise, and the innovative Dynamic Phase filtering eliminates the crossover artefacts associated with traditional multiband processors. Also part of the free ReaPlugs bundle for other Windows DAWs.įabFilter’s revolution in plug‑in GUI design reached its apogee with Pro‑MB, which completely reinvented multiband processing. It can even squirt out a MIDI note when the gate opens, for basic sample‑triggering. The variable lookahead is great for high‑threshold gating of drums without losing the very start of the attack, and the flexibility of being able to set Wet and Dry levels (as well as polarity‑inverting the wet signal for ducking) is really handy. I use gating for a lot of mixing tasks, and this one is so well specified that I’ve not bothered using anything else for years. Also included in Plugin Alliance subscription bundles. It compares wonderfully to my real Dual Vandergraph, which is saying something! JG Harding This emulation of the Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor is one: it has a beautiful optical compressor plus a VCA stage, and is the perfect coloured mix‑bus glue. There are some exceptions, though, which are so good that they sit happily alongside my most esoteric outboard. I have 27 channels of hardware compression and believe hardware still holds the edge, especially when you’re hitting things hard. It can turn its hand to most things and always delivers great results. My preferred plug‑in for compression and limiting, this emulates the immense versatility, usability and sound character of the Audio & Design F760 Compex hardware compressor‑limiter, which was the go‑to outboard in my formative years. I suspect that some users fail to appreciate that the different ‘skins’ are far more than just a different look, but are in fact significantly different circuit emulations, each suited to different applications. The bundled compressor in Logic’s impressive plug‑in suite doesn’t seem to get a lot of love, but I think it is a little gem. It has almost stopped me lusting after hardware tube compressors entirely. I settled on El Rey as my pick because, of all the Acqua range, this arguably strikes the best balance between demands on the CPU, an elegant yet intuitive GUI and stellar‑sounding results. I could have named any number of Acustica’s Acqua ‘dynamic convolution’ plug‑ins here because, when it comes to bottling the character of analogue gear, they sound better than anything else I’ve heard. But next time you’re looking for new ways to finesse your vocals, detonate your drums or massage your mixes, we hope this list will be the perfect starting point! Dynamics Processors Acustica Audio El Rey This isn’t a ‘top 100’, and there are lots of good plug‑ins that aren’t included. (We’ll cover virtual instrument plug‑ins another time.) We invited our regular authors to nominate their favourite effects and processing plug‑ins, and explain what makes them so great. Our writers at SOS have been testing and using audio plug‑ins since they were invented, and in this article we’re drawing on their experience to help you narrow down the field. How do you even know which ones to consider? Well, you could do worse than ask the experts. With so many on the market, just compiling a shortlist to demo can feel daunting. On top of the plug‑ins that come with your DAW, there are thousands of third‑party offerings. SOS writers pick their favourite plug‑ins and tell us what makes them special.
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