I think Xtressor Nuke has to be in this list, I tried that and is simply awesome.

Is a distressor emulation but simplified and really effective, totally recommended for agressive compressions

Whoa, that one’s totally new to me. Looks sick. Thanks for the tip!

FXpansion DCAM FreeComp behaves strange whenever I try to use it. I tested it at least 6 or 7 times in different DAWs. Literally every time I came to the same conclusion. Something is way off about it. It’s true that it has auto-release, but this doesn’t explain why it’s not capable of reproducing the same behavior multiple times, like other comps. A simple test will reveal what I mean. Take a drumloop and put DCAM FreeComp on this track. Settings don’t really matter as long as you don’t go over 0 dBFS. Record audio to another track. In between recordings leave around 10 seconds for the compressor to go back to default setting i.e. this needle on the VU meter is extremely slow. Especially when you have it set to monitor gain reduction. Then look closely at recorded waveforms. They will be different. DCAM FreeComp can’t be consistent, which for me makes it unusable.

While you’re at it, give Pyewacket a try! That and Pop are my 2 most used Airwindows compressors because they sound amazing just slapping them on a channel. Pyewacket gives instant volume smoothing with a vintage style.

Cheers, you too!

Awesome, thanks! The information is much appreciated :) Your blog is a lifesaver, thanks, have a good one!

Hey there! I’m not an expert on the topic, but here’s some basic info. If you set a compressor (DCAM or any other) to a 10:1 or higher ratio, it is acting “by definition” as a limiter. This doesn’t mean that some of the loud transients won’t make it through. The thing is, true peak limiters often use a higher ratio and the “look-ahead” feature to detect the loudest peaks in advance. This is how they achieve what is known as “brickwall limiting”. It will also introduce some latency, depending on the look-ahead time. I hope that helps.

As for the release parameter in DCAM Freecomp, I believe it operates in auto-release mode and adapts to the processed signal automatically.

Ah, the old Variety of Sound plugins – I am a HUGE fan of Bootsy’s plugins. Still can’t get over the fact that FerricTDS is 32-bit only and I actually keep a 32-bit plugin host handy just so that I could use FerricTDS for offline processing.

That said, the plugins haven’t been updated in ages and Variety of Sound’s legacy continues through Tokyo Dawn Labs software (it is a collaboration between several developers, including Bootsy). I might add Density mk3 to the honorable mentions, though, for old times’ sake. Thanks for reminding me!

As for RedPhatt, it was a great plugin but it’s discontinued and not available from the developer’s website. I don’t feature plugins that are only available from unofficial mirrors.

Thanks for your comment! Actually, I spoke to Sonic Anomaly developer about his old plugins and he simply doesn’t want them online. So the links on the website you mentioned are hosted without the developer’s approval.

As for Leveling Tool, you are 100% right and I’ve added it to my to-do list for this article. I will also relegate NightShine down to the honorable mentions section and add a couple of other excellent compressor plugins.