Now, this compressor is the real deal, and made a tough run for the number 1 spot on my list! The SSL Compressor from the SSL 4000 bundle is one the best compressors I have ever used, and many who have used it would gladly agree.

It will leave your dynamics controlled but also leave them with a sense of character and life, instead of sucking them dry. Overall, this plugin is a fantastic option for a bright, clean-sounding compressor. The electro function will compress your sound hard, and the optical function will allow sound to breathe and sound more open.

It also has optical and electro functions which can be toggled between. It will adjust your release time depending on the transients of the sound waves traveling through (pretty cool!). The ARC function is a nice automatic release control feature that when enabled changes the release time based on the program data. It gives you control of all the major parameters (attack, threshold, release, ratio), but also has a few functions that give your sound an extra flair of character which can be nice. There are few meters in it which allows it to be very hard to make sound bad. What makes this plugin so great is what it doesnвЂ™t do rather than what it does. This compressor though simple packs a huge punch in when trying to control heavy dynamics within a mix. YouвЂ™ll find a bunch in our sample pack marketplace.ДЄnother one of my favorite compressors on the list is the RCompressor from the Waves Renaissance bundle. ItвЂ™s easy to throw this thing on every track that you think needs it, and practice to help familiarize yourself with the different parameters that make compression work. I would definitely recommend this plugin to any novice audio engineer who is first dipping their feet into compression. There is also a section for makeup gain so you can increase your volume once you have compressed your audio. What makes this compressor useful is that it gives the user control over the attack, threshold, ratio, and release which in return allows you more total control over the compression being done at hand. There are three separate digital meters two for the input and output gains, and one for the gain reduction being done during compression. This is what your basic compressor plugin is generally going to look like, and a very similar interface to the one I learned while I was first learning. The C1 is a great all-around compressor and I use it on everything from basic drum tracks to sub-mixes and group buses. The Waves C1 Compressor is an excellent choice if youвЂ™re looking for a more basic looking compressor while still wanting all the essential parameters needed.

Cla 2a in mastering