A studio staple, the compressor has many uses from creative sound shaping to audio taming and control. And while there is no shortage of premium-priced compressors on the market there are also many great free options. So let’s check out our top pick of free compressor plugins.

ThrillseekerLA mkII – Variety of Sound

Let’s kick off proceedings with a plugin inspired by one of the all-time classic vintage compressors. The LA2A limiting amplifier. One of the key features of this compressor is its audio colouring options. These help to enhance harmonics for a more characteristic sound. Tube, loudness, and interstage settings deliver subtle harmonics without being too overwhelming or distorted. These features can be turned off for a cleaner more transparent signal.

In addition, this compressor offers all the standard controls you would expect including Attack, Release, Ratio. Gain staging is made simple with large drive and output knob’s controlling the input, compression, and output. There’s also the all-important Dry/Wet control for adding parallel compression.

The only drawback is this fantastic free plugin is available for Windows only. Sorry Mac people.

MCompressor – MeldaProduction

This free compressor plugin from Meldproduction offers probably the most wideranging range of functions on our list. Probably the most innovative function is that it allows free adjustability over the compression shape. This option allows the user to radically customize the compressor’s dynamic responses in real time.

As well as the compression shaper it also offers sidechain compression. perfect for all you EDM prods out there looking to give your tracks that classic kick-triggered pumping effect. In addition every other control you would want in a fully comprehensive compressor is available for endless signal tweaking.

And if all this is not enough the MCompressor is part of a comprehensive plugin bundle. All FREE!!! Just be aware, you will need to download the whole suite in order to access the Mcompressor.

Vocal Compressor – Bertom Audio

No prizes for guessing what this compressor specialises in! While our previous entry had every bell and whistle included this compressor provides a simple streamlined solution. Vocal Compressor features just a handful of controls. Luckily dialing in these functions soon reveals how usable and effective the controls are.

It’s heavily inspired by the way mastering limiters work, featuring the same kind of lookahead (about 1ms) and program dependency. The main difference being it offers this limiting in a soft knee compression context.

So if you want a quick, simple solution to throw on a vocal or any speech without putting your processor under too much strain this represents a great choice.

TDR Kotelnikov – Tokyo Dawn Labs

If you’re after extreme clarity that is unashamedly digital then it’s hard to beat this free offering from Tokyo Dawn Labs. This Compressor is certainly transparent enough for all of your mastering needs.

The plugin offers an oversampled signal path providing fast yet transparent compression. This allows you to dramatically reduce the dynamic range while still preserving the tone and punch of the audio. The plugin also features the following controls; a sidechain high-pass filter, stereo linking capabilities, latency compensation, resizable user interface as well as dual-release control for peak and RMS compression.

So if you value digital clarity over vintage colouration then this compressor is for you.

Frontier – D16 Group

And finally, let’s throw in a Limiter for those looking to tame those peaks. It offers adjustable release time (fast, medium, or slow), automatic gain makeup, and optional soft clipping on the output. In practice, this plugin provides great sounding limiting with very little in the way of unwanted artefacts. You can use Frontier to effortlessly increase the perceived loudness of a track or signal.

The well-laid-out GUI with accurate reduction meter provides intuitive control of the incoming audio signal. This makes it a great option for those wanting something simple yet comprehensive enough for a variety of scenarios.

Remember – RouteNote Create subscriptions start from as little as $2.99. You also get 10 FREE credits to spend on samples along with access to our FREE sample pack bundle when you sign-up!

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