Hey guys,
inspired by the thread "which 1176?" i wanted to start a kind of collection of the best compressor plugin (free and commercial) sorted by their circuit type or the hardware "idol". I'm really interested what you think about all kinds of types and what instruments you use it for.

So, i start with the 1176 models from the thread i mentioned before:

Waves CLA76
Softube FET
Ik Black76
UAD 1176 (v2)
fxpansion DCAM ChannelComp
Stillwell the rocket


670 Emulations:
IK Multimedia T-Rack 670 Model
Waves Puigchild 660, 670
UAD Fairchild 670
Variety of Sounds Density mkIII
Avid Pro Tools Fairchild 670
Slate Digital Virtual Bus Compressors


VCA:
Brainworx VSC-2
Vertigo Sound VSC


SSL Emulations:
Waves SSL G-Master Buss
Cytomic The Glue
SSL Duende Bus Comp


dbx 165A:
de la Mancha sixty-five
Stillwell's Major Tom


Opto-Comp:
ArtsAcoustic CL1
IK White 2A
Variety of Sounds ThrillseekerLA
Softube TLA-100A (emulation of Summit-Audio TLA-100A)
...
...
...

Something else? Which more do you know that are Opto, 670 Emulations,...?
Last edited by The Main Event on Thu Nov 15, 2012 2:39 am; edited 7 times in total

670:

Variety of Sound's Density MKIII (it's supposed to kind of sound like a Fairchild from what I read). It's great regardless and free.

Variety of Sound's ThrillseekerLA is also great. It's a leveling amp design so it's similiar to an Opto-Comp/LA-2A clone. It has a lot more features/buttons than an LA-2A clone though so it's more along the lines of IK Multimedia's Opto compressor but without at zero cost.

IK Multimedia's White 2A under Opto. Sounds good on vocals/bass guitar just like the LA-2A.

Waves' API 2500 is great.

de la Mancha sixty-five is a good dbx 165A clone and it's cheap.
Stillwell's Major Tom is a dbx 160 clone/inspired and is also cheap.

ReaComp can go from clean to dirty. It's a very versatile compressor and it's free.

LoudMax is technically a limiter plug-in but I use it all the time on acoustic guitars and bass.

Wavs RVox is my go-to vocal compressor.

And last but certainly not least Cytomic's The Glue. It's main job as a buss compressor serves it well but it can be used on every track thanks to the Range control. Based on a Solid State Logic mix buss compressor. Eats Waves G Buss Compressor alive!

For creative compression Id check out Elysias offerings such as their fine Mpressor plugin.

http://www.elysia.com/software/mpressor/introduction/

Following Information taken from the site above.

"The mpressor plugin is the as close as it can get emulation of our famous creative compressor. Its all discrete circuitry and its special character have been translated into software in all the painstaking details by the specialists from Brainworx. The result is an outstanding universal compressor as well as an inspiring dynamic effects machine which will significantly enhance the potentials of your host software.

The plugin has all the great functions of the hardware which can be combined in many ways: Auto Fast for attack makes life easy even on longer attack settings. The Anti Log function offers an alternative release curve that can be engaged for instant pumping effects. In addition to standard ratios, the mpressor also provides negative values. Combine this with its extremely fast attack times, and you will be able to create completely new signal envelopes.

The Gain Reduction Limiter regulates the virtual control voltage and keeps even the most extreme settings under control - completely independent from the threshold and ratio settings. The additional filter is a perfect fit for changing the compressed signal in its sound character. The possibility to control the mpressor by an external sidechain input to get things grooving makes for further flexibility.

The mpressor plugin is available for PC and Mac in 32 and 64 bits. The following formats are supported: AAX, RTAS, AS, TDM, VST2.4, VST3, AU and VENUE."

Vertigo VSC-2
Elysia Alpha
Elysia mpressor
Kush UBK-1
Klanghelm
McDSP 6030
McDSP CompressorBank
Softube TLA-100A
Melda
PSP
Slate
Sonalksis
URS
Waves
etc.

I don't believe in best.
I don't care much for emulations.
I use whatever sounds good and facilitates my workflow, and hopefully is not too CPU intensive.

The Glue, amazing SSL emulation

Vintage Compressors from Native Instruments made by Softube: the VC76 (Urei 1176), VC2A (Teletronix LA2A), and VC160 (Dbx 160)

DMG Compassion, which can emulate darn near anything as far as I can tell

I only need one.

Compressor 260

http://www.steinberg.net/en/products/vst/yamaha_vintage_plug _in_collection/vintage_channel_strip.html

And EQ 601 is the only one I use also. Extremely clean and keeps the sound open.

Cool thanks for all the Input and the overview but can you name me also what emulation it is? Would be nice.

TDR Feedback Compressor is awesome.I don't know that's which compressor's emulation but it's really great!

I once collected compressors like Imelda Marcos collected shoes, but they've all been retired. I came to the realization that it's better to start with one truly versatile compressor and then learn its every nuance until you know exactly how to make it sing and dance.

The idea that you need different compressors for different applications is a holdover from hardware days, when the classic models - great though they were - could not come close to the versatility of modern digital processors. The best DSP plugins don't bother trying to emulate anything, as that would only impose unnecessary restrictions in functionality.

For me, it's FabFilter Pro-C that handles any and all compression tasks (except master bus limiting). Is it "the best"? I don't know. It does lack a few features (no ultra-fast attack times, no oversampling, no lookahead). All I know is it hasn't let me down yet and takes very little tweaking to dial it in.

Exactly, Pro-C is one of the best, but what type is it?
BTW: The Native Instruments Vintage Compressors (by Softube) can only be used in Guitar Rig.

NightShine Alesis 3630 modeled compressor got some very positive reviews.

http://www.discodsp.com/nightshine/

Likeware.

+1 TDR is a great substitute for the API 2500.

Here's another great free compressor plug-in, mostly used for buss purposes:

http://vladgsound.wordpress.com/downloads/

It's called the Molot and it likens itself to the Neve 33609, Tube-Tech CL1B and Fairchild 670. It's a little intimidating to use but it has a nicely written manual that helps out a lot and is a good introduction to compressors.

+1 FabFilter C

This might just turn into a list of all software compressors available, if we're not careful.

I had about 10-15 compressors which were all seeing some use or other. Now, I've whittled it down to three: the fabulous-sounding and versatile Klanghelm DC8C, the compressor/gate included in Alloy 2, and The Glue, which just does what it says on the tin. The first two don't "model" any hardware compressors that I'm aware of, which is just fine with me because they simply do what they're supposed to and do it well.

I don't know if 112db Blue Compressor is meant to imitate any particular analog comps, but it's def doesn't sound like any other digital stuff (software). The Drive knob is so powerful. My best comp so far.