Your go-to compressor in 2023?

[svyet]

I've boiled everything down and only use these 5:

1. Weiss DS1-MK3 (Softube; mastering/limiting compressor and de-esser, sometimes on groups for transparent compression)
2. Vertigo VSC-3 (VCA for groups, bus, guitars, keys, and first comp in mastering chain, very refined and musical, but also transparent while also being sort of wet like an SSL bus comp when needed..hard to describe).
3. Pulsar Mu (variable mu for some instruments/vocals, reverb send, and final touch in mastering right before clipper & Weiss to open things up)
4. Summit TLA-100A (Softube; goes on just about everything for some general leveling, very quick and easy to dial in, really smooth and musical, some smoothing of the HF that some don't like but tames harshness)
5. Pulsar 1178 (stereo 1176; nice on snares and peaky vocals/guitars/keys, usually used in tandem with Summit for peak control and added compressor sheen and more obvious compression, sometimes as an effect compressor)

That's it. I tried to approach my plugins like actual hardware. Each have their own behavior and sound and non-linearities, and therefore each have their place in terms of fastest results. If I had to boil it down even more, I would probably stick with Weiss, Summit, and 1178. Weiss is clean and can do fast or slow. Summit and 1178 for character.

Even further, between the Summit and 1178 that's a toss up for me...the 1176/78 is often considered a "desert island" compressor that could probably accomplish most typical tasks. The Summit is like an LA2A, but more versatile with three levels each of attack and release. 1178 can be musical and very "effecty" and shiny. Both the 1178 and Summit have useful adjustable saturation..

That said though, if it really came down to it, the Weiss is something that could be used from start to finish and fill a lot of roles. It is the ultimate finisher for me with it's separate compressor and limiter stages and transparent sheen (and de-essing, dithering, detailed metering, different limiter types, etc...all in one). If all the extra stuff wasn't a concern, I could probably easily use the VSC-3 on everything at all it's various settings, as well as at the end as a limiter. It's versatile and sounds amazing.

Hope that helps.

[Ploki]

For me:
FabFilter Pro-C2 (go to track compressor for everytime i actually need to do dynamic work, not just "shape" and "color", go to for coarse vocal control)
u-he Presswerk (go to track and mastering when i need a more characterful and imposing compression, go to for drum-bus)
TDR Molot (go to for character compression of vocals when not using Mu)
ToneProjects Unisum (go to for mastering and character/coarse control for vocals)
Pulsar Mu (go to for character vocals)

I use these probably 80% of the time.
Other 20%
Voxengo Deft Compressor (snares)
Voxengo Marquis (kicks)
Voxengo Crunchessor (guitars, drums, bass)
Weiss DS1 (mastering when Unisum and Presswerk don't work)
TDR Kotelnikov (mastering when unisum and presswerk don't work)
Pulsar Smasher / Softube FET Compressor II (whenever i need 1176)

If you'd ask me for actual go-to, it's a toss-up between Pro-C2 and Presswerk.

shameless plug for my Presswerk skin - but the base version is free, so i guess it's okay.
https://ploki.gumroad.com/l/nitro

Honorable mention:
DMG Trackcomp

[swilow11]

Literally the first thing I did after posting was check PA Acrually picked up the Kirchoff 3 body EQ there recently which is absolutely great.

[VELLTONE MUSIC]

Consider buying Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor next time price drop to irresistible level
Currently these are in some use :
1.Elysia Alpha
2.Bandlab 76 and/or IK Black 76
3.Model 5000
4 IK 670 or Firechild
5.OptoRED

PA has a "Made by Brainworx" sale right now. 3 plugins for $49.
Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor and Elysia Alpha both qualify. Just need one more.

Lindell SBC worth it i guess...i have enough PA plugins for now,need something for my guitar records,wonder which plugin is used and recomended for guitar tracks compression?

[cptgone]

Lindell SBC worth it i guess...i have enough PA plugins for now,need something for my guitar records,wonder which plugin is used and recomended for guitar tracks compression?

Apart from the usual compressors, you may want to consider pedal emulations.

Positive Bias FX2 Standard is free today, and includes a few classics:
- Wampler Ego
- MXR Dyna comp
- Boss CS-1
- UA 1176LN
(and there are many alternatives from other companies)

I also noticed (but cannot vouch for) this suggestion:

Voxengo Crunchessor (guitars, drums, bass)

[jamcat]

Lindell SBC worth it i guess...i have enough PA plugins for now,need something for my guitar records,wonder which plugin is used and recomended for guitar tracks compression?

The 1176 is the go-to compressor for guitar, and has been since the 1970s. So I’d start there. There’s no shortage of 1176 clones in both software and hardware, and software clones of the hardware clones.

Arturia makes a really good 1176 (Comp FET-76). This is one of the very best out there.

Amongst PA there is Purple Audio MC77 (made by bx) which is a software version of Purple Audio’s hardware 1176 clone, and Lindell Audio’s 7X-500. MC77 qualifies for the 3 “made by bx” plugins for $49 sale right now. The Lindell can be picked up for free during a $20 no-limit voucher sale.

And then of course there’s the UAD 1176 Collection which is native now, and includes 3 different iterations of the 1176.

Speaking of guitar pedals, the MXR Dynacomp is the gold standard of guitar stomp box comps, so you’ll want one of those as well.

Fazertone has a free neural network modeled Dynacomp plugin, which is spectacular.

https://www.fazertone.com/plugin/comp76

This one also has “76” in the name. Not because of the 1176, but because the MXR pedal came out in 1976.

It wouldn't be unusual for a guitar to go through a Dynacomp before a miked-up tube amp (which naturally compresses), followed by an 1176, and recorded to tape (which adds more natural compression), then mixed through an SSL with some VCA channel compression, and finally through the SSL's mixbuss compressor with the rest of the mix and on to tape again at mixdown. And then of course whatever the mastering engineer does to the final track... That's around 8 stages of compression when all is said and done.

[Nug Wrangler]

i forgot to add elysia mPressor. It's great!

[jamcat]

C'mon, you're supposed to say "It's mPressive!"
You missed out on a really good pun there.

[VELLTONE MUSIC]

Lindell SBC worth it i guess...i have enough PA plugins for now,need something for my guitar records,wonder which plugin is used and recomended for guitar tracks compression?

Apart from the usual compressors, you may want to consider pedal emulations.

Positive Bias FX2 Standard is free today, and includes a few classics:
- Wampler Ego
- MXR Dyna comp
- Boss CS-1
- UA 1176LN
(and there are many alternatives from other companies)

I also noticed (but cannot vouch for) this suggestion:

Voxengo Crunchessor (guitars, drums, bass)

Download it yesterday for free,will try these,thanks:)

[VELLTONE MUSIC]

Lindell SBC worth it i guess...i have enough PA plugins for now,need something for my guitar records,wonder which plugin is used and recomended for guitar tracks compression?

The 1176 is the go-to compressor for guitar, and has been since the 1970s. So I’d start there. There’s no shortage of 1176 clones in both software and hardware, and software clones of the hardware clones.

Arturia makes a really good 1176 (Comp FET-76). This is one of the very best out there.

Amongst PA there is Purple Audio MC77 (made by bx) which is a software version of Purple Audio’s hardware 1176 clone, and Lindell Audio’s 7X-500. MC77 qualifies for the 3 “made by bx” plugins for $49 sale right now. The Lindell can be picked up for free during a $20 no-limit voucher sale.

And then of course there’s the UAD 1176 Collection which is native now, and includes 3 different iterations of the 1176.

Speaking of guitar pedals, the MXR Dynacomp is the gold standard of guitar stomp box comps, so you’ll want one of those as well.

Fazertone has a free neural network modeled Dynacomp plugin, which is spectacular.

https://www.fazertone.com/plugin/comp76

This one also has “76” in the name. Not because of the 1176, but because the MXR pedal came out in 1976.

It wouldn't be unusual for a guitar to go through a Dynacomp before a miked-up tube amp (which naturally compresses), followed by an 1176, and recorded to tape (which adds more natural compression), then mixed through an SSL with some VCA channel compression, and finally through the SSL's mixbuss compressor with the rest of the mix and on to tape again at mixdown. And then of course whatever the mastering engineer does to the final track... That's around 8 stages of compression when all is said and done.

IK 76 and default cakelawk 76will do the job i guess.
Guitarist over 20 years and never even thought how much difference and presence in the mix will give 'right' compression with 'right' compressor.
Thanks for the info.

[jamcat]

IK 76 and default cakelawk 76will do the job i guess.
Guitarist over 20 years and never even thought how much difference and presence in the mix will give 'right' compression with 'right' compressor

Sure, those would work too. I used to use IK Black 76 before switching to Arturia FET-76. Operation is remarkably similar from one 1176 plugin to another. Arturia offers a few additional "advanced" features which I don't use, since they're beyond the scope of the original unit. Mostly I switched to Arturia because I owned it anyways, and it looks better (more like the real thing) than the IK plugin.

The reason the 1176 became standard for guitar is because back in the day, there weren't many compressors available, and the ones that were tended to use very different means and achieved very different results from one another.

Opticals like the LA-2A are very slow, smooth, and transparent. They work without you hearing it. They're good at stealthily leveling expressive, sustained notes, like voice or sax. FET compressors like the 1176 react very hard and fast, like a hammer coming down. They're particularly good for getting snares and toms to behave.

Guitar has a very fast, sharp transient which drops off quickly with relatively little sustain. So you need a fast compressor that can grab the transient as it comes, then let it go just as fast. So you can see which of the above compressors would be the one engineers reached for.

But of course there are loads and loads of compressors available today which can mimic the attributes of all of the classic compressors, and everything in between. The Distressor is such an example. And as such, it's used on guitar a lot. It's used on anything and everything a lot.

So a Distressor model like the IK Comprexxor or Kiive Audio Xtressor would also be a good choice, particularly for a more modern sound, or for more flexibility in general. But since it can do just about anything, you need to go in knowing what you want and how to get it. The 1176, on the other hand, really only does one thing, which happens to be the thing you want on guitar, so it will give you what you want without much of a fight.

[VELLTONE MUSIC]

Yeah i've got IK Comprexxor,76 and EQ 83,which are probabaly nice combination for decent guitar mixing,but have to check few other compressors i already have,like ''FOCUSRITE RED 3'' or ''PolyComp ...i have a lot of practice with build in compressors of synths and little bit with buss compression,mostly to get bigger,smoother sound ,but have no idea how i wanna my guitar to sit in the mix,when achieve it will know that's the sound - Thanks for nice talk :)Cheers

[El°HYM]

Opticals like the LA-2A are very slow, smooth, and transparent. They work without you hearing it. They're good at stealthily leveling expressive, sustained notes, like voice or sax.

The Distressor is such an example. And as such, it's used on guitar a lot. It's used on anything and everything a lot.

So a Distressor model like the IK Comprexxor or Kiive Audio Xtressor would also be a good choice, particularly for a more modern sound, or for more flexibility in general.

Lets not forget the Opto - Mode, which makes the Distressor behave LA-2A like. This plus the complex Distortion - Settings, might be making it one of the most sought after Compressors in these Days.

[Nug Wrangler]

C'mon, you're supposed to say "It's mPressive!"
You missed out on a really good pun there.

damn you are right

[aMUSEd]

What do people think of the new UVI Opal Comp that seems to combine multiple models?