

V3 adds a Full Bandwidth mode, which disengages the ‘warming’ filter included in the original design. Because of this, it’s great for punching up percussion loops as well as dialling in ‘New York’ style parallel compression. The Attack setting ranges from 0 to 100ms and the ratio can be dialled right up to 1000:1. The main USP here is the extremity to which you can push the effect. While version 3 adds a few new tools, this remains a pleasingly straightforward dynamics tool, with a clean and easy-to-understand UI that makes dialling in compression quick and simple. RoughRider is described by its developer as ‘one of the most popular dynamics processors on the planet’, and we don’t doubt that claim - this is an undeniable freeware classic.

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In our round-up below, we’ve tried to include as broad a range of free compressors as possible for you to get your teeth into.
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Upward compression still reduces dynamic range, but does so by raising the volume of quieter elements, as opposed to attenuating louder ones.Įxpansion, meanwhile, is a similar process but one that serves the opposite purpose to compression - increasing the dynamic range of an audio signal rather than squashing it.įortunately, the freeware realm has all of these compressor types covered, and if you’re confused about how and when to apply each the best thing to do is simply download a variety and experiment. You’ll also come across terms like upward compression and expansion, both of which flip standard compression on its head. A limiter is essentially just a compressor set at a high ratio - ie, the amount of compression applied above the threshold - so that it completely cuts off all peaks over a certain level. We’ve included some plugins labelled as limiters below, too. The former tackles the whole frequency range at once, while the latter can be applied to low, high or mid range frequencies independently. Then there are broadband or multiband compressors. Transparent compressors aim to do their job without you noticing they’re there, controlling dynamics but remaining as faithful as possible to the input audio.Ĭharacterful compressors, which are often emulations of vintage hardware, may alter the sound of your audio slightly, usually through subtle EQ or filtering, or by adding a touch of musically-pleasing distortion. Whether you’re after a thoroughly convincing Minimoog or Roland TR-808, a Urei 1176 compressor or a granular sample mangling effect, there’ll be at least a handful of viable options out there to suit your creative needs and budget.One of the main divides in compressor types are those described as transparent and those that are ‘characterful’. There are literally thousands of amazing free and paid-for examples available in both categories, from emulations of pretty much every classic hardware synth and effect unit ever made, to mind-blowing new designs that could never exist in physical form.
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It was quickly followed by a handful of rival plugin standards, which today comprise Apple’s Mac-only Audio Units (AU), Avid’s Pro Tools-only AAX and RTAS.Ī plugin effect is a signal processing device such as a reverb, delay, compressor or EQ, while plugin instruments take in, amongst other things, synthesizers, samplers, drum machines and sample-based recreations of real-world guitars, drum kits, pianos, etc. Enabling anyone with the requisite coding chops to create virtual effects and, a few years later, instruments for use as ’plugin’ modules within any compatible DAW, VST at last realised the dream of the entirely-software studio and kickstarted a whole new industry almost overnight.
