Welcome to sage audio. Today we’re talking about the Top 7 FREE Mastering Compressors
But first If you have a mix that you need mastered send it to us at sage audio . Com
to receive a free mastered sample of it.
SPECOMP - Analog Obsession
Analog Obsession has been making great free plugins for a while now, and one of the latest
makes for a fantastic mastering compressor. SPECOMP can be used for mixing, but has particular
functionality that makes it a great option for subtle but powerful mastering compression.
The low ratio, soft-knee, and comprehensive attack and release times make it easy to dial
in the right amount of compression. The release starts at 50 milliseconds which is perfect
for making a loud master, but goes higher for smoother, glued together sounds.
The dial in middle under the gain reduction meter lets you blend the effect in, meaning
this is also a great plugin for parallel compression.
Kolin - Analog Obsession
Kolin is an easy to use but incredibly colorful and useful mastering or bus compressor. The
sound is distinct, but the mix dial, as well as variable attack and release times make
it a good option for subtle and nuanced mix bus compression and mild distortion.
Using the plugin is simple, just increase the input until attenuation begins. To the
top left we have our attack and release times which range from 1-50ms and 100-3000ms respectively.
One unique use for this plugin would be to drive the input to achieve aggressive compression,
reduce the output to create some drive, and then reduce the mix dial to blend the heavy
compression and mild distortion in with your mix.
Rough Rider 3 - Audio Damage
Rough Rider 3 has a distinctive sound and a clean and easy to understand design - it
can be used for both mix bus compression and parallel compression. Furthermore, the plugin
makes controlling your compression much easier with a dedicated internal side-chain high-pass
filter.
Use this high-pass filter to cause less compression and create a perceived louder kick and bass.
You can create some drive with the input and output and then blend this in with the mix
dial. Or, stick to subtle compression by fine tuning your threshold, ratio, attack and release.
Compressor - Tone Boosters
Compressor by Tone Boosters isn’t entirely free - however, the demo of the plugin is
the full plugin without any limitations, meaning you can use it as you would the full plugin.
Although not an exact replica, Compressor by Tone Boosters shares a lot in common with
the FabFilter Compressor.
What’s unique about this plugin though is the assist option, which alters the internal
side-chain, and other functions, making them program dependent.
Additionally you get an adaptive release, lookahead, range, hold, and a zone analyzer
which isn’t too common.
MCompressor - Melda Audio
Melda Audio often gets overlooked, but they create some of the most versatile and comprehensively
designed plugins available. Included in a huge bundle of free plugins is the MCompressor,
a compressor that offers both traditional and completely unique compression functionality,
in addition to advanced monitoring.
The compressor gives you the traditional functionality with ratio, threshold, attack, release and
so on, but gets interesting when you come across the Custom Shape option - with which
you can create unique non-linear distortion and expansion.
By double clicking you can add more points you can control, then drag them to cause compression
that wouldn’t be possible with just about any other plugin.
TDR Kotelnikov - Tokyo Dawn Labs
Kotelnikov by Tokyo Dawn Labs has been a go-to free mastering compressor for a while now
- in fact, for the longest time it was just about the only free mastering compressor available.
With that in mind that functionality this plugin offers is tailored toward mastering.
For example, the stereo sensitivity section gives you control over your stereo image.
By prioritizing the mid over the side, you can cause more compression to the mid channel,
in turn making the side louder and expanding the stereo image.
Additionally, you can set release times for both the RMS and peak value of the signal,
giving you greater control over the timbre of your master.
pajSoil EiS - Pajczur
This compressor gives you the controls you need for both mixing and mastering compression,
making it easy to dial in very specific values for your compression. In addition to this,
pajSoil offers advanced functionality you don’t see too often in a free to use compressor.
Personally I like how specific each value can be, from the ratio, to the threshold,
knee, and more.
Furthermore we get an internal high pass filter, variable lookahead, and a control to alter
the linearity of the compression.
Like some of the other plugins on this list, a mix dial makes parallel compression in option,
if you want to add that into your signal chain.
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