Best Free Sidechain Compressor Vst

25.12.2020
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BEST FREE VST COMPRESSORS

Speaking of which, it comes side-chain ready. That means, you can create all the space necessary in your mixes or explore creative options with keying/pumping effects. Beyond the above, Presswerk boasts flexible compression curve and envelope, soft knee, compression ratio, attack and release settings which enable users to make the most of audio.

  1. Familiarity with compression (and the different types of compressor) is the best way to understand how dynamics can be tamed to perfection and with this collection of free VST compressors you’ll have plenty to work with. Best Free Compressor VSTs In 2020.
  2. Looking for an easy to use sidechain emulator? Armando Montanez has you covered! Available to download free in VST and AU plugin formats for PC and Mac.

FREE VST COMPRESSOR PLUGINS

Below you will find a list of free compressors with links to the respective download sites. If you scroll down further you will find descriptions of the listed compressor vst plugins.

The vst plugins mentioned may be working either on PC or Mac or on both and a few are 32-bit only. However, by the use of a bit bridge and / or a plugin-adaptor (like jBridge, 32 lives, DDMF Bridgewize or Blue Cat’s Patchwork) you should be able to use these vst plugins in almost any DAW. In Klangheim Studio we use Cubase in combination with jBridge and that works like a charm without any hickups. You can read more about bit bridging in our article About Bit Bridging

MCompressor by Melda Production

DC1A by Klanghelm

MJUC Jr. by Klanghelm

Molot by VladG

Tan by Acustica Audio

TDR Kotelnikov by Tokyo Dawn Records

RoughRider3 by Audio Damage

ReaComp by Cockos

SAFE Compressor by Semantic Audio

Leveling Tool by AdHd Audio Tools

jsCompShaper by JS Audio

FRComp87 by eaReckon

GComp by GVST

LA Thrillseeker by Variety of Sound (Windows)

Density mkiii by Variety of Sound (high quality buss and mastering compressor) (Windows)

Thrillseeker VBL by Variety of Sound (Vari-Mu compressor – this is primarily a saturation tool but it also has a simple compressor that works very well on bass) (Windows)

Nasty VCS by Variety of Sound (channelstrip with opto style compressor) (Windows)

Older vst compressor plugins – but good:

Compressive Pro by Martin Eastwood (Windows)

FL4TT3RY 2 by platinumears (Windows)

Side Chain Compressor by slim slow slider (Windows)

Sidechain Compressor by Christian Budde (Windows)

dlm Sixtyfive by de la Mancha (Windows)

Kjaerhus Compressor by Kjaerhus (Windows)

Blockfish by Digital Fishphones Best free eq vst 2020.

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MCompressor by Melda Production (Windows and Mac)

MCompressor is a very nice and very versatile vst compressor plugin. It has a good graphic user interface (GUI) that gives you good visual feedback about what you are doing both in terms of how you are compressing (soft knee, linear, or hard knee) and how much gain reduction you are employing.

You have full control over attack, release, ratio and threshold and you can target either the audio peaks or the average loudness (RMS) of the incoming signal – or set up the MCompressor to target the audio signal somewhere in between these two.

MCompressor also has a sidechain and a highpass and lowpass filter which makes it extraordinarily flexible. It comes with the Melda Free Bundle that includes quite a few other nice vst plugins. Highly recommended.

Download link: MCompressor

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DCA1 by Klanghelm (Windows and Mac)

The DC1A compressor from Klanghelm is a simple yet powerfull free VST compressor plugin. If you are a beginner this could be a good compressor to learn by since it is very easy to tweak plus you are forced to use your ears and not rely on numbers.

The DC1A is resembling an OPTO compressor. Its attack and release timings are program dependant although you have the choice between a faster response (which is the default mode) and a slower response with the ”relaxed” mode engaged. It has a fixed threshold and the more you gain the input the more compression you will get.

Use the output knob to match the compressed level to the uncompressed. This way you will not be fooled by differences in loudness between the unprocessed and the processed audio.

The DC1A can add a nice saturation effect to the audio. The saturation is stronger with higher gain reduction. You will have less saturation when the ”relaxed” mode is enabled. If you use it for just a few db of gain reduction in ”relaxed” mode it will work in a much more transparent way.

On stereo tracks you can compress the left and right side separately by enabling the ”dual mono” mode and Klanghelm has also given us an internal sidechain high pass filter which comes in handy when you want to keep the low end more intact (for instance on the drum bus). Finally you have the option of using negative compression ratios.

So, even though the DC1A looks simple at a first glance it is quite surprisingly versatile and can work well on many different types of audio material from drums and percussion to vocals, guitars, and keyboards. It is a very good sounding free VST compressor and should you want even more flexibility you should check out its ”big brother”, the DC8A, which is a high quality compressor with a lot of tweakability for just a little more than 20 US Dollars.

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MJUC jr by Klanghelm (Vari-Mu compressor) (Windows and Mac)

Yet another simple but powerful vst compressor plugin by Klanghelm. MJUC jr is a scaled down version of the amazing MJUC compressor plugin by Klanghelm. However, the MJUC jr still gives you a little of the flavour that you will find plenty of in its bigger sibling. Both plugins are emulations of the Vari-Mu compressors type and thus they add quite a bit of tube coloration / saturation.

With just a few controls – compress, make up gain, and a choice between three time constants (fast, slow, and auto) – the plugin is very easy to operate and you may be surprised about how much you can get out of this scaled down version. If you need more control and would enjoy playing with a lot of extra parameters you can buy the full version for very little money.

Download link: MJUC jr

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TDR Kotelnikov by Tokyo Dawn Records (Windows and Mac)

TDR Kotelnikov is a free VST compressor designed primarily for mastering purposes. It can function in a very transparent way and will definitely also find it’s use as a channel compressor or a group bus compressor.

The developers have added control features that you will not find on many compressors such as separate control over peak and RMS release values and a way to balance the importance and influence of each of these release times on the processing (through the peak crest knob and of course through the peak release knob and the RMS release knob).

You can also control the stereo sensitivity and chose whether the compressor should work on the full stereo audio or on the mid (”sum”) alone or the ”side” (”diff”) alone. If you want to dial in both mid and side compression and control these individually then you can simply use two instances of TDR Kotelnikov.

TDR Kotelnikov offers an internal sidechain function which gives you the option of relaxing the way the compressor responds to low end frequencies. There is also a mix option for parallel compression.

Timingwise the TDR Kotelnikov is capable of very fast settings. The attack time can be as low as 0.02 milliseconds and the release time can be as fast as 10 milliseconds for the peak release and 20 milliseconds for the RMS release. Of course you can choose slower settings as well since the attack time is fully adjustable up to 250 milliseconds and the release time likewise fully adjustable up to 2 seconds. All in all a very versatile tool for transparent compression.

TDR Kotelnikov is a fabulous free VST compressor plugin and it is amazing that you can get this quality for free. For mastering it is one of the best free vst compressors around. Highly recommended.

Should you want even more options there is a ”Gentleman’s Edition” at a very affordable price.

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Thrillseeker LA by Variety of Sound (Windows only)

This is definitely one of my favorite free VST compressors and probably the one free VST compressor that I use the most. The Thrillseeker LA is a very versatile compressor. In many ways it works like an OPTO compressor but although some people on the internet describe it as a free version of the LA-2A it is much more flexible than that.

Yes, indeed, the Thrillseeker LA can work very much like an LA-2A but you have many extra options on this Variety of Sound plugin. First of all you have faster attack times (both attack and release times are dependant on the incoming audio material – just as is the case with the LA-2A – but you can tweak and control the timing to some extend with the attack and release knobs).

This means that it is possible to tweak the Thrillseeker LA to work very much like a dbx 160 when it comes to timing – or a Tubetech CL-1B as well as a Fairchild or an LA-2A compresor.

Variety of Sound has also given us control over the total harmonic distortion (THD) with the interstage section. Once you have found the right amount of compression and adjusted the attack and release to your liking you can turn on the interstage section and add 2 order harmonics. If you want to go further than that you can use the slider to add even more THD and obtain thicker saturation effects.

Finally you have the ability to colour the saturation effect to your needs and even switch on a transformer circuit simulation to fatten up the sound even more.

Thrillseeker LA has internal and external sidechain options and in the top left corner you will find a little knob that calibrates the plugin to a conservative (and advisable) mix level of -18 db.

In other words Thrillseeker LA can work as a clean compressor or as a more vintage sounding unit. It can work with much faster attack times than an LA-2A and it has its own little colour tool box in the interstage section.

You can use it as a channel compressor or indeed as a bus compressor. And last but not least: it sounds amazingly good. It proves that free plugins can sound as good as commercial plugins – and be more innovative than most of them! That is just one good reason to dive into free VST compressors and other free VST plugins. Highly recommended.

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SAFE Compressor by Semantic Audio (Windows and Mac)

The SAFE Compressor is special in the sense that it allows you to type in more intuitive or descriptive terms or words into the plugins textbox – such as for instance bright, warm, punchy etc. – and if the word or term is on the developers server the compressor will be set to parameters that can bring forward the wanted and described effect.

You can save your own suggestions for semantic terms that represent a compression effect and it can then be shared with other users via the server. In other words SAFE Compressor is a unique intuitive compressor that may be of special interest to beginners.

Download link: SAFE Compressor

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FRComp87 by eaReckon (Windows and Mac)

FRComp87 is a delightfully simple vst compressor plugin. It only has a few controls: threshold, makeup gain, and three timings (fast, medium, and slow). Finally, you can switch in a limiter to tame peaks after the compression. Because of the simplicity FRComp is very fast to use and may be just the right starting point if you are a beginner when it comes to compression.

Download link: FRComp87

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dlm Sixtyfive by de la Mancha (Windows)

The developer de la Mancha has created a really good free VST compressor plugin inspired by the dbx 165 A compressor. However, de la Mancha’s Sixtyfive gives you several extra options compared to the hardware which inspired his work.

If you are looking for a dbx-style compressor plugin Sixtyfive is a good choice. It sounds very good and adds a little, nice coloration and character to the audio material you run through it.

De la Mancha has given you extra features like a dry/wet knob which makes it easy to dial in ”New York” or parallel compression. While the fastest attack on the original hardware is 1 millisecond de la Mancha lets you dial in even faster timings. Like the dbx 165 A de la Mancha’s Sixtyfive also has an auto attack and release button which activates a program dependant attack and release response. It also features a peak stop option for hard limiting on the final output.

Sixtyfive is a soft knee compressor. You can tweak it to give you smooth, musical compression or to work in much more agressive ways. So if you need a vintage style VCA compressor plugin with extra features you need look no further.

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GComp by GVST (Windows and Mac)

With the GComp vst compressor plugin you have full control over attack, release, threshold, hard knee or soft knee or anything in between as well as dialing in the balance between how the compressor should react to audio peaks versus RMS (the average loudness of the program material). On top of that it also includes a limiter.

You can adjust the input and output volume and GComp gives you a good visual feedback of what is going on and how much compression you are applying.

GComp has a sibling called GComp2 with a few different parameters that you could check out as well.

Download link: GComp

In this roundup, we look at six alternative sidechain compression plugins that offer immediate results without the need to set up a compressor triggered by an external audio source.

What is Sidechain Compression?

Sidechain compression is an essential mixing technique used to create space in a mix so other elements are heard more clearly or can be applied creatively to add that signature ‘Pumping’ effect, create rhythmic gating effects, and add movement to static sounds.

Sidechain compression is achieved by using an audio source to trigger a compressor placed on another source to attenuate the volume of the audio being played. For example, one of the most common uses of sidechain compression is using a kick drum to trigger a compressor on a bass track to quickly duck the volume each time the kick drum plays allowing it to cut through the mix with more impact. This vital mixing technique creates space by removing bass frequencies that could conflict with the low frequencies of the kick making it sound less powerful. Sidechain compression is also used for various other purposes to treat all types of audio sources in musical ways.

Although sidechain compression is fairly simple to set up, it can often be a tedious process that can become inconvenient when your workflow is in high gear. To alleviate the setup process and keep the creative train rolling we rounded up six alternative sidechain compression plugins that offer immediate results without any audio routing or need for external audio sources.

Xfer LFOTool

LFOTool is an effect utility plugin developed by Xfer Records that allows users to sculpt custom waveshape curves to modulate volume to create effects such tremolo, auto-pan, trance-gate, wobbles, as well as simulate sidechain compression with minimal effort. LFOTool can also generate MIDI CC messages to control other instruments, effects, or external hardware. Equipped with dozens of presets, this handy tool is capable of achieving desired results quickly, or you can shape your own curves with the customizable point+tension-curve editor which is switchable via MIDI notes or automation to add expressive movement to your sounds. Read more at Xfer Records

Cableguys VolumeShaper

VolumeShaper is an extremely flexible tool that lets you shape the levels of any audio signal in pinpoint detail. VolumeShaper provides a visual approach to volume shaping to create musical effects such as multiband sidechain compression simulation, creative gating, tempo-synced stutters and tremolo, precise sample-sculpting, and bit-crushing effects. VolumeShaper features multiband waveform-based editing, a comprehensive selection of preset curves, an oscilloscope, a big spectrum view and a selection of presets. It also runs samples in sync with your DAW, in Hz mode up to the audible range or retriggered via MIDI. Read more at Cableguys

Nicky Romero Kickstart

Drop Kickstart on any track and this effective plugin will immediately apply sidechain-style compression to provide space and definition or give your sound a rhythmic advantage. Designed by Nicky Romero and Cableguys, who also make the more feature-rich VolumeShaper, Kickstart features a big Mix control, 16 hand-crafted modulation curves, a precise oscilloscope, and can run synced or retriggered via MIDI, with loop and one-shot modes all available on a streamlined interface. Read more at Kickstart

Vengeance Multiband Sidechain

Multiband Sidechain by Vengeance is a feature-rich plugin that offers smooth, high-quality sidechain simulation. This powerful tool gives you ultimate control over shaping volume curves in a convenient and detailed interface. Use this tool creatively to sculpt your sounds or to cleanup the audio spectrum. Multiband Sidechain features a massive selection of pumpin’ dance presets, two independent sidechain channels for low and high frequencies, three filter types to separate the bands, a unique grafic interface, and a configurable main display with eight predefined scenes. In addition, the sidechain effect can be triggered with audio signals, MIDI notes or host sync. Read more at Vengeance

Waves OneKnob Pumper

Best Free Sidechain Compressor Vst Plugin

Designed for achieving an instant ducking effect, the OneKnob Pumper simulates sidechain compression, saving you the need to route the kick track to the sidechain input of a compressor. This extremely handy and easy-to-use plugin is ideal for making either your entire mix or individual tracks pump with the beat. Get immediate results with little effort. Read more at Waves

Ableton Live Auto Pan

Sidechain Compression Vst

Ableton Live’s Auto Pan device can easily be set up to simulate sidechain compression and add that pumping effect you’re looking for. Auto Pan does a great job adding stereo width and movement to your sounds, but it can also be used to create gate style stutter effects or duck the volume to clear frequencies, so your kick drum strikes through the mix. Configuring Auto Pan to simulate sidechain compression is achieved by setting the Phase control to ’0.00′ which creates a single waveform that modulates amplitude. Once the Phase is set, you can fine-tune the effect by selecting an LFO Waveform and adjusting the Rate, Shape, and Amount to control how much of the effect is being applied.

Ableton Live Producer Certificate Program

About This Program

Free Sidechain Plugin

At Dubspot our world-class instructors provide the most complete and cutting-edge Ableton Live learning experience. The Ableton Live Producer Certificate Program is the flagship of our music training. After completing this program, you will leave with a portfolio of original tracks, a remix entered in an active contest, a scored commercial to widen your scope, and the Dubspot Producer’s Certificate in Ableton Live.

This program is about learning Ableton Live by going through the entire process of being an artist, by developing your own sound through a series of sketches and experimentation. You will also learn the ins and outs of this powerful software through a series of exercises designed to help you master the steps involved in producing your own music. After a level of getting familiar with the tools that Ableton has to offer, you will then develop your sonic ideas into full-length tracks. You will be exposed to a variety of approaches to arrangement and composition, storytelling techniques, ways of creating tension and drama in your music. At the end of the day, it is the sum total of your choices as an artist that define your sound, and levels 2 – 6 will give you the experience of actually completing tracks to add to your portfolio.

What’s Included

  • Ableton Live Level 1: Beats, Sketches, and Ideas
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  • Ableton Live Level 3: Synthesis and Original Sound Creation
  • Ableton Live Level 4: Advanced Sound Creation
  • Ableton Live Level 5: Advanced Effect Processing
  • Ableton Live Level 6: Going Global with your Music

Best Free Sidechain Compressor Vst Pedal

Overview

  • Dubspot’s complete Ableton course load: six levels/48 class sessions
  • 132 hours of hands-on instruction
  • Additional lab hours to work on assignments in Dubspot’s onsite facilities
  • 24/7 access to Dubspot Online’s Ableton Live course videos
  • Access to the course videos for one year after course completion

Additional Information

Visit the Ableton Live course page for detailed information on this programhere.

If you have questions, please call 877.DUBSPOT or send us a message.

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