Well, since I started training myself to stop hoarding stuff, I've been using mostly Studio One's native compressor for transparent tasks and U-He Presswerk for anything that needs some character boost.

 

MJUC, Kotelnikov, TDR Feedback Compressor II (before Kotelnikov release), FerricTDS and some others of VarietyOfSound.

 

that's the main reason we use a compressor lol

 

I found Sonoris Multiband compressor to be most transparent of all what I have. Strongly suggest to demo it whoever wants non coloured, clear dynamics.

My other favourite are Overtone FC70 and sometimes I also use PSP Vintage Warmer.

 

Never even occurred to me to use a preset on a compressor. People really do that? They do realize their input level will be different...?

Anyway, right now and for the foreseeable future my compressor #1A is Klanghelm MJUC. No matter how much I futz around with settings on a compressor with more controls, I can't get it to sound as good as MJUC. There's also something helpful about the fact that the dials don't show you exactly what you're doing. There's no dB or ms - only one of its 'compressors' has a true ratio control too. It forces you to use your ears, which is good for me. I can get very carried away in thinking "it should sound good at around these values"

For most other tasks I use Live's native compressor. Fab Pro-MB for anything multiband.

 

I looove C165a. There's no demo, but it's cheap and Quinto will refund you if you don't like it. You can't beat that.
DDD, STA-Limit, Soundbrigade - all are must-haves that are totally top notch at what they do . . . and none are feature crippled betas as Strip V3 curently is.

 

Last edited: Dec 26, 2015

I got love for the Vertigo VCS-2 on the drum buss, sound mega (prefer it to the glue). Dig the waves LA2A on bass and vox but love a real Urei 1176 (vox guitar, drums) and dbx 160 (bass kick).

 

And I should add that I like the NI/Softube VC2A for leveling vocals and Airwindows Logical3 as an SSL style buss compressor.

+1 for those speaking out against using compressor presets. One of the things I love about Airwindows plugs is that they don't come with presets or GUIs - so you get to know the plug by adjusting its controls and using your ears . . . Novel concept.

 

Last edited: Dec 26, 2015

Logic X Built in Compressors & iZotope Compressor in Trash ---

Yeah and the Lindell 7X-500 ---

 

so far i think 1176 sounds really good on my drum buss with the right setting :D

 

I think my go-to comp for transparent processing would be the X-Comp from Duende (can try it in 64bits thanks to audioUTOPIA ), and the Cla series from waves for the grain and mojo (mainly on busses). For the 2bus, i recently fell in love with the U-he Presswerk, with a 110Hz bass roll-off and just a few db of gain reduction.
Oh, and i sure couldn't live without the old but good R-Comp (when i hesitate on which compressor to choose, this one almost always do the trick.
Ned944 and Returnal : i couldn't agree more with the "no preset policy": as with EQ, i think compression is far too material dependant...

 

Master Bus/Summing Groups - SSL GComp/Fairchild 670
Drums/Guitar - 1176
Bass - LA3A
Guitar - Logic Stock
Vocals - LA610


overall fav has to be the gcomp.

 

Ableton stock (basic stuff, bass, drums,

Glue (both versions),
FabFilter Pro C
DBX hardware
PressWerk (falling in love all over again!)

 

VC-64

 

Cytomic The Glue and Klanghelm MJUC.

 

My go-to compressor definitly compassion : you can tweak it to be any compressor you like ! (or de-esser, or dyn eq, etc...)...It's a dynamic tool monster, it took me a couple of weeks to really start to be able to use it in advance mode and know a bit what I was doing
It was also the opportunity to learn a lot about the different aspect of a compressor, since you can tweak anything sometimes you have to dig a bit to get what choice implies what (couple circuit or not, shape of release and attack curve, etc, etc). There is a MOD preset menu where you can pick emulations of different type of compressors to get you started. It's amazing.
Now anytime I use any other compressor I feel like I'm in front of a toy. I only use vintage compressors (LA2A, 3A, fairchild, fet, db60, any emulation I can get my hand on, I like to compare) to get a typical flavor on this track or this bus, then I'll mod compassion to get that same flavor but with more control, more detail. If I really want a more colored sound I will use either AMTrack, AMpulse or AMunition from Magix, which are like compassion very tweakable but in a vintage kind. You can recreate the classic or reinvent them, modeling of the tube, the tape, etc, incredible plugins imho. I also use multiband compressors (fab filter, izotope) for some specific task

 

My favorite compressor is the one between my legs.

Makes everything warm.

Works best on female voice material.

 

Thanks to AudioUTOPiA, I've discovered my new favourite character compressor - Kush Audio's UBK-1. Such a smoothly aggressive sound (if that even makes sense), really warm and earthy and sweet. I'm absolutely wowed at the quality, it's pure ingenuity. UBK (the guy behind Kush) has an interesting approach to his plugins - basically forget everything you know about dynamics, saturation, and EQ, and use your imagination. In his mind it's not about spectral/dynamics control, it's about the motion of the sound and its kinetic energy. UBK-1 and Pusher especially fit with that ideology.

Man, I haven't been this impressed with a plugin in a long time. It's interesting, cause in my first post I said engineers should be moving towards more surgical and flexible tools, but the UBK-1 made me reconsider that. It really depends on your purpose as well as your personality and mood. Tools like this that go outside the box make me realize that you should never let go of your creative innocence, cause that is often the source of the greatest inspirations.

Thanks for all the replies guys, really interesting hearing your opinions

 

Last edited: Jan 3, 2016

DMG C

 

Sonnox Oxford Dynamics for each channel strip
Softube Summit Audio TLA-100A for drum buses and vocals