Open Thread: Compression Discussion...

One reader wrote me expressing a wish to have a discussion viz. the various plugin compressors available. Compression is one of those topics that can rapidly get over the head of someone new to recording, as it is an effect you learn about later rather than sooner, and more’s the shame, as compression is as much a part of any recording of reasonable quality as is EQ, ’verb, and delay. If you have good recording techniques, you can even take EQ and ’verb out of that equation.

So, open thread topic: what’s your favorite NATIVE compressor and why? Personally, I use the Waves SSL pack and the URS products; I’ve been hearing good things about the Waves API pack, but for the money you could damned near buy a 2500, which would be, IMO, a better purchase. One of these days I’ll buy me a Duende, I suppose, but until then I’m in native land, so that’s where we’ll keep our discussion.