VCA Compressor

Name: VCA Compressor
Price: 149 USD
Author: Softube

by Softube · Compressor · VCA compressor

Not rated yet

An emulation of a 1970s-era VCA compressor for punchy compression, with modern parallel mix, sidechain filtering and stereo linking.

Best for: Drums, Drum Bus, Mix Bus. Genres: all genres.

Keywords: VCA, punchy, sidechain input, 70s, bus processing, hardware emulation, modern, parallel processing, stereo-linked, drums, drum bus, built-in mix knob, dual-mono, full mix, mix bus, mixing, single-band.

What it does

An emulation of a 1970s VCA compressor with a punchy sound, plus modern extras.

Detection: hard-knee curve with RMS level detection.
Sidechain: punch filter, external control and a Stereo Link toggle (linked or dual mono).
Extras: High Frequency Make-up, Drive for harmonics and a Dry/Wet control for parallel compression.
Integration: Console 1 compatible. Also in Softube's Icons: The Compressor Collection.

Source: Softube product page

When to use it

A snappy compressor for drums, bass, guitars and vocals when you want firm control and punch rather than the smoothness of optical models like the LA-2A. Its pairing of sidechain filter and dry/wet control also makes it a practical drum-bus option.

Where to buy

Tutorials and reviews

Similar plugins

dbx 160 Compressor / Limiter by Universal Audio · VCA compressor · $99
dbx 160 Compressor / Limiter by Waves · VCA compressor · $29.99
Comp VCA-65 by Arturia · VCA compressor · $79
EA-60 by Echelon Audio · VCA compressor · $39
BlackAsh SC-5 by Black Rooster Audio · VCA compressor (Ashly SC-50 style) · $39
VCE-118 by Fuse Audio Labs · Vintage VCA compressor/expander · $59
Model 5000 by Tone Empire · Hybrid VCA compressor · $99
Vintage Compressors by Native Instruments · Classic compressor emulations · $49
SSL 4000 G Bus Compressor by Universal Audio · VCA bus compressor · $69
Bus Compressor by IK Multimedia · VCA bus compressor · $99.99

All compressors