Analog Obsession has released Specomp, a free-to-download compressor plugin inspired by the S-Type SSL master bus console compressors.
Learning to use a good analog-sounding compressor is a rite of passage when you’re mixing. It’s one of the three fundamentals together with EQ and Reverb.
And one of the coolest things you can do with an analog compressor (outside of parallel compression) is to slap it onto a mix bus and twiddle some knobs until the whole thing comes alive as a cohesive whole and not just disparate elements.
Friends of the site (check out our recent collaboration called Rare “BPB Edition”) Analog Obsession made their entire product page free-to-download back in 2020 and moved to a donationware model on Patreon.
I’ll be real with you guys – Analog Obsession’s stuff is some of the best around. I’m talking proper top-shelf, first-choice sound. Founder and sole member Rıdvan Küçük has built everything you could ever need. And yes, it’s all free, with optional donations.
Of particular note is a new compressor named the Specomp, an analog emulation taken straight from the legendary SSL console.
Emulations like this have been available for a while, but this one is not only free – it’s also on par with what big companies are offering for double and triple digits. And it sounds great, too.
Specomp really makes things click immediately and adds a nice bit of that classic warm analog saturation, but without darkening the signal too much.
To my ears, it sounds better than some popular paid offerings. Like, objectively and clearly better.
All the settings you’d want from a comp like this are here, and you can click the logo to enable oversampling.
I feel like I need to shout this through cupped hands once more – Analog Obsession’s plugins are some of the best on the market – period – and they’re completely free. And there are tons of them.
I feel like I’m going crazy because this is a level of appreciation and love for the freeware scene that we really only get a couple times a year, if not even less.
If you’re a budget-minded musician, you now have access to freeware that is comparable to premium plugins offered by giants like Waves, Slate Digital, or UAD.
Add free software from Tokyo Dawn Labs, Airwindows, Matt Tytel, and Klanghelm to the mix, and you get an entire music production software collection for free. That’s game-changing.
Go check out the plugin and throw Rıdvan some coins if you feel inclined to do so.
More info: Specomp (4.4MB download size, ZIP archive, available as a VST/VST3/AU plugin for Windows & macOS)
More articles:
22 Comments
In A Week
onThanks a lot man for the headsup, i love Analog Obsession plugins. Will try this new one.
Tomislav Zlatic
onAs always, great stuff from AO.
Brenny C
onSeems to be a simple compressor plugin with an attractive little GUI. Lol. What about it is “insanity” to you, Georg? :)
Georg
onThank you Emanuil, this is insanity. What does the EXT button do? Can I use it to provide a sidechain signal as trigger?
Tomislav Zlatic
onAFAIK, the EXT button activates the external sidechain input.
Georg
onThank you Tomislav, I gotta try it!
Tomislav Zlatic
onYou’re welcome, cheers!
whiteaxxxe
on“Learning to use a good analog-sounding compressor is a rite of passage when you’re mixing. It’s one of the three fundamentals together with EQ and Reverb.”
Sorry, that is not only a myth, but it is utter bull****. Unbelievable someone who claims to have a reputation throws out such a bunch of plain idiocy.
Facepalm.
Tomislav Zlatic
onThanks for sharing your thoughts! One thing I have to point out: please tone it down in future comments. We’re all about good vibes and a friendly discussion here at BPB. It’s totally fine to disagree, but there’s no need for tension. Cheers!
That said, I completely agree with Emanuil’s statement that compression, EQ, and reverb are the fundamentals of mixing. On the other hand, it’s also true that whether or not analog-inspired plugins sound better is a matter of personal preference.
Ike
onWe can discuss about the “analog-sounding” part, but that still leaves 90% of his statement to remain valid: learning to use EQ, compression and reverb are the absolute fundamentals of mixing. Why would you disagree, unless you were intentionally trolling?
mx
on100% agree to what tomislav and ike put it…
Jamie M.
oni’d love to hear your thoughts on this, you seem very heated about it
Emanuil Spasov
onHi, WHITEAXXXE!
I’m a bit late on this, but please allow me to clear this up for anyone who might be reading this in the future.
The part about compression, EQing, and reverb being fundamentals I’m sure we can agree on.
I’m going to assume that the part you take issue with is the “analog-sounding” part. I fall more on the side of “who cares” when it comes to analog vs. digital, but I do maintain that there is a difference between a transparent compressor (for example) and one that colors the incoming signal.
That coloring, or “warming”, is due to varying levels of saturation, something that tends to be attributed to analog gear – hence, “analog-sounding”.
I personally use analog emulations almost exclusively – not for some sort of elitism or badge of honor, but because I enjoy the effect it has on a mix – it really brings everything together to my ears.
It’s also fun for me to see what classic gear looks like, learn the history, reference how different records that used it sound, etc. The cultural aspect of it is neat.
Also, I tend towards a more tongue-in-cheek tone, so when I say something is a “rite of passage”, it’s somewhat semi-serious. Though you probably do need to learn how to compress if you want to progress beyond a certain stage.
Have a nice day, follow your dreams, and stay safe.
Giovanni Berto
onDifferences between specomp and busterSe? I cant get the last one to work. After few minutes it freezes.
Regards!
Hitesh Bandhu
onBusterSE is a beast. I have a doubt. They gave a rarese BPB version. It has one panel. There was also a two rack pultec version. Am i right? I love its look
mx
oni havent tried neither of them, but it looks as if they emulate two different analog compressors.
so probably the spectral colour and reaction curves are different, maybe also the attack and release times and the possible ratios are in different ranges, and so on. its just two different devices.
interesting for you to look up could be the general technical and sound differences between tube compressors, vca compressors, fet compressors in hardware.
Silvano
onIs it like BusterSE?
Csabb
onThe compressor action is based on busterSE, but this is not a simple broadband compressor. As the name suggests it does Spectral Compression – it is a bit like Soothe or maybe Baby Audio’s Smooth Operator, without the fancy display and freq tweakability.
Vik
onExcuse me, but how did you come to this conclusion?
Giuseppe
onRıdvan Küçük really deserves some Love, one of the most prolific and efficient audio plugin developer in the scene for sure :)
Tomislav Zlatic
on+1! I agree 100%.
PureFire
on+ Too 😉
Great work Rıdvan 💡⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟
I’ve been playing with Specomp, it sounds just incredible when set up to react just a little. It just adds something which i love to my music (placed on my master bus).
.
Thank you very much for everything Rıdvan & Emanuil BPB