ViatorDSP released Duplex Comp Lite, a freeware serial compressor plugin for Windows and macOS.
Serial compression is nothing new in the world of audio processing. That said, ViatorDSP’s new Duplex Comp Lite plugin simplifies the workflow by marrying three processors in a tidy little interface.
A paid version of this plugin comes with several bonuses, such as factory presets, oversampling, and tooltips for explaining the interface itself.
If you don’t mind missing those elements, the free version is more than worth downloading.
Duplex Comp Lite’s first dynamics processor is a VCA compressor, which has the jack-of-all-trade qualities you might expect.
The VCA works for most dynamics needs and gets grabby enough when adjusting the attack and release accordingly. It is fast enough to catch vocal peaks, though you might prefer a FET emulation for faster response times.
Both Units One and Two can operate as a VCA or optical compressor. You’ve got a fair amount of control across the board, with adjustable knee, attack, release, and other assorted controls.
In practice, I couldn’t find many complaints when using Duplex Comp Lite on a wide variety of sound sources. It can handle bus work with ease while keeping things nice and compact.
The signal flow ends with Rent Control or a limiter. I wouldn’t use this one for mastering purposes, but it is a nice inclusion. You can get that final loudness push out of a bus without reaching for other plugins.
Controls are a bit lean, with a threshold and release present for the limiter itself.
Duplex Comp Lite continues ViatorDSP’s trend toward full-featured free mixing processors. The GUI is clear and quick to read, and each control is clearly labeled.
I do think the paid version merits some mention as having the ability to oversample might be nice if you’re working at lower sample rates.
I would appreciate some output saturation of some sort, just for the added character to really make this a tool I’d reach for more often. However, I love how quickly you can work with the dynamics processors.
Everything has a fair amount of control aside from Rent Control.
Duplex Comp Lite is available for Windows and Mac computers. Supported plugin formats are AU and VST3.
Download: Duplex Comp Lite (FREE)
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Last Updated on January 8, 2024 by Tomislav Zlatic.
