In this article we take a look at several simple to use dynamics plug-ins that we feel can make mixing easier. The following suggestions do not feature any emulations of analog outboard gear. Instead, we chose to feature plug-ins with fresh designs mind for modern audio production workflows.
If you spend time with any of the following plug-ins you may also find each can get the job done quickly and with very little fuss. Perfect for those starting out in audio production through to busy professionals who need to turn projects around quickly.
The following suggestions are in order of simplicity, starting with a plug-in many consider to be one of the easiest dynamics plug-in of all…
Waves Renaissance Vox
Though its UI looks a bit bare, don’t underestimate this. For quick, stress-free compression that does a great job on vocals Rvox is well worth checking out. Ratio and timing constants are preset under the hood set for natural and transparent compression effects. All you need to do is dial down the Threshold slider to taste while balancing the Output to compensate for the level differences. Don’t forget to check out the Gate which is a handy feature if you need to rid your tracks of unwanted noise artefacts between melody lines. The time constants in the gate, like the compressor sections, are also preset and respond fast enough for the gating effects to work tastefully but not sound choppy.
Watch our video below to hear Renaissance Vox in action on a lead vocal. The Rvox UI looks slightly different in our video compared to how it looks today. Waves recently refreshed the design of their Renaissance plug-ins. It’s worth noting that this refresh didn’t change the sonic performance of these plug-ins in any way.
Accusonus ERA Voice Leveler
Next on our list of super simple dynamics processor plug-ins is Accusonus’s ERA Voice Leveler. This differs from Rvox as it is based on machine learning with its main application geared more towards levelling inconsistent levels in spoken word dialog recordings. That’s not to say that Voice Leveler isn’t any good in a music mixing application too.
ERA Voice Leveler detects level problems in real time. To set the amount processing simply twist its single dial. It features a Tight mode providing a focused radio style of squish and a unique Emphasis mode which automatically detects problems in the tonal balance of voice recordings. For example, when a speaker is not directly facing the microphone or has moved significantly away from the mic between takes or scenes. Emphasis simply applies subtle processing to correct these differences in tone to ensure consistent tone and intelligibility.
Watch our video below to hear Accusonus ERA Voice Leveler in action.
Sonible smart:comp
Next on our list is sonible’s smart:comp which, like ERA Voice Leveler, is also based around smart machine learning algorithms. A nice feature in smart:comp, which is also present in other Sonible plug-ins, is a tutorial which loads the first time you open the plug-in. This stage walks you through the plug-in explaining in very simple terms how to use the controls and how to get the most out of the plug-in. More plug-in developers should take a leaf out of Sonible’s book here as who honestly reads plug-in manuals?
smart:comp’s party piece, and redeeming feature which earns it a place in our list of stress free dynamics plug-ins is its ability to listen to source material, analyse it, set compression values and still give users the ability to further tweak the controls. Simply put, smart:comp can be a quick and easy application in which you rely solely on the AI or a more in-depth experience in which you use it’s suggestions as starting points.
Watch our video below to hear smart:comp in action. Also, check out our review to find our our verdict on smart:comp.
Oeksound Soothe
Dynamics processing isn’t exclusive to compression. Gates, De-essers, limiters, multiband compressor and even some forms of EQs fall under this category. Oeksound’s soothe incorporates a few different elements of dynamics processing and, as of January 2020 recently got an update.
Soothe’s main purpose is to suppress harshness by using its smart AI to detect and reduce troublesome sibilance. The main UI shows the reduction ballistics and controls for targeting problem areas within a traditional EQ display with controls for depth and speed presented in the lefthand toolbar. Soothe is one of those plug-ins you use once and wonder how on earth you’ve completed a mix before without it.
More often than not the default preset along with a small node adjustment on the EQ display to focus the AI with a moderate depth value are enough to get any harsh sounding track sounding silky smooth in seconds.
Watch our review of the original Soothe to hear it in action. To discover more about about the new features in Soothe 2 check out their promotional video.
FabFilter Pro-C2
FabFilter’s Pro-C2 isn’t based on any fancy machine learning like other plug-ins we’ve already mentioned but it has several very clever tricks up its sleeves. First, from a user’s point of view, is the layout of the UI that can be switched between a basic view showing just the bread and butter controls of a compressor. The second view expands to show a more detailed visual view with the fully expanded mode showing side-chain controls at the bottom.
The main reason why we’ve included FabFilter’s Pro-C2 in this list is because of the auto gain feature which, if left on, automatically compensates the output when the level dips caused by dialling down the threshold. Many other compressor plug-ins have this feature as well but we feel FabFilter’s iteration of this mode does the best job. When auto gain is engaged you’ll clearly hear every single minute change as you adjust ratio, threshold attack and release times. At no point will your ear be fooled into thinking it heard a value change. You hear exactly what you are doing in Pro-C2 which makes this one of our plug-ins worthy of being described as being a stress free compressor.
Another neat trick Pro-C2 provides is found under the Style menu. Say you have easily dialled in a tasty amount of compression but the effect lacks a sense of character. Under style you can dive a little deeper into getting tracks sitting how you want by switching between different compressor types.
Watch our review below to hear FabFilter’s Pro-C2 in action.
SoundRadix POWAIR
POWAIR is a very different kind of dynamics plug-in. Sometimes compressors are used to level the differences between phrases, notes or beats, other times they are used to shape the sounds themselves, to add attack to a vocal or to bring up the sustain of a tom tom. The issue has always been that you can’t really have one without the other, in fact many people use two separate compressors to achieve these two different jobs.
POWAIR offers longer-term levelling and timbre-shaping compression as two distinct processes in a single compressor, quite unlike anything else out there. It offers predictable results and talks LUFS too making it perfect for people working to loudness specs. Find out more about POWAIR in Mike Thornton’s in depth review video below.
Zynaptiq INTENSITY
Zynaptiq says INTENSITY is a brilliantly simple dynamics plug-in for mixing and mastering that can increase detail, clarity, density and perceived loudness of audio. INTENSITY is based around two main trackball sliders called Intensity and Bias. Intensify, being the main control, is not a compressor, Zynaptiq makes this point very clear in their marketing. Instead, it is a smart algorithm that increases the level of detail within audio.
INTENSITY is great for quickly adding immense clarity and body to the sound of a mix which usually can only be achieved with a large number of plug-ins chained together. Read our review and watch our video below to hear INTENSITY in action.
This article isn’t intended to be an exhaustive list of dynamics plug-ins. I chose to share with you my personal recommendations of a range of different dynamics tools I regularly use that I find incredibly easy to work with and provide excellent sounding results.
If there is a super simple dynamics plug-in you use which isn’t in this list of suggestions then please do share your recommendations in the comments section below.