MS Compressor
Mid/side compressor plugin for macOS and Windows
Give the mid and the side their own compressor.
Launch price until 30 September. Price includes VAT. Licence key by email, straight after payment.
Level-matched · both takes run in sync
Four detector types per channel, so the Mid can ride an Opto's slow, level-dependent release while the Side gets an FET's fast grab on transients. Two compressors doing two jobs on the same signal. Link them when one set of controls is enough, split them when the mix asks for two. Secret sauce: squash your overheads to extremes on the Side.
Compressor types
VCA
Fast and consistent whatever you feed it. The modern default, and predictable at any setting.
Opto
Optical detection with a slow, level-dependent release. Smooths material without drawing attention to itself.
FET
Fast attack, aggressive character. It grabs transients hard. Use it where you want to hear the compressor working.
Bus
Gentle, program-dependent glue for the mix bus.
What it does
- Four compressor types per channel: VCA, Opto, FET, Bus
- Independent threshold, ratio, attack, release, and makeup gain for mid and side
- Link ties the mid and side compressors together with one control
- Mix blends compressed and dry signal for parallel compression
- Real-time gain reduction graph per channel, drawn over time rather than a single bar
- Stepped attack and release scales print the positions each mode has, so you know how far the next click moves
- External sidechain per channel, switched on the mid and the side independently, so a bass on the key input can duck the centre while the sides run off their own signal
- Opens on Bus at -18 dB for the mid and Opto at -28 dB for the side, which is the pairing the plugin exists to make easy
- A and B both start out holding the state the plugin arrived in, so the first comparison has something to compare against
Specs
- Formats
- VST3, AU
- Requirements
- macOS 11 or later (Apple Silicon & Intel), VST3 or AU host · Windows 10 or later (64-bit), VST3 host
- Version
- 1.0.0 · 30 Aug 2026
MS Compressor is one of 6 in The Mid/Side Core
All 6 for €149, which is €89 less than buying them one at a time.
How to use it
- Mid/side compression, explained
A stereo compressor lets the loudest thing in the mix decide what happens to everything else. Splitting the detector between mid and side stops that.
