Cookies

With your consent, we use cookies from Google Analytics and PostHog for site statistics, and PostHog records visits as heatmaps and replays, with anything you type hidden. If you allow it, Google's cookies also measure how our Google ads and Shopping listings perform. None of them are used to personalise ads. Separately, you can allow the Meta pixel, which shows which of our Instagram and Facebook ads lead to a purchase and lets those ads reach people who visited this site. You can change your choices at any time via Cookie settings at the bottom of the page. Privacy Policy

MS Compressor

Mid/side compressor plugin for macOS and Windows

Give the mid and the side their own compressor.

VST3 · AU

Price includes VAT. Licence key by email, straight after payment.

No iLok and no password. One online activation, then it runs offline. Full refund within 14 days, for any reason.

Sidechain on mid

Level-matched · both takes run in sync

On the panel

  1. MidIts own type (VCA, Opto, FET or Bus), threshold, ratio and timing.
  2. SideA second compressor for the sides. It starts on Opto at -28 dB, and the mid on Bus at -18 dB.
The MS Compressor interface — mid/side compressor plugin for macOS and Windows
  1. GRHow much each channel is turned down.
  2. MixBlends in the dry signal for parallel compression.

Four detector types per channel, so the Mid can ride an Opto's slow release while the Side gets an FET's fast grab on transients. Link them when one set of controls is enough. 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
All 9 features
  • 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
1.1.0 · 9 Oct 2026
What changed

MS Compressor is one of 6 in The Mid/Side Core

All 6 for €249, which is €105 less than buying them one at a time.

See the bundle

How to use it

Changelog

  1. 1.1.09 Oct 2026

    • Added update notifications with a one-click Update button
    • Added a gear menu to turn update notifications off
    • Added a daily check for withdrawn licences (offline keeps working)
    • Changed: Mac activation no longer sends your DAW, macOS version or language
    • Fixed: the Mac installer always installs to the plug-in folders
  2. 1.0.030 Aug 2026

    • First release.

You might also like