My most-used dynamics plugins for music production

As someone with a lot of creative musical ideas but very little free time to bring those ideas to life, I’m always looking for ways to streamline my music production process. One method that’s proven helpful is to limit myself to one or two tools for any given technical need, and to learn those tools well. A side benefit to this approach is that it saves me money in addition to time, because I’m no longer searching music sites for the latest and greatest plugins. I just use what I have.

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I went through all of the tracks I’ve completed over the past year and identified the plugins I used the most. I have a few of these posts planned, and this first one is about dynamics plugins; compressors, limiters, and sidechain effects. I am a long-time Cubase Pro user, and I use the plugins included with Cubase as often as I can. For those in my audience who use other DAWs, in cases where my plugin of choice is exclusive to Cubase, I will recommend third-party alternatives (free ones when possible). Everything I mention is available for both MacOS and Windows.

Brickwall Limiter (Steinberg)

The Cubase 14 Brickwall Limiter plugin.

• What it is: A standard brickwall limiter plugin; it prevents the incoming audio signal from exceeding the volume threshold you set.
• Where to find it: This plugin is included with the Pro, Artist, and Elements versions of Cubase 15.
• Why I like it: This is an extremely straightforward limiter. With the default settings, I generally only have to tweak a single control: the threshold amount.
• How I use it: I usually make Brickwall Limiter the first insert on my group buses and on the main Stereo Out mix, and I adjust the threshold control so that I achieve a maximum of about -2dB gain reduction. The purpose of this is to shave some excessively high peaks on each group to preserve loudness when I normalize my tracks post-mixdown. I do not recommend using this limiter for more than maybe -3dB gain reduction, because it has a tendency to distort when pushed too hard.
• Non-Cubase alternative: The free plugin LoudMax is an excellent alternative. It can be used lightly in the same way I use Brickwall Limiter, and it can be pushed much harder when mixing for loudness.

LoudMax (by “Thomas” at the LoudMax blog)

The free/donationware loudness limiter, LoudMax.

• What it is: A free limiter plugin that’s optimized for preserving the quality of the incoming signal even at severe levels of gain reduction.
• Where to find it: You can download this plugin at the LoudMax blog.
• Why I like it: While I generally use Cubase’s Brickwall Limiter for basic peak control, if I want to squash my tracks to increase loudness I reach for the free plugin, LoudMax. Unlike many limiter plugins, you can drive this plugin hard without decimating the audio with distortion. It’s a surprisingly clean and transparent effect.
• How I use it: I usually insert this as the last plugin on my master Stereo Out bus when my track is ready for mixdown. I usually set the Out parameter to -1.0dB (to ensure the best-sounding results when I eventually convert my WAV files to MP3), and usually open up an LUFS meter while I drag the Thresh(old) parameter down so I can get into the loudness zone I’m looking for while listening to make sure everything still sounds good.
• Tip: Holding down SHIFT while dragging the sliders lets you dial in precise values.

Compressor (Steinberg)

The Cubase 14 compressor plugin

• What it is: A traditional compressor plugin with all the typical bells and whistles. It decreases the dynamic range of incoming audio when the signal level reaches the threshold you set.
• Where to find it: This plugin is included with the Pro, Artist, and Elements versions of Cubase 15.
• Why I like it: The Cubase compressor plugin includes every feature I need in a single-band compressor. It has sidechain support, it supports parallel compression, and it gives you fine-grained control over the parameters.
• How I use it: I use this compressor as an insert on a per-track basis, in cases where I want to fatten up individual drum sounds or rein in the dynamics of an instrumental part.
• Non-Cubase alternative: MeldaProduction’s free plugin, MCompressor, has most of the same features and workflow as the Cubase compressor. You can find it in MeldaProduction’s MFreeFXBundle.

Solid Bus Comp (Native Instruments)

Solid Bus Comp,

• What it is: This is an emulation of the famous SSL G Series Bus Compressor. It was developed by Softube for Native Instruments. It’s a compressor that’s intended to be used on groups/buses rather than individual tracks, and it has the effect of “gluing” a mix together, making your arrangement sound more organic and cohesive.
• Where to find it: This plugin is available in the Solid Mix Series bundle. It is also in Maschine and most recent flavors of Komplete.
• Why I like it: This is a good-sounding plugin that provides the desirable glue that works so well on track groups, and it also has a Dry control that lets you mix the original signal in with the compressed version, for parallel compression.
• How I use it: This is usually the second insert on any of my non-vocal group buses (after the Brickwall Limiter). I usually go for around -4dB of gain reduction on drum groups and -2dB of reduction on instrument groups, and I adjust the Makeup parameter to account for those reduction targets. (If I’m looking for -4dB reduction, I’ll increase Makeup to +4dB.)

Multiband Compressor (Steinberg)

The Cubase 14 Multiband Compressor plugin

• What it is: This is a very intuitive multiband compressor, which is essentially 4 separate compressors, with each one assigned to a given range in the frequency spectrum. Multiband compressors are most often used on group buses and the master Stereo Out to adjust the dynamics of specific frequency ranges.
• Where to find it: This plugin is only included with the Pro version of Cubase 15.
• Why I like it: This plugin has just the right balance of features and usability; if you understand the basics of compression, this plugin should be quite easy to master. You can drag the handles between the frequency ranges to target the exact bands you want to adjust.
• How I use it: I don’t use this on every song I produce, but when there are cases where I want to tweak the EQ profile of my track I will usually insert this plugin second-to-last on my master Stereo Out (right before LoudMax) and adjust my mix to taste. My mixing environments aren’t really ideal (untreated room, small powered studio monitors), and sometimes after demoing my mix on other equipment I find there’s a little more high-end or mid-range than I want. With the multiband compressor I can apply some dynamic gain reduction to those specific problem frequencies without affecting the rest of the mix.
• Non-Cubase alternative: Waves C4 Multiband Compressor is the closest third-party 4-band compressor I’ve seen in terms of both user interface and functionality.

Nicky Romero Kickstart 2 (Cableguys)

Nicky Romero Kickstart 2, by Cableguys

What it is: This plugin was a collaboration between Dutch DJ Nicky Romero and German Plugin developer Cableguys that simulates the effect of sidechaining a four-on-the-floor kick drum in an electronic music project. It has a variety of volume envelopes and a Mix control for quickly dialing in just the right amount of bounce.

Where to find it: You can purchase the plugin from the dedicated Kickstart site. All Kickstart functionality is also included in their more expansive (and more complex) VolumeShaper plugin.

Why I like it: Setting up a real sidechain for the purpose of pumping other tracks to your kick can be a time-consuming process, with all the various parameters you need to tweak to get things sounding right- and you sometimes have to revisit your compression settings if things change in your arrangement, burning up more precious studio time. Kickstart makes this one procedure virtually effortless; it can sound great with just a few clicks.

How I use it: In my projects I always have a main Drum group/bus and Instrument group. In tracks where I want to pump other drum or instrument parts to the kick, I create an additional sub-group for the pumped parts that routes its output to the respective Drum or Instrument group. I add Kickstart as an instance on each one of these sub-groups. Next, I route the output of the individual tracks to be affected (for example, hi-hats or bass) to their respective sub-groups. This enables me to process each individual sound/part individually, but have all desired drum or instrument parts to share the same sidechain effect. I usually just use the same Kickstart settings on each instance of the plugin, but there might be cases where I use slightly different settings for the instruments versus the drums.

Tip: For breakdowns (parts in the track where there is no kick) I usually automate the Mix control down to zero percent (which just lets the original dry signal pass through) and then automate it back up to the prior level when the kick resumes. You can optionally automate the plugin’s bypass control, depending on your DAW.