The supreme tycoon of master bus compression

Meticulously modeled by Brainworx after the instantly legendary hardware original, no details have been spared in crafting this digital version of one of the most musical and versatile compressors out there. A well known staple in the music industry, the Shadow Hills compressor easily tames even the most unruly and chaotic transients with flawless control and amazing tone. It’s no wonder that it has been the go-to buss compressor on timeless records by Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Beck, Green Day, Coldplay and countless others.

Dual compression sections for unprecedented dynamic control

One of the key benefits of the Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor is the ability to treat your signals with dual-stage compression, dialing in compression through either the Optical or the Discrete sections—or both for maximum musicality! In the Optical section, you will find the traditional Threshold and Gain settings, with a two-stage release time similar to what you would find on an LA-2A. Use it to easily shape your dynamic range and bring up the overall level. In the VCA Discrete section, you have a more exacting control over the ratio, attack and release settings, allowing you to fine-tune the compression response to fit a large variety of material.

Switchable output transformers for sonic variety

Further tonal character can be built with the three unique Output Transformers. Here you can toggle between each one to easily shift the tonal balance of the compressor. Choosing between Steel, Nickel or Iron will add distinct flavors commonly found in some legendary consoles: Nickel offers smooth lows with a polished top end and sounds great on more subtle and sparse recordings. The Iron transformer has a more colored sound, but still maintains a pristine high end with a small low end boost in the 100Hz range. It operates through a Class-A output stage that applies only even-ordered harmonic distortion, leaving you with a very musical sound. Finally, the Steel transformer has an extremely detailed and fast response with a subtle boost in the 40Hz range, which contributes to a rocking low end.

Brainworx plugin only features

To round out the huge features that came straight from the hardware, Brainworx went a step further by adding a Parallel Mix control, a Sidechain Filter and an External Sidechain option in the proprietary toolbar! The Sidechain filter can easily prevent frequencies below the setting from triggering the compression for ultra-tight sounding mixes. Try the Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor now to experience a whole new level of dynamics management.