It should go without saying that any “top X” article is subject to bias. The top 11 best variable-mu/tube compressor emulation plugins for digital audio workstations are: As the input signal increases, the current sent to the grid of the tube decreases, which results in a reduction in the overall level.įor more information on variable-mu/tube compressors, check out my article What Is A Variable-Mu (Tube) Compressor & How Does It Work?

What is a variable-mu compressor? A variable-mu (variable gain) compressor is an analog compressor centred around a vacuum tube. With so many options to choose from, I've compiled what I consider to be the 11 best variable-mu/tube compressor emulations plugins. There are plenty of excellent analog variable-mu/tube compressors and plugin emulations of such compressors.

There are plenty of plugins that aim to emulate analog hardware in an attempt to make digital audio sound more like its nicer-sounding analog counterpart. Plugins are, therefore, invaluable assets for the modern audio engineer. We're currently living in the age of digital audio, and in-the-box mixing within a digital audio workstation is commonplace.