6 Best Compressor Plugins For Vocals 2024

Thanks to its simplicity, transparency, and low CPU usage, Renaissance Compressor has been the go-to compressor for most pros.

The first thing anyone notices about the R-Comp is its simplicity and user-friendly interface. On the sides, you have the Threshold and Gain sliders; in between, you have the Ratio. Underneath these are the attack and release controls, along with the arc-manual, electro-opto, and smooth-warm compressor type choices. Finally, there is the Mix and Trim knobs for the finetune.

So, the ARC stands for auto-release control, while the manual mode uses the release time you set. ARC dynamically tracks the signal for best release values. I recommend ARC, as it does a great job of adjusting the release time of each sample. Electro and opto modes are all about release behavior. Finally, the warm and smooth modes are about letting the harmonics go out. While smooth does not let the harmonic content, warm does.

I like to keep a medium attack and release for vocals, with ARC, opto, and warm modes on. The ratio and the threshold will heavily depend on your mix and levels. So, start from a point and experiment to find the sweet spot.

I really love to use the Waves R-Comp as well as the Waves R-Vox for vocal compression. R-Vox is just like R-Comp but is more beginner-friendly as it has fewer controls and more things are done automatically. 

For its price, I think this is one of the best plugins you can use for vocal compression. It’s easy, transparent and affordable. 

Waves R-Comp comes in AAX Native, AudioSuite, VST, AU, and SoundGrid formats for Mac and Windows.

2. FabFilter Pro-C 2

FabFilter Pro-C 2 is a great modern compressor with its high flexibility, reasonable price, and beautifully clean sound. 

When I start talking about this plugin, the first thing I hear about it from producers is its sound is incredibly clean. I think it is an excellent tool for dynamic control without changing the timbre of vocals.

My favorite thing about the Pro-C 2 is the Audition Triggering, which isolates and allows you to listen to the parts of the sound that trigger the compressor. Another huge advantage the plugin offers is the mid-side processing. This helps a lot for mastering, especially when you want to tame an overly loud kick or vocal, for example.

Besides the classic compressor controls, the plugin has 8 styles that work actually pretty well. The vocal presets come in handy, immediately bringing out the vocals. I think it would work wonders with most mixes. 

The only problem for me was that I was using it with an acoustic song, which introduced a bit of harshness to the mix. That is why I returned to the Clean style and used it in parallel compression style with the vocal one. I was impressed by the result as the Pro-C 2 gave a clean vocal sound like the day it was recorded.

Although my favorite part of this plugin is the vocal part, It is not just for vocals; you can use it for any compressor needs. Whether drums, guitars, or any instrument or mastering, FabFilter Pro-C 2 can get the job done with its versatility. Its smart interface allows precise control over attack, release, and ratio settings. It is a pricey compressor, but you probably won’t need another one if you have it.

FabFilter Pro-C 2 is available in VST, VST3, Audio Units, CLAP, AAX Native, and AudioSuite formats for Mac and Windows.

3. UAD Fairchild 660

The magic compressor of the 60s, the Fairchild, can be heard in songs from The Beatles and Pink Floyd to countless Motown classics. If you want to have the same silky, warm analog color in your vocals and mixes, Fairchild 660 is the way.

The first thing I must mention about Fairchild 660 is the nice, warm character that adds to the tone. I even sometimes use it without any compression just to add that silky tone to my drums and mixes. Leaving the threshold at 0 and playing with the input gain knob, you can take advantage of that cool character without compression.

When you increase the threshold, you start to get that fast compressor the plugin provides. This is a pretty fast compressor, and the Time Constant knob is there to control the attack and release times. Position 2 gives 0.2 ms attack time and 800 ms release time, while position 3 gives 0.4 ms attack and 2 seconds release. These are two of my favorite settings, which I mainly use for drums.

If you want an even slower release time and smoother compression, position 4 with 0.8 ms attack and 5 seconds release is also good. Position 5 and 6 have attack times of 0.2 and 0.4 ms attack times respectively, with program-dependent release, which are also cool. 

Also, the plugin features a Sidechain filter, which is actually a high-pass filter, which I put around 200 Hz so that the plugin ignores the low-end frequencies for a punchier kick. 

Another cool feature I like about this plugin is its D.C. threshold control. This allows you to use the plugin like a limiter when the knob is fully turned to the far left to a harder knee.  There are two calibrations on the control, called Cal and Owr. Cal is the original Fairchild calibration, and Ocean Way Recording is the studio where the UAD modeled the Fairchild. I recommend these two settings for compressor use as they have a softer knee.

It is a great compressor for vocals with its high input gain and threshold. It provides nicely compressed creamy vocals with that analog character. It even handles the highly dynamic vocals pretty well. 

Universal Audio native plugins work in VST3, VST2, AU, and AAX formats for Windows and Mac users.

4. UAD Distressor 

Distressor was one of the classic compressors that shaped the 90’s sound with its modern-classic style of compression. Universal Audio and Empirical Labs restored that classic sound with the Distressor plugin.

Distressor comes with all the classic 8 ratios along with the distortion modes and filters in the audio path and detector sidechain. For me, it doesn’t have one of the most aesthetically pleasing interfaces I have seen, but the layout is easy. There are some buttons on the top half: the ratio for ratio selection, the detector for eight modes of sidechain processing, and the audio for 6 modes of audio processing, along with a gain reduction meter.

Below there are the classic controls with Input, Attack, Release, and Output knobs. I like the clean sound of the plugin with all LEDs off in the audio zone, and the high pass set is around 80 Hz, which means the green LED is on. I also recommend Dist 2 mode with the yellow LED, which adds a 2nd harmonic tube-type compression for a distorted warm tone. Dist 3 mode with red LED is also pretty cool as it gives 3rd harmonics added to the 2nds. This is the most distorted mode with flattened out the waveforms’ bottom and top.

This is a highly versatile compressor that you can adjust for drums, guitars, and vocals with some trial and error. I like how it adds its tonal character or leaves it transparent depending on the setting. The Attack around 10, the Release around 0, and the Ratio 10:1 with the optical compressor circuit is a great spot for vocals.. Also, the special Opto mode, with a 1:1 ratio, is the joker of the plugin that creates wonders in most situations.

For producers looking for a versatile compressor with a modern-classic tonal character that can also get pretty transparent, Distressor is a great plugin to check out.

Distressor is a UAD-native plugin available in VST3, AU, and AAX formats for Windows and Mac.

5. Waves CLA-2A

CLA-2A is one of the most used and modeled compressors ever, and the Waves CLA-2A provides that famous electro-optical tube compressor character with silky smooth compression and musical, harmonic saturation.

You probably know that I like straightforward user interfaces, and CLA-2A is creme-de-la-creme in that sense. It comes with two main knobs, Gain and Peak Reduction, along with a VU Display meter with Input, Gain Reduction, and Output choices to show. There is the Mix control for parallel compression and the Trim control for adjusting levels. Plus, we have the Dynamic control for all frequency ranges, or just high-end ones, to keep them under control.

I recommend this compressor to beginner producers who don’t exactly know how to control compression, as the plugin offers pretty great presets for vocals, guitar, bass, drums, and more. I use these presets as starting points to adjust the settings, which actually gives great results and helps you learn the compression settings.

The plugin handles the dynamics beautifully and does not intrude on the Master section. It levels out everything successfully, and the high-frequency filter is great for finetuning the output levels. The compressor smooths the vocal parts nicely and provides a warm, rich sound.

Waves CLA-2A comes in AAX Native, AudioSuite, VST, AU, and SoundGrid formats for Mac and Windows.

6. W.A. Production Vocal Compressor

If you are after a vocal-dedicated compressor with a modern, transparent, and balanced sound, Vocal Compressor by W.A. Production is worth looking at.

The Vocal Compressor is specially created for vocals, as the name suggests. It adds a subtle saturation, color, and grit to the vocals with 3 compression stages focused on Peaks, Balance, and Flavour. I like that it also has a Noise Gate ratio and a special Color slider for frequency shaping, which finetunes the tone’s character. 

So, the 3 compressors have their own Threshold and Make-Up gain controls to adjust your settings. I think they did a great job with these 3 dedicated vocal compressors, as Peak controls the amplitude spikes to make the vocals sound smoother. 

The Balance compressor leaves loud transients intact, making the softer vocal partitions louder. I think this is the most important one as it narrows the dynamic range and makes the vocal sit better in the mix. I go for bigger Thresholds with this one as the effect gets more obvious.

The last compressor, the Flavour, controls the tape saturation curve to add grit, harmonics, and character to the sound. Feel free to experiment with this one to find the tone that works for you.

I found the Noise Gate useful for controlling the breath and hiss sounds. The Color slider polishes the vocal sounds and adjusts how bright or round they sound.

In short, Vocal Compressor is an easy solution with pretty cool dedicated controls for vocal compression.

W.A. Production Vocal Compressor comes in VST, AU, AAX, and VST3 formats for Mac and Windows users.

How should vocals be compressed?

According to the settings, the compressor can be the vocals' best friend or worst enemy. When used well, the compression helps add dynamic control to the vocals and shapes and enhances the vocal tone. However, the settings highly depend on the compressor, genre, and personal taste.

• The first rule is to do the automation for dynamic control before compression. Use 1 to 2 dB boost and cuts to balance it. 
• Then, a high-pass filter is added to the chain to kill the unwanted low-end mud and resonances. Start around 40 Hz with a smooth 6-12dB level. Then, slowly get to higher cutoff frequency levels where it sounds right. Be careful not to overdo it, as it should not sound thin.
• Now, you can add your compressors. I recommend using two compressors, one to tame the peaks and the other to add character and fullness. If you are a beginner, go for a FET compressor into an LA-2A-style compressor combination.
• The first compressor needs high attack times. So, it should have a high compression ratio, around 12:1, and fast attack and release settings. The threshold should not go above the 2dB-3dB level of gain reduction, even in the loudest peaks.
• The second compressor should have slow attack and release times. A medium compression ratio of around 4:1 to 8:1 is great. The threshold is trial and error. So, go for different values until you like what you hear.
• These are the starting points for experimenting; you can also take the presets of the plugins as starting points and play with the settings.

If you work with harsh vocals, you can try to tame them by attenuating frequencies higher than 2kHz and below 12kHz. You can go for a bell filter with an EQ to achieve it. You can also use a de-esser on 5kHz to 12kHz to tame the harsh-sounding parts.

Harsh frequencies tend to be around 2kHz to 5kHz, as this area sounds the loudest for most people. Also, sibilance is defined as harshness, which sits directly above these levels.

The simplest way to reduce harsh frequencies on vocals is to use an EQ. If you reduce the before-mentioned ranges of the vocal EQ, the vocals will sound less abrasive. But don’t overreduce them, they will sound buried and won’t cut through the mix.

Another way is to use a de-esser. A de-esser means a frequency-specific compressor. They are used to attenuate the defined frequency ranges. Basically, the range of the frequencies between 3kHz and 10kHz is set to control the harsh sounds and sibilance.

While there are other ways to compress harsh partitions of vocals, these two are the easiest solutions. 

Last Words

Vocal compression is a highly necessary but hard task to take. But, luckily after this article, you now have the necessary info and the best compressor to use to balance and add color to your vocals.

I suggest Waves R-Comp as an industry standard for professional-sounding vocal parts. For more transparent-sounding vocals, FabFilter Pro-C 2 is a great choice. Fairchild 660 or the Distressor are the ways to go for some analog warmth in your vocals. 

A more all-rounder compressor to add character to the vocals, Waves CLA-2A, is highly recommended. And if you are looking for a vocal-dedicated compressor with everything you need in one plugin, W.A. Production Vocal Compressor is your man.

Hope this article guides you through the realms of vocal compression and you enjoy these plugins in your workflow.