AXELL SIGNATURE · FET + OPTO + LIMITER
Axell Duo Compressor
Two classic compressors and a true-peak limiter, in one.
WINDOWS · LINUX · VST3 · FET + OPTO + TRUE-PEAK LIMITER · 44.1 – 192 kHz
Two legends and a limiter, in one plugin. A FET peak compressor, an opto leveling amplifier calibrated on recordings of real hardware, and a true-peak limiter - built for rap and boom-bap vocals, and just as much at home on bass, drums, the bus and the master.
01 WHY IT'S DIFFERENT
Five reasons, all measured.
An opto that follows the hardware
calibrated on LA-2A recordings, it tracks the real unit's gain reduction to 0.6 dB RMS on music it never saw.
ESS HOLD
compressors lift esses above the vowels; Duo holds the word's gain through each ess: +3.28 -> +0.60 dB on 28 real takes.
VOICE HOLD
the room stays down between your phrases: pauses +23.4 -> +5.9 dB on a real take, the voice's compression unchanged.
Clean where it should be
aliasing -149.5 dBFS at 4x on a brutal test; silence in, exactly silence out.
Your old sessions are safe
projects from Duo Vocal Comp 1.0 render bit-identically.
Every figure comes from the plugin's own test suites and published benchmarks — the full measurements, the method and every version's history are on GitHub.
02 A CLOSER LOOK
Every screen, every mode.
HEAR IT
Before and after.
The same excerpt, the original and through Axell Duo Compressor with a factory preset. Press play, then switch — both play in sync, so you hear only the plugin. Headphones recommended.
Drums
FET smash for a denser, harder-hitting kit.
Piano
The opto evens the piano out without squashing it.
Rap vocal
A steady, upfront vocal - and ESS HOLD keeps the esses from jumping up.
03 GET IT
Windows first. Linux too.
Free and open source. Copy one folder into your VST3 folder — or install the whole suite in one go with the Axell Signature Suite installer, and let the Dojo keep everything up to date.
Runs in any VST3 host — FL Studio, Ableton Live, Cubase, Studio One, Bitwig, REAPER
THE SUITE