The shadow hills mastering compressor starts with a world-class signal path and flexible stereo or dual mono operation. But the genius of the mastering compressor lies in its ability to control music dynamics in two stages — first with an Optical section, then with a Discrete (VCA) section. Both sections can be bypassed, effectively providing three compression sounds (Optical, Discrete, and combined) in a single unit. The Optical section is highly program dependent, with basic Threshold and Gain settings, and a two-stage release time akin to the classic LA-2A. Use the Optical section to gently tame your dynamic range, and bring up the overall level. The Discrete section takes over where the Optical section leaves off, and provides a more aggressive sound with precise control over gain, threshold, ratio, attack, and release.

Taken together, this flexible design allows the Mastering Compressor to deliver a wide range of beauty-to-beast tones — whether tracking, mixing, or mastering. Use the shadow hills mastering compressor on a vocal chain, drum buss, or on the master fader, its unique control and character will inspire creativity. Try sultry female vocals with gentle Optical compression, sidechain filter out, and Nickel transformer selection. Or bypass the optical section and go straight to the discrete VCA section and Steel transformer for adding massive character and punch to drum sounds.

The Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor Plugin is a faithful 1:1 model of the corresponding hardware version, offering all its non linear behavior and analog sound quality in the digital domain. As is standard in all equipment deployed by Shadow Hills, the Mastering Compressor boasts discrete op amp technology, custom designed transformers, and a signal path devoid of any IC's. The unit houses two linkable channels of two separate compressors, which can be operated independently, or in a chain. The first compressor in the circuit is the Optical Section. Utilizing electroluminescent optical attenuator, the circuit provides gain reduction with a very musical two stage recovery. The second compressor in the circuit is the discrete section, which is powered by our discrete voltage controlled amplifier in a feed forward mode. By the versatility of its features and the precision of its controls, the Discrete Section capably finishes the job started by the Optical Section. However, the coup de grace lies in the final processing stage of the Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor. Each channel is equipped with three distinctive output transformers, which can be toggled via the Transformer Select Switch, effectively changing the frequency response and distortion characteristics of the entire.