Creative Sauce Delivers: Free Compressors That Actually Slap

Creative Sauce isn’t mucking about—this video lines up three free compressor plugins that could easily replace a drawer full of paid ones. Mike’s not just talking about any old freebies; these are from Analog Obsession, and you don’t even have to cough up your email to grab them. That’s right, no sign-ups, no spam, just straight to the download.

He’s running each plugin through its paces with an oscilloscope view, so you get a before-and-after look at what’s actually happening to your signal. If you’re sick of guessing what a compressor’s doing, this is your ticket. The focus is on real-world strengths and the actual roles these plugins play in a mix—no fluff, just the good stuff.

First up is FETish, a shameless 1176 clone with a few tricks up its sleeve. Forget threshold controls—just crank the input until you’re smashing peaks, then tame the output so you don’t blow your monitors. The attack and release are fast and flexible, perfect for clamping down on unruly transients without flattening your whole vocal.

FETish isn’t just a one-trick pony. The ratio dial lets you fine-tune compression beyond the original’s four-button setup, and there’s even a ‘slam’ mode for when you want to go full toaster-fight on your audio. Add in sidechain options and some clever filtering for the detection circuit, and you’ve got a freebie that’s more versatile than half the paid plugins out there. Mike’s clear: this thing can be subtle or savage, depending on how you drive it.

Next in the lineup is LALA, channeling the LA-2A’s laid-back, buttery vibe. It’s slower, gentler, and perfect for smoothing out vocals, acoustic guitars, or bass without turning them into cardboard. The controls are dead simple—just dial in peak reduction and adjust the output. No attack, release, or ratio to faff about with.

But don’t let the minimalism fool you. LALA also packs in external sidechain and filter features borrowed from FETish, giving you more control than most commercial LA-2A clones. Mike likes to use it for subtle, musical levelling—just enough to tickle the meter and keep performances even. If you want to hear how it actually sounds, you’ll need to watch the video; words don’t do that creamy compression justice.

Finally, BUSTERse steps in as the bus compressor, specialising in gluing your mix together. Mike shows how it works its magic on drums, making everything pump in time without squashing the life out of your transients. The threshold, attack, and release controls give you plenty of room to dial in the vibe—plus there’s an auto-release for lazy days.

BUSTERse isn’t just about basic compression. There’s parallel mix, turbo mode for full-range squish, and transformer emulation for a bit of extra grit. Sidechain filtering and transient boost features round out the package. Mike reckons it deserves its own video, but even in this quick tour, it’s clear: if you want your tracks to stick together like a rave bunker after sunrise, this is the freebie to reach for.