Quick Answer
Use FET for fast peak catching, opto for smooth leveling, VCA for transparent control, and vari-mu for slow body compression on buses.
Plugin Breakdown
4 Recommended Plugins
Fast peak catching on vocals and drums. The FET circuit responds in microseconds, making it ideal for controlling inconsistent peaks before a leveling stage.
Recommended Use
First compression stage on vocals and drums. Catch peaks, not the phrase.
Stock Logic Alternative
Logic Compressor — Vintage FET mode, fast attack settings.
Smooth vocal leveling after peaks are already caught. The opto circuit has a program-dependent response that naturally feels musical on sustained sources.
Recommended Use
Second compression stage on vocals. Smooth the phrase after peak control.
Stock Logic Alternative
Logic Compressor — Vintage Opto mode, medium ratio.
Classic G-series VCA glue across the instrumental premaster and final mix bus. Adds cohesion and reacts to the rhythm section — not a tone or loudness stage.
Recommended Use
Instrumental Premaster and Final Mix glue. Keep gain reduction around 1–2 dB. Bypass the second stage if both buses are running it.
Stock Logic Alternative
Logic Compressor — VCA mode, very gentle glue settings.
Transparent peak control on the drum bus and the final limiter stage. Used as a safety net before the drums hit the summing bus, and as the brickwall that hits commercial LUFS targets without squashing tone.
Recommended Use
Drum bus peak catcher and the final master limiter. Lean on Peak Clipper + Protection stages; aim for −1 dBTP and the target LUFS.
Stock Logic Alternative
Logic Adaptive Limiter — Transparent mode with lookahead and True Peak detection enabled.
Avoid These
Common Mistakes
Using a FET compressor on a source that needs smooth leveling.
Using slow attack on a source that needs fast peak catching.
Judging compression moves with the gain-compensated loudness difference.