Plugin Alliance has announced the release of its Shadow Hills OptoMax optical compressor plugin based off the optical section from the Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor, developed by Brainworx.
Building on the official partnership that produced the Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor and Class A plugins, now a staple with top engineers, Brainworx has used their industry-leading analog modeling expertise to capture every nuance of the Shadow Hills optical circuits, and taken them beyond what’s practical in the analog domain.
The result is a musical, characterful compressor with multiple transformer colorations and powerful new modes that make it adaptable for everything from transparent leveling to aggressive, saturated compression.
Features
- Expanded control — Creatively limited ratio and speed controls (slow, med, fast) unlock new sonic possibilities, but still retain the essential bloom and smoothness of optical compression.
- Push mode — Limiter-style, ultra-fast timing mode for aggressive modern sounds.
- Signature transformer color — Instantly switch between Shadow Hills’ Nickel, Iron, and Steel transformer circuits from the original Mastering Compressor for three distinct flavors of harmonic character.
- Tone sculpting — A dedicated Tone control offers Air for silky brilliance or Smooth to gently tame edgy top-end.
- Modern workflow — Advanced sidechain (highpass and bell options, SC Listen, external SC, and stereo link), parallel Mix, and a resizable GUI keep the creative flow fast and flexible.
Analogue optical compressors transform the non-linear characteristics of light glowing and fading into smooth, musical compression. However, due to this essential mechanism, they are often limited to slower attack and release times. OptoMax preserves that classic, bloom-without-bite feel, but uses the power of digital processing to add deeper timing control and a robust sidechain section for modern engineers.
Available for $150, or $69 intro offer until 24th December 2025.
