Three free plugins take multiband compression, reverse delay and clipping in different directions

DYMAI Sound, Modulor Audio and Raytown Productions offer new free tools for adaptive dynamics, experimental delay design and controlled loudness.

This week’s free plugin selection spans mixing, delay design and peak control, with each release aimed at a different part of the production chain. The most immediately practical of the trio is an adaptive multiband compressor from DYMAI Sound, joined by an unusually flexible delay from Modulor Audio and a hard clipper with limiter protection from Raytown Productions.

DYMAI Sound’s Gluecomp-3B is a free three-band compressor that is built to simplify multiband dynamics work. Rather than relying on the usual threshold and ratio pairing, it uses an Adapt control to set how strongly the processor responds, which should make it quicker to dial in on tracks, drum buses or the stereo mix. SoundShock Audio and XLR8R both describe it as offering adaptive control across three bands, with downward compression for peak control and upward processing to bring back detail. The plugin also includes selectable crossover points, a spectrum display, K-weighted auto gain, four character modes, and detector choices based on peak, RMS or loudness. It runs on macOS and Windows in AU and VST3 formats.

Modulor Audio’s Coalesce takes a more experimental approach. The company says the plugin can produce conventional forward delays, fully reversed repeats, or any blend in between, which is unusual in a free delay and makes it more useful for sound design than a standard echo unit. Alongside the Direction control, Modulor Audio lists an Offset function for shaping reverse timing, plus a flexible FX chain that can be dragged into the signal path. The effect section also includes filters, distortion, ring modulation, pitch shifting, limiter and gain modules, while a diffusion stage and ducking help it sit more naturally in a mix. Coalesce is available for macOS and Windows in VST3, AU and AAX formats, with support for recent operating systems.

Raytown Productions’ Hardstop rounds out the group with a straightforward clipping and limiting tool for increasing level without obvious artefacts. The developer says it is designed to raise loudness “without the fizz, the pumping or the guesswork”, and the interface centres on a waveform view that shows how much transient energy is being removed. Automatic gain compensation is meant to keep level-matching honest, while three anti-aliasing modes let users trade off quality against CPU load. A built-in true-peak limiter is included to catch intersample peaks, and a paid Pro edition adds transient-aware reactivity, knee shaping and density controls. Hardstop is available for macOS and Windows in VST3, AU and AAX formats.