$29

bathtub is more than just a simple compressor. It does multi-band compression, multi-layer parallel compression, series compression, mid/side compression, Left/Right compression, RMS/Peak detection, side-chaining, look-ahead, limiting & maximizing and has comprehensive metering and clip counting.

bathtub is really 2 flexible and configurable stereo compressors that can be routed to be in series or parallel, can be fed the input signal split into high/low frequencies or full band, and can perform as different styles of compressor, limiter or maximizer to produce a range of flavours and effects. The metering shows you visually what is happening too, so you can see how much compression and gain you are getting

some examples of configuration could include;
- parallel RMS and peak compressors
- series RMS into peak compressor
- series peak into RMS compressor
- series compressor into limiter
- parallel mid and side compressors
- parallel left and right compressors
- 2 band compression, mono low, wider high
- parallel compressors different settings

but there are many other combinations to try



· 2 Band multi-function compressor with comprehensive metering
· Flexible controls allow use as a compressor, limiter or maximiser
· Can be used as a single band compressor, dual band compressor, dual parallel compressor or dual series compressor
· 2 bands can be split high / low freq or full spectrum
· 2 bands can be in parallel or series
· Fully adjustable frequency split point with adjustable overlap/gap of bands
· Each band has a full set of independent compression controls for different compression flavours in each
· Each band has stereo balance for independent Left and Right channel compression
· Each band has mid/side stereo narrow/width control, which can be used to narrow the low frequency and spread the high, or have independent mid/side compression
· Either or both bands can use sidechaining to drive the compressor from an external signal
· Either or both bands can be muted to help with sound design or save CPU in single band mode
· Attack / Release curve can be linear or non-linear
· Stereo input detection can be linked or unlinked
· Input detection can be filtered to reduce distortion at short release times
· Input detection can be stereo average or max level
· Input detection can be Peak or RMS level with adjustable window
· Optional soft limit at final output
· Look-ahead defined by user in ms
· Wet/Dry mix control allows blending of dry uncompressed signal for NY style parallel compression
· Metering for each band and combined output, covers stereo input, output and gain, gain reduction and clip indicator/counter, with adjustable sensitivity. All meters show actual and peak levels



Bathtub is capable of significantly increasing the volume of audio material. Some of the presets are much louder than others, especially where demonstrating a maximiser function. Please take care when scanning through presets or tweaking/automating parameters, as you may get sudden increases in volume that could damage your ears or equipment

$29 - Click the Buy Now button to purchase bathtub from the dlM automated webshop using PayPal
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On successful payment, you will receive an automated e-mail with a download link to bathtub

The download includes sidechain and non-sidechain versions (for use in hosts that don't support multi-input plugins)

This plugin is also available in a bundle deal which saves money on the individual prices




Download demo VST (3.6 MB) - This zip contains the demo versions of bathtub to allow you to fully evaluate them before purchasing. The download includes sidechain and non-sidechain versions (for use in hosts that don't support multi-input plugins). They are fully functioning except you will get 1 second of silence every 10 seconds and a nag screen on start up. Manual is also included

I decided against making audio demos for bathtub, I feel compression is a matter of taste and the demo VST will give you a better idea if it's right for you than any audio demo



There is a wide range of presets included to demonstrate the different configurations of bathtub. These presets can sound totally different depending on the source material and may not compress enough or could clip depending on what you try it on. The compressor settings will almost always need to be adjusted to the volume and dynamic range of the audio you are running through it. So the presets are a demonstration and a starting point, but you should expect to experiment a little if you want to get the best out of bathtub.



bathtub was developed using SynthEdit software version 1.016
There is a known bug with this version of SynthEdit that affects some multicore processors, although it isn't widely documented. Some users with multicore processors and certain hosts have reported issues when trying to load multiple instances of the same SynthEdit plugin. This bug is not reproducable on all systems or hosts, and may not occur on your system. If you have a multicore processor you are strongly urged to fully test the demo version of bathtub on your system before purchasing.
This bug does NOT affect single core processors or single instances of a plugin
This bug only seems to apply in hosts with multi-core support
Whilst SynthEdit 1.1 will fix this bug, there are several other bugs associated with SE 1.1 and it is not considered stable at this time. There is no guarantee that bathtub will be updated to SE 1.1, as the compatibility between the two versions is not certain.
If you do have issues with multiple instances, there is a potential workaround. By making several copies of bathtub.dll (eg bathtub_1.dll, bathtub_2.dll, etc) in your VST directory, your host will see each one as a different plugin and be able load one instance of each



Thanks for testing and advice from WhiskeyPriest, sink, bduffy and bmanic
Also thanks to the KVR DSP gurus, Chris Walton, Sascha Eversmeier, Martin Eastwood and Duncan Parsons

Thanks for the 3rd party modules from Chris Kerry, Dave Haupt, xoxos and Kelly Lynch



All plugins are Windows VST only. They can be bought seperately or in bundles for an even better deal. Please check the included End User License Agreement (EULA) before installing. You are encouraged to try the demo version before purchase. You can get updates on plugins by subscribing to my newsletter