The Nomad Factory BT Analog Compressor CP-2S is part of the Blue Tubes Dynamics Pack, a plug-in bundle consisting of six plug-ins total of various dynamic processing capability. This one is the most traditional compressor of the bunch. You install the full bundle at once, which is a process I wasn't involved with since I don't own the bundle myself and have only used it on the studio's systems where I work. If you understand the basic working parts of compressors in general, the interface of this plug-in will be very easy for you to use. It includes parameters for threshold, ratio (ranging from 1:1 to 10:1), attack, release, and gain make up. It also has options for VU metering to choose from, as well as the ability to set the compressor to either RMS or peak limiting. It's easy enough to use where a manual really shouldn't be necessary.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

The studio that I work at has the Nomad Factory BT Analog Compressor CP-2S and the Blue Tubes Dynamics Pack running on a few different systems. I've used it a least a little bit on most of them, with the main room being Pro Tools HD based and running everything on a Mac Pro desktop computer with 10 GB of RAM and dual 2.66 Ghz Intel Xeon processors. It doesn't seem to take up much processing power within this system, but then again I've never had a problem running any plug-ins at all within this system.

OVERALL OPINION

The Nomad Factory BT Analog Compressor CP-2S is a pretty effective compression plug-in for the most part. It's not my first choice for compression by a good amount, but it's still got a pretty full sound for a plug-in and does a pretty decent job of analog emulation. The best part about the CP-2S is the fact that it comes within a bundle of six plug-ins for just $200 US dollars, which comes out to only a little more than $30 per plug-in, which is a pretty unbeatable price. If you're looking to expand your plug-in compression palette, the BT Analog Compressor CP-2S and the BT Dynamics Pack is a great way to do it.