Shadow Hills OptoMax turns the prized optical section of the popular Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor into its own dedicated plugin

Brainworx and Shadow Hills have lifted the lid on the new Shadow Hills OptoMax, a new optical compressor which takes the optical section from the popular Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor and reworks it into a “new and exciting beast”.

Brainworx says it has used its “industry-leading analogue modelling expertise” to capture “every nuance” of the Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor’s optical circuits.

“The result is a musical, characterful compressor with multiple transformer colourations and powerful new modes that make it adaptable for everything from transparent levelling to aggressive, saturated compression,” says Brainworx.

For anyone in need of a history lesson, the Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor plugin recreated the iconic hardware compressor used by the likes of Muse, Green Day, Gnarls Barkley and many more.

The new OptoMax plugin features an expanded set of controls; ratio and speed controls (slow, med, fast) open the realm of new sonic possibilities, but while retaining the “essential bloom and smoothness of optical compression”.

There’s also a Push mode, which enables the user to tap into an “ultra-fast” timing mode for “aggressive modern sounds”.

Three distinct harmonic flavours are on tap, too, courtesy of Shadow Hills’ Nickel, Iron and Steel transformer circuits from the original Mastering Compressor.

Other modern-thinking features include a dedicated Tone control, with which the user can switch between Air for “silky brilliance” or Smooth to rein in top end.

There’s also advanced sidechain routing options, and the GUI window is resizable for the optimum creative workflow.

“Analogue optical compressors transform the non-linear characteristics of light glowing and fading into smooth, musical compression,” the company says. 

“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.”

Shadow Hills OptoMax is available now for an introductory price of $69 until 24 December, after which it will rise to $150.

Get yours at Plugin Alliance.

Sam is the Associate News Editor for Guitar.com and MusicTech. Thoroughly immersed in music culture for the majority of his life, Sam has played guitar for 20 years, studied music technology and production at university, and also written for the likes of MusicRadar, Guitar World, Total Guitar and Metal Hammer.