Compression is like Spanx for your audio. It holds everything in place, smooths out the lumps, and keeps your mix sounding tight and polished. But squeeze too hard, and your mix is gasping for air, and everything gets very uncomfortable very quickly. Or something like that.
Lucky for us, Robert has found a plugin that tightens things up without cutting off your mix’s circulation. Over to you RD…
If you’re producing modern, high-impact radio imaging, this week’s featured free plugin is one you’ll want in your toolbox. TDR Kotelnikov from Tokyo Dawn Records is a clean, transparent digital compressor. It’s ideal for controlling dynamics in voiceovers, sweepers, promos, and music beds without adding unwanted coloration.
Unlike analog-modeled plugins, Kotelnikov is proudly digital, designed from the ground up to offer precision and flexibility. It’s especially effective when you need to keep your mixes punchy, clear, and consistent across all playback platforms.
Why Radio Producers Should Use It:
-64-bit multi-rate processing for accurate, high-fidelity compression
-Delta mode lets you hear what’s being compressed
-Crest factor control offers separate peak and RMS release times for tighter dynamics
-Advanced stereo linking, optimized for imaging and bus compression
-Flexible sidechain high-pass filter for cleaner low-end control
-Latency-compensated bypass for seamless A/B testing
For even more control, the Gentleman’s Edition adds features like external sidechain input, frequency-dependent ratio, and automatic level matching in bypass.
Whether you’re shaping a voiceover or gluing together your imaging stack, TDR Kotelnikov offers transparent, professional-grade compression at no cost.
Download it today and enhance your production workflow.
Until next time, cheers! – Robert
Robert Dudzic is a world-class sound designer and the creator and producer of SPLAT!’s Trynity HDFX. Each week here, he recommends software, apps, or plugins to amp up your audio production and radio imaging