The free “invisible” compressor that still hits hard
If your mixes already sound good and you’re mainly fighting two enemies—peaks and lost punch—FirComp 2 is the kind of compressor that feels like cheating (the legal kind). Built by Jon V Audio, it’s a modern peak compressor / limiter designed to stay clean, fast, and musical, whether you’re tightening a vocal, controlling a bass, or gluing a drum bus without flattening the vibe.
Official page + download (pay-what-you-want, including free):
https://jonvaudio.gumroad.com/l/fircomp2
Developer site:
https://jonvaudio.com/
Transparent compression that doesn’t kill the front edge
FirComp 2’s personality is all about clarity. It grabs transients with a punchy attack, then releases in a way that feels natural—so you get control without that “my track just lost its spine” effect. The result is compression you can use in bigger doses than usual before you start hearing obvious pumping or tonal smearing.
It’s especially strong when you want that modern, controlled loudness feel, but you don’t want a limiter that turns everything into a rectangular sausage. FirComp 2 can behave like a gentle dynamics assistant… or lean into limiter territory when you push it.
Lookahead when you want smoothness, low/zero latency when you don’t
A practical detail that matters: FirComp 2 includes optional lookahead smoothing. Translation: when you need extra polish on spiky material, it can catch peaks more gracefully. And when you need responsiveness (tracking, real-time playing, tight groove work), it keeps the workflow snappy with low/zero latency behavior depending on how you set it.
In short: it adapts to the session instead of forcing the session to adapt to it. Very rare for a free plugin, and even rarer for your patience.
Perfect on buses, not just “one track at a time”
A lot of free compressors are fine as utility tools, but get weird on buses. FirComp 2 holds up surprisingly well on mix buses and groups because it’s designed to be clean and stable. That makes it great for:
- Drum bus density without losing crack
- Vocal control without harshness
- Bass consistency without dulling harmonics
- Gentle mix glue when you want cohesion, not “compression as a personality disorder”
Compatibility (what you need to know)
FirComp 2 is available as VST3 for Windows, and VST3 + AU for macOS (Intel + Apple Silicon). It’s intentionally modern: no VST2, and no 32-bit builds. If you like your setup current and your sessions future-proof, that’s a plus.
Download
Get FirComp 2 here (free / pay-what-you-want):
https://jonvaudio.gumroad.com/l/fircomp2
Final take
FirComp 2 is the kind of plugin that doesn’t beg for attention—then quietly becomes your default. It delivers clean control, keeps punch intact, and offers enough flexibility to cover everything from subtle leveling to limiter-style peak management. If your goal is “better dynamics, same musicality,” this one belongs in your core toolkit.
