Audio Tools Leveling Tool

Leveling Tool by AdHd is another LA-2A-inspired freeware compressor and one of the best LA-style plugins you can get for free. It expands on the classic leveling amplifier concept with adjustable Attack and Release times and a gain-reduction ratio that can be dialed in to taste. There’s also a sidechain HPF, an external sidechain input, a drive knob, and a dry/wet control for instant parallel compression. Two metering modes (input volume and gain reduction) let you watch what’s happening on the way in or on the way out.

The compression character is smooth and forgiving, so it reminds me of optical compressors. It works well on vocals, bass, and instrument channels, and the drive knob is the secret weapon for adding analog-style harmonics along the way. The interface is simple, and the workflow is fast. There’s no preset manager, but the controls are obvious enough that I haven’t missed it.