New Release

OPTO

Smooth(est) Criminal / Four Shades Of Smooth.

OPTO is a zero-latency optical compressor built for smooth gain reduction with an exceptionally analog and natural response, in four completely different compressor flavours.

BUY TRY

Buy OPTO before 30 July 2026 (9pm UK time) to receive the reduced price and to join the Founders' Club

Regular £75
Intro Price £50

Displayed price includes VAT and applicable sales taxes.

AU • AAX • VST3 VST3 • AAX

Use Cases

Closer vocals.

Use OPTO on vocals for intimacy, control and smooth presence without flattening the performance. DRIVE and DETAIL work beautifully here, bringing out low-level detail and emotion from any take.

Steady, huge bass.

Compress more than you are used to. OPTO is not shy, and you will get more even, solid and readable notes. With TRAFO, DRIVE and DEPTH, you can add extra body and size to the bass.

Bigger drums.

You have plenty of options here: three adds punch and sustain to close mics, one adds size and movement to rooms and ambient mics, while two is perfect for gluing the entire kit on the mix bus. CLARITY and TONE are incredible tools for quickly shifting the whole frequency balance.

Boring loops or samples? No more.

Because of OPTO's flexibility, it can transform sterile or boring loops and samples, or glue them together so they feel like part of the mix instead of separate pieces.

Mix bus compression, handled.

Four compressor characters mean OPTO can adapt to the mix instead of forcing the mix around one response. On top of that, it can add harmonic density, refine the frequency spectrum with ease thanks to the powerful EQ section, and raise low-level details, which is invaluable on the right mixes.

Four Shades Of Smooth, And Then Some.

OPTO captures what makes optical compression so useful: velvety gain reduction, musical recovery, and a feeling of smoothness even when the compressor is doing some real work.

But optical compressors can feel wildly different from one another, so building just one version felt plain wrong. OPTO gives you four genuinely different optical compressors in one plug-in:

Three the faster, in-your-face mode. Exceptional for bringing out punch from any source.

Two is slower, warmer with a vintage character. Amazing at rounding vocals, basses, pianos and acoustic elements in general.

One is an ultra-smooth, polished, and more hi-fi sounding mode. Very good on modern vocals, loops, and more hip-hop oriented material.

Zero is the cleanest and most modern of the four, for when you need super transparent compression.

They are not small variations. Each mode changes the behaviour, feel, and character of the compressor, its program-dependent settings, saturation and overall response in a meaningful way.

Alongside the main optical core, OPTO gives you the tools to shape both tone and attitude. DRIVE adds body and harmonic density without turning the plug-in into a distortion box. TRAFO is a faithful transformer emulation that adds controlled bloom, subtle density, and a more hardware-like thickness. Finally DETAIL is a gentle upward compressor that lifts quieter information and presence in a controlled way, bringing clarity and focus without pushing the top end into harshness.

The main editor also includes CLARITY, TONE and DEPTH, giving you powerful control over brightness, overall balance and low-end weight.

In the advanced settings you can find many useful tools: high-pass and low-pass filters, parallel mix knob, dual mono/stereo modes, auto gain and a variable sidechain HPF that helps focus the compression on the right portion of the signal.

Having all of these options ready to go makes OPTO a super flexible one-stop shop for compression and creative tone shaping, suitable for a wide range of sources, from vocals, bass, drums or any single source, to buses and mastering.

Zero latency.
Big sound, small footprint.
Offline-ready licensing.
Don't take our word for it. Try it now.
Shortcuts? Finally.

FAQS

What is OPTO?
OPTO is a four-mode optical compressor built to deliver smooth gain reduction, real musical movement, and finished tone without sounding forced. Alongside its four distinct compressor characters, it includes harmonic drive, transformer emulation, a gentle upward compression stage for bringing up low-level detail, auto-gain, and a final limiter for controlled output finishing.
What formats does it come in and what DAW does it work with?
We provide VST3, Audio Unit, and AAX formats for MacOS, VST3 and AAX for Windows. Any DAW that supports these formats will work with them, for example: Logic Pro, Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Cubase, Studio One, FL Studio, Reaper.
Does it work on Apple Silicon (M1 to M5) Macs? What about old Intel Macs?
OPTO is fully native for Apple Silicon chips (M1, M2, M3 etc) as well as Intel Macs. No Rosetta required, but it's also compatible with Rosetta.
How many computers can I install it on?
Each license includes up to three simultaneous activations per user. This could be your main studio machine, a laptop, and a third rig. We understand that modern production often means working across multiple machines, so we're doing our bit to have your tools available wherever you need them.
Can I try it before purchasing it?
Of course, you can download a trial from our Downloads page. The trial version has all features of the full version, but inserts a short infrequent silence so you can decide with confidence before you buy.
Do I need to pay for updates?
NEVER. We believe in perpetual license and we like to work uninterrupted. So as long as fedDSP will be a company, your perpetual license will receive unlimited free updates.
Where can I find the manual?
The OPTO user manual is coming soon.

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