If You’re Chasing “That Sound,” Stop Here.
Inspired by a ‘60s optical legend, SD-3A delivers fast, musical compression with punchy, mid-forward tone and effortless control. Perfect for vocals, guitars, and drums.
Compression That Moves With You
Locks in. Fast.
Whether it’s vocals, guitars, or drums—SD-3A gives you instant control with a sound that’s tight, focused, and musical. Its fast, program-dependent response makes it easy to shape dynamics without overthinking settings or breaking your workflow.
Makes Tracks Pop Instantly
With fast, musical compression and a mid-forward voice, SD-3A adds punch, energy, and movement—without over-processing. Drop it in and feel the lift.
Just the Right Amount of Character
Clean when you want it. Colored when you push it. SD-3A adds shape and attitude without ever sounding overdone—making it perfect for everything from subtle smoothing to aggressive shaping.
Built for Virtual Mix Rack
SD-3A is a compressor with a unique character, making it an excellent addition to the expanding palette of modules available in Virtual Mix Rack. Pair it with your favorite EQs, saturators, and other VMR modules to build a powerful, mix-ready chain in seconds.
Tighten vocals, punch up drums, or shape guitars—without jumping between plugins.
One Rack. Endless Combinations. Total Control.
Fast by Design. Musical by Nature.
Program-Dependent Precision
SD-3A listens to your source. Its attack and release adapt to the signal in real time, offering smoother control on vocals, and faster grip on drums or guitars. No need to tweak endlessly. Just mix and move on.
HF / Flat Sidechain Filter
The HF knob boosts high-frequencies on the internal sidechain, thus applying more compression to high frequencies. This can be used to tame and smooth bright transients when the audio needs to sit deeper within the mix.
Optical Meets Solid-State
You get the best of both worlds: the tone-shaping character of optical compression with the snap of a solid-state signal path. It’s fast, focused, and never fuzzy.
Built-In Mix Control
Parallel compression is just a twist away. The Mix knob lets you blend in exactly as much compressed signal as you need. No extra routing, no duplicate tracks, just results.
Curious what makes SD-3A tick?
Get the full backstory, tech deep dive, and mix tips straight from our engineers.
“The SD‑3A is the first LA‑3A plugin that actually feels like the hardware… smooth, musical compression with just the right midrange presence and natural dynamic response. Instantly my go-to for vocals, bass, and anything that needs controlled energy without losing punch.”
Matthew Kutoloski
Mixing & Mastering Engineer for ovg! and LOVELI LORI
System Requirements
macOS
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Minimum OS | macOS Catalina (10.15) or later |
| Recommended OS | macOS Big Sur (11.x) or later |
| Processor / RAM | Intel or Apple Silicon, 4GB RAM |
| Plugin Formats | AU, VST2, AAX (64-bit host) |
Windows
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 10 or Windows 11 |
| Processor / RAM | Intel or AMD Processor, 4GB RAM |
| Plugin Formats | VST2, VST3, AAX (64-bit host) |
iLok Requirements
- All Access Pass licenses have two activations and can be activated on iLok Cloud, an iLok 2 & 3 dongle, or your local host computer (Machine-ID).
- SSL Complete (found in the Complete Access Bundle) have two activations and can be activated on an iLok 2 & 3 dongle or your local host computer (Machine-ID).
- Individual plugin licenses can be activated on an iLok 2 & 3 dongle or your local host computer (Machine-ID).
Access It Your Way
Get SD-3A through any Slate Digital subscription or as a perpetual license.
Subscribe and SavePurchase for $99
