API® 2500 Bus Compressor
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An obsessively accurate emulation of API’s flagship compressor.
The API 2500 Bus Compressor is a permanent fixture on the stereo bus of many of the world's top engineers and producers. Considered the best of the Paul Wolff-era API circuit designs, this famed compressor adds energy, movement, and tone to stereo mixes and subgroups unlike any other compressor.
The API 2500 Bus Compressor plug-in for UAD-2 hardware and Apollo interfaces is a spot-on emulation of this classic compressor, capturing its all-discrete signal path with Thrust® circuitry — and features a fanatically detailed modeling of API's custom transformers and 2510 and 2520 op amps.Included Versions
UAD Native
Runs on your Mac or PC without UA hardware.Apollo Realtime & UAD‑2
Runs accelerated on Apollo interfaces and UAD‑2 hardware.UAD Native plug-ins run on both macOS 10.15 Catalina or newer and Windows 10 and 11. Go to our UA Support page for system requirements.
- Glue together your stereo mixes and subgroups with the world’s finest circuit emulation of the iconic API 2500 compressor
- Select between "Old” and "New” compression, with feedback or feed-forward sounds
- Sharpen your workflow with plug‑in‑only Mix and Headroom controls
- Punch up low frequencies with API's patented Thrust technology
- Contour your mix's stereo interaction with percent-based L/R Link controls
- Mix with artist presets from Jeff Balding (Faith Hill), Vance Powell (Jack White), Ryan Hewitt (Red Hot Chili Peppers), and more
TAKE A LISTEN
API 2500 5-Minute Tip
Learn how to use the API 2500 on drums, bass, guitars, and your entire mix.
The Only End-to-End API 2500 Emulation
Poring over proprietary "for-your-eyes-only" schematics made available to Universal Audio by API, our team of DSP experts analyzed two classic API 2500s — rackmount and in-console — ensuring one of UA's tightest behavioral circuit models to date. Working together with API's engineers, we scrutinized every facet of the plug-in against its analog counterpart, delivering the definitive representation of this iconic compressor. Early beta testing with UA artists confirmed that the plug-in ranks among the most accurate analog emulations in UA history.
Built for the 2-Bus
API designed the 2500 compressor with program material firmly in mind. Its Release control includes fixed or variable options, while the Attack, Threshold, and Ratio controls offer musical tweaking throughout their range, making the API 2500 a toneful dynamics overlord for your stereo bus.
Shaping Tone and Dynamics
The API 2500 allows selection between three custom-voiced compression Knees — Soft, Medium, and Hard. You can shape the tone further with two compression types; "Old" for characterful peak-detection harkening back to API's earliest, highly-coveted 525, or "New", which features a modern feed-forward design.
Thrust Control for Unmatched Punch
Taken from their Paragon series of consoles, the API 2500’s Thrust feature puts a filter before the RMS detector, evening high and low frequency energy — so neither triggers the compressor more than the other. This gives you a tight hallmark API punch beyond any other compressor.
Enhance Energy and Motion
Most compressors only allow you to turn left/right linking on or off. The API 2500 Bus Compressor Link parameters allow for precision control of your mix's L/R dynamic interaction. Set exactly how much dependence — or independence — you want your L/R spatial dynamics field to have, and hone your dynamic contours even further with the Shape control.
“The API 2500 Bus Compressor is the only piece of analog gear that’s stayed consistent with me through the years. Now with the UAD plug-in there is finally a worthy model.”
– Vance Powell (Jack White, The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs)
“The API 2500 is my all-time favorite drum bus compressor. The Punch and sound is unmatched by any other in it's class. This is a must have in any studio.”
– Grieves
“The API 2500 plug‑in has all the same character and punch as the original hardware.”
– Adam Hawkins (Twenty One Pilots, Switchfoot, Keith Urban)Watch The Reviews
Customer Reviews
L. Magnolfi
February 1, 2024
Classic sound!
Feels just like the real unit! Great plug-in. Instant classic sound!
Read MoreM. Navarro
January 30, 2024
The Drum Buss Must
The API2500 is the compressor for the drum buss, keep the punch and glues every hit with a nice color of the circuit. In Parallel is a beast also.
Read More -
Key Features
Painstakingly modeled by Universal Audio's plugin design team, licensed and authenticated by Automated Processes, Inc.,
Beloved Paul Wolff-era API design, exclusively measured from the all-discrete, in-console version of the 2500
Provides the entire circuit path and control set of the API hardware including custom API op amps and transformers
Signature API 2500 features include patented Thrust® sidechain filtering, "New" and "Old" Compressor Types, and Variable Sidechain Link
Plug-in-only features include Dry/Wet parallel processing and Headroom for user-customizable operating level
Includes artist presets from Vance Powell, Jeff Balding, Ryan Hewitt and Adam Hawkins
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Customer Reviews
API 2500 Bus Compressor
B. Wright
API 2500 Bus Compressor
Has become my go-to
L. Magnolfi
Classic sound!
Feels just like the real unit! Great plug-in. Instant classic sound!
V. Stepanski
API 2500 Bus Compressor
Legendary compressor, great
R. Visbal
INCREDIBLE!!!
Drum Buss… Mix Buss… It’s just MAGIC!!!
M. Navarro
The Drum Buss Must
The API2500 is the compressor for the drum buss, keep the punch and glues every hit with a nice color of the circuit. In Parallel is a beast also.
H. Lee
I'm a big fan
Punch! Punch! Punch!
M. Johnson
The Reall Deall
Having worked with the hardware in many studio sessions this is the real deal, very good at glueing stuff on the mix buss
D. Salazar
Next Level... API 2500!
A compressor that can do everything, can give you color, character, quality, vintage according to your needs, although personally it stands out in the "mix bus", it clearly depends on whether you have done a mix with "definition" or simply that your work is coordinated efficiently,the truth is that it has a very good process.
I totally recommend it.p. boothe
sound
quality of sound is fantastic from the compressors and other products, i just hope they include resize on more of there plugins so see we can see better which was a deal breaker on some of the plugins which alot of people were talking about. the api channel strip was terrible and i didn't buy it and other vintage plugins
A. Little
Yesssss
Loving this one
D. Ballantyne
A promising start
I've only had this plugin for a few days so this is a kind of 'first impressions' review. I tried it as a master bus compressor on a couple of songs and it didn't really do anything that the Capitol mastering compressor doesn't do better but then I tried it on a drum bus and the results were very pleasing. The drums just sat where I wanted them to be in the mix. I look forward to trying some of the more outrageous settings.
f. de paula
Awesome punch
Take your drums to another level with this beauty ! Awesome sound !
L. Brown
A+ As usual
A+ As usual
d. drula
beat maker et mix
je l utilise sur les bus pour un effet glue , les réglages sont simple ,faut juste faire un choix et il
fait le taf a merveilleL. Aguilar
Great Compressor
I always use this compressor for all of my projects. It gives a very distinct tone compared to other compressors. It is always in my stereo bus template. I mainly use it for my drum buss.
W. Lister
Sounds great
Wicked bus comp, does what you’d hope
D. Mut
API 2500 Bus Compressor
It always works perfectly no matter what musical genres it is used for, the results are excellent!
t. abe
API2500
nice
r. atkins
This plug-in sounds awesome on vocals!!!
T. Kwon
Just Buy
with bundle or edition. u never regret
