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The Chandler Limited® Zener Limiter Black Friday deal puts 80% off Softube's limiter and compressor plugin, so it costs $59 until Nov 15, 2026.
The plugin is Softube's emulation of the Chandler Limited® Zener Limiter, a unit descended from the limiters used at Abbey Road Studios. The maker says Wade Goeke, founder of Chandler Limited®, blessed the result.
It is a limiter and compressor that Softube built in collaboration with Chandler Limited®. The maker says the hardware lineage runs back to the gear used on Pink Floyd and Beatles sessions.
Softube says it modelled the entire circuit, including the transformers, circuit nonlinearities and germanium transistors. The original circuit uses zener diodes, which the maker calls notoriously hard to employ.
The maker pitches it for light vintage colour on a track, or for reshaping the tone and transient behaviour of a drum bus or room mic channels.
The input stage has variable impedance. The Input Gain toggle lets you drive the signal for more or less distortion.
The THD toggle disengages the limiter's threshold. Softube describes the result as a smooth distortion with a high-frequency bump from the discrete amplifiers and the zener diode limiting circuit.
A Comp 1 / Comp 2 / Limit switch sets the overall character:
Softube says Comp 1 and Limit were designed to emulate the Abbey Road compressors, while Comp 2 gives a more modern response.
Three features are exclusive to the plugin:
In stereo mode, Link Channels ties the left and right channels together. In Mid/Side mode it links Mid and Side. An external sound source can feed the sidechain, which changes how the compressor and its parameters behave.
The plugin also works inside the Console 1 mixing ecosystem, and it is included in Zener-Bender.
The plugin comes in AU, VST, VST3 and AAX formats, and Softube recommends VST3 because some of its plugins have features the older VST format lacks. You need a Softube account, an iLok account and internet access for installers and license management.
Softube tests officially in recent versions of Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Cubase, Ableton Live, Studio One and Reaper. Keep the latest iLok License Manager installed, since the Softube installer does not include it.
Yes. The Chandler Limited® Zener Limiter Black Friday deal takes 80% off, which puts the Softube plugin at $59. The offer ends Nov 15, 2026.
It sets the tone of the unit. Comp 1 is a 2:1 ratio with slower time constants, and Limit is very quick. Comp 2 sits between them, with the Comp 1 curve and the faster release of Limit.
Softube lists Mid/Side processing, External Sidechain and Link Channels as plugin-only features. Link Channels ties left and right in stereo mode, or Mid and Side in Mid/Side mode, and the external sidechain lets another source drive the compressor.
It comes as VST, VST3, AU and AAX. Softube officially tests in Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Cubase, Ableton Live, Studio One and Reaper, and recommends VST3. An iLok account is required.
Prices and end dates are checked at publishing time and can change, so confirm them at the store before you buy.