Chandler Limited® Zener-Bender: Channel Strip Plugin by Softube

The Zener Limiter is a compressor and limiter with a punchy, slightly distorted character that stays easy to work with. The Curve Bender is a mastering equalizer based on the Chandler Limited hardware, which the developer describes as a unit that can be subtle or drastic. Its original design had two bands; this version has four, along with fifty-one fixed filter points and added low and high pass filters.

Because the two units are linked in one strip, you can shape dynamics and tone in a single pass rather than across separate plugins.

Plugin-only features set the Zener-Bender apart from the hardware. An external sidechain input lets the compressor respond to another signal. Mid/Side processing lets you treat the center and the sides of a stereo mix differently, for example cleaning up low end in the center while calming cymbals out wide. Channel linking handles stereo material across both channels.

The package also includes the individual Zener Limiter and Curve Bender plugins, plus a Zener-Bender version for use within Softube's Console 1 mixing system.