Review: LOLCOMP from Mixing Night Audio

Join us in our review of LOLCOMP from Mixing Night Audio, an innovative audio compression tool, as we dive into its unique features and sonic capabilities.

Mixing Night Audio has been a steady outlier in terms of audio plugins. At a time when everyone is taking themselves seriously, coming up with accurate emulations, talking about precision and low THD etc… Mixing Night Audio comes up with highly gamified pieces of software that is aimed to throw a wrench in your high-strung workflow. This time, it is LOLCOMP. It looks unlike any other plugin and is definitely laid out unlike any other plugin – so definitely unique.

But is it any good? Let’s find out!

LOLCOMP is comprised of 5 carefully curated, customized chains that do so much more than just compression. PLUS a tone shaping LMAO section is included to lock in even better top-level sonic results fast and in a playful, intuitive way

Mixing Night Audio

LOL WFT LMAO ROFL 

This is one very unique-looking plugin. Let’s be honest, it’s definitely not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. You are either going to love it or hate it. It takes a certain degree of open-mindedness to even give this plugin a fair shot. But that’s what the UI is designed to do. It’s designed to break your patterns and have you think differently. And from that perspective, the UI definitely delivers.

To start off, we have the big emoji in the middle. This is going to be your main control that determines how much processing is being applied. There are 5 different modes above that we will get to below. The emoji and general graphics change for each of the modes and the emoji goes through varying levels of emotion/stress as you push the central knob further up. The processing is varying degrees of compression and saturation with different biases and characters. There is an input and output trim control on either side with VU-style meters to show Input levels and Gain reduction amounts. 

Let’s talk about the 5 modes. The first one is the default, what they call the LOL chain. This is a general all-purpose mode that is designed to work in as many applications as possible with a special emphasis on vocals. 

Next, we have the Panda Chain. This is designed more for low-end elements like 808s, kicks etc. It is snappier and a bit more aggressive overall. Think thicker, higher ratio sorta sound.  

The third chain is the Punch chain which is creatively depicted by a boxing glove. This chain is pretty self-explanatory. The usual slow attack, fast release, punchy drum compressor. Just try not to hurt the fox(?) too much.

Number four is the Peacock chain. This is the make-everything-pretty chain. Smooth compression with some sparkle happening through a combination of EQs and Saturation probably. 

The last is the Dragon chain! Breathe fire on your material with maximum destructive force. Heavy compression and heavy saturation to finish up your suite of modes.   

Below the main section, you have a dropdown section that shows itself when you press the PARALOL button. 

In addition to a Filter section named CUT and a Mix knob at either end, There are 4 controls for L, M, A and O. I wonder how long it took for them to name these sections to arrive at that acronym! The first one, Levitate, is a simple tilt EQ. It is designed to thin out or thicken your audio with a single knob. Mash adds an additional layer of limiting where needed. Awaken adds a mid push or Air push depending on whether you have the selector in Lavender or Haze. Oxidate finishes things off by adding a reverb at the end. You have 5 reverbs to choose from along with a Pre or Post processing switch to decide when to add it within the processing chain. 

Cheat Code or Glitch?

It’s time to talk about how this plugin sounds. But more than that, I think the emphasis and the ethos of this plugin lie more in the workflow. It is important to realise that while they must have definitely set out to make the best-sounding piece of software they could, the importance is clearly in the way it is meant to be used. 

Throw an instance on your source and simply go through the modes and turn the central knob untill you have your desired level of processing. Finding the result too thick or too thin? Just use the Levitate control to remedy it! Still too dull? Add a little bit of top end bite with the Awaken knob. Source still a little too rogue? A little Mash should really help put its behaviour in check. Have you overdone it all? Turn back the Mix knob to see if it gets better. Throw a little bit of reverb to finish things off and that’s it. You are done and can move on to the next track.

It’s really simple to use. Each mode seems to have a bit of compression with different biases, side chain settings, and some saturation. None of the effects are subtle or nuanced. A little definitely goes a long way and a lot goes all the way. It definitely doesn’t have a clean sound and has a significant volume bump for each bit of processing. Even simply running an instance of it gives a tiny bump. An auto-gain option would be a very desirable addition for LOLCOMP.

That being said, it definitely has its place. A producer who isn’t too inclined to get their hands dirty with usual plugins and precision might find this a great way to get quick and wildly different results. I am sure, with a little bit of practice, most can get great results from this plugin.

I even tried this across a rough mix session with no other plugins except for a little bit of EQ and the result wasn’t too bad. It does a lot of things under the hood that replace a bunch of your traditional plugins. It definitely lacks the finesse but that’s not the point anyway.

Putting The Fun Back In Audio 

I got to speak to Ken Lewis, the co-founder of Mixing Night Audio (alongside Dom Rivinius) and a veteran producer/engineer whose work you definitely would have heard of. I mean, he’s only called to work with BTS, Drake, Eminem and so on. I am a huge fan of his first plugin, GreenHAAS.

He beamed, “LOLCOMP is our little gem. You’ll either love or hate the GUI. I like that it has a pretty eye-catching, opinion-forming GUI, as most aren’t. I’ve also looked at gear for 30 about years, so I went another way. The sonics, I selfishly built for myself and figured that if I loved it, other people would too. It is 5 of my process chains under the hood, with a killer drop-down tone shaper.” 

I have to admit as audio engineers, we tend to get a little too serious about our craft and plugins like this come up from time to time to remind us to chill a little and have some fun. Take it easy and see what happens! LOLCOMP is one of those plugins that will get you results that will take you by surprise. It is not for the faint- and clean-hearted folks out there. Knowing Ken’s style, LOLCOMP is designed to be pushed and blitzed so your song is blazing.

With LOLCOMP, a little goes a long way. But they want you to go further. They do not want you to sit safe. They want you to discover things accidentally when you push knobs. Just like the olden days. Yes, it is a bit expensive for a very specialised, niche-looking UI and workflow, but if you click with it, you are in for a treat.

Find out more about LOLCOMP from Mixing Night Audio