Get $299 in UAD plug-ins and instruments FREE through 2/29! Learn more ›

Save $300 on UAD Accelerators through 12/31! Find a dealer ›

Get up to 70% savings on UAD plug-ins storewide! Shop 12 Days of UAD ›

Hello world 4!

Hello world 5!

The UAD HolidAI Sale — save up to 75% storewide. Shop Now ›

Shop Holiday Deals on UAD Spark. See My Offers ›

  • Overview
  • Features
  • Customer Reviews
  • 4.9/5
    (465)
Try it Free
$299.00

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

Want to Try It?

Use this plug-in free for 14 days and find out if it's right for you.

Try it free

TAKE A LISTEN

API 2500 5-Minute Tip
API 2500 5-Minute Tip

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Watch The Reviews

      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

      Customer Reviews

      API 2500 Bus Compressor

      Overall Rating

      4.9/5
      (465)

      B. Wright

      February 6, 2024

      API 2500 Bus Compressor

      Has become my go-to

      L. Magnolfi

      February 1, 2024

      Classic sound!

      Feels just like the real unit! Great plug-in. Instant classic sound!

      V. Stepanski

      February 1, 2024

      API 2500 Bus Compressor

      Legendary compressor, great

      R. Visbal

      February 1, 2024

      INCREDIBLE!!!

      Drum Buss… Mix Buss… It’s just MAGIC!!!

      M. 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.

      H. Lee

      January 29, 2024

      I'm a big fan

      Punch! Punch! Punch!

      M. Johnson

      January 25, 2024

      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

      January 19, 2024

      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

      January 18, 2024

      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

      January 17, 2024

      Yesssss

      Loving this one

      D. Ballantyne

      January 17, 2024

      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

      January 16, 2024

      Awesome punch

      Take your drums to another level with this beauty ! Awesome sound !

      L. Brown

      January 15, 2024

      A+ As usual

      A+ As usual

      d. drula

      January 15, 2024

      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 merveille

      L. Aguilar

      January 15, 2024

      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

      January 14, 2024

      Sounds great

      Wicked bus comp, does what you’d hope

      D. Mut

      January 14, 2024

      API 2500 Bus Compressor

      It always works perfectly no matter what musical genres it is used for, the results are excellent!

      t. abe

      January 14, 2024

      API2500

      nice

      r. atkins

      January 13, 2024

      This plug-in sounds awesome on vocals!!!

      T. Kwon

      January 12, 2024

      Just Buy

      with bundle or edition. u never regret