Another heads up: this is an installer and requires iLok to activate. I made an account to get the license but I’m avoiding any plugin that requires iLok until I can get that process to work with fewer issues. Sometimes the plugins just won’t load or require me opening and logging into iLok.

Would love to be using this plugin on my stuff though so thanks for posting. Does anyone have recommendations on situations this compressor excels at? Any situations you’d avoid using it?

Using it in a DAW for free was my initial reason but I liked using it more standalone on my Steam Deck so I could have something to mess with when not at home. A lot of what I’ve done with Cardinal is making the weirdest noises I can and trying to make generative tracks. I’m not sure I’ve ever recorded something I made but I do learn a lot about synths when I experiment with this stuff. When I go back to other softsynths I feel like I’m tweaking settings with a bit more knowledge and with more intention instead of just twisting randomly.

What are you using for external controllers? I should probably get into that as a next step.

Yeah, I use Cardinal sometimes. I spent a few months getting really into and then nearly buying physical hardware and ruining myself financially. I’ll have funding soon so I’m excited to get back into it and develop a minimal set in Cardinal then build it out in real life.