It's so smooth and effortless to dial in and get good results, it'll often be used in tandem with the 1176 emus mentioned and the Softube CL1b (which is another great itb comp).
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I am/was a big fan/user of the N.I VC2A and have tried most others and still prefer the VC2A not that it's perfect, I also like their VC76 (but use slate's blues a bit more these days), however I've all but stopped using LA-2A emus after getting Softubes Summit TLA-100a comp which has taken over on similar duties and to me is one of the best ITB comps going. If this might be what you're experiencing, harsh might be a relevant word, feeling a more piercing upper mid. It's famous for making everything work and sit right in the mix, just by slapping it on the track. This can be useful if utilized right, but it's not what characterizes the global historical approval of the LA2A compressor. Instead, they will sound a bit more clear, sit 'in front of' the mix, jump out of the mix at you. The NI - and a few others - won't sound as uniform with the mix, not as enveloped by the mix. If you compare them side-by-side, on the same vocal track, and listen to it with background music on, you'll hear this clearly. I feel the Waves CLA-2A gets that aspect right, as does the Dark Rooster VLA-3A, while the ballistics on the latter two could be slightly less accurate (the fallback seems sluggish to me, particularly on the black rooster). The Ballistics seems very accurate to me, but it just don't bring enough of that dark warm hifi dirt. I very much feel the NI/Softube emulation of the LA2A is one of those emus which sounds a bit too clean. It's got a HIFI quality about it, just sits right in many mixes. It softens it up, scoops out the midrange a bit, and wraps the sound into a warm dark cloud of pleasing saturation.
#What is cla 2a series#
The LA series tube compressors, tends to "EQ" the sound slightly. Or to you using the NI: are my ears playing tricks with me?I think I might have a clue of what you're experiencing. You people who have the hardware as well: does the hardware also have a slightly harsh quality? I’ve used the NI VC-2A quite a lot on my voice but I’ve started to find it slightly harsh.