When valve gear went out of fashion in the late ’60s, the LA-2A was superseded by the solid-state LA3A. The LA-2A can be hit hard to smooth off the biggest peaks before running the signal into the 1176 to tidy up what’s left, or vice versa.
It’s also frequently used as part of a vocal compression chain, working in series with another compressor such as an 1176 to yield silky-smooth vocals. Top producers revere the LA-2A for its subtle warming characteristic – it can be as transparent as you want on vocals – but it can also be hit hard to yield a sizzlingly overdriven signal. The simple fact, demonstrated time and time again, is that the LA-2A can generate wonderfully musical results on a hugely wide range of material. What is it that makes this unit so special? Is it the valves used for input and output gain (and the lush warmth they impart)? Is it its famed ability to take a good sound and return something better? Is it its simplicity? Or is it the unique compression curve imparted by the optical compression circuit? It’ll happily work its magic on synth bass, 909 kick drums, claps and snare samples. The plugin versions prove just how relevant the LA-2A remains to this day. Originally introduced way back in 1965 by Teletronix, the LA-2A went out of production in 1969, returning for a couple of short production runs before being reissued by Universal Audio in 2000.Ī studio staple for the best part of five decades, it has found a new generation of retro-loving fans in any number of plugin reproductions, from Waves’ CLA-2a and Cakewalk’s CA-2a to Native Instruments’ VC 2a and Universal Audio’s own official LA-2A. I seemed to like the CLA-2A when compressing lightly, but the UAD LA-2A when compressing heavily (the CLA-2A sounded too harsh at high peak reduction).1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 1 – Teletronix/Urei/Universal Audio LA-2AĪnd finally… The number one spot goes to a piece of outboard that has surely graced more hit records than any other: the deceptively understated, flexible and silver-fronted LA-2A. Ultimately, individual taste and type of application should dictate the compressor of choice. In contrast, the CLA-2A may sound a bit more natural when used on simple drum loops because it tends to preserve the transients better in that particular application.
The UAD LA-2A also sounds a bit warmer (or alternatively darker) on some of the more complex sources such as a full mix or a snare & hihat mix.
With its gentle, program dependent optical compression and meticulously designed tube amplifier, the LA-2A is the go-to compressor for professional mixers around the world especially for vocals. One explanation could be that the UAD version has both faster attack and slower release (or it could be simply different approaches to animating the compressor needle). The Teletronix LA-2A Leveling Amplifier rivals only the Universal Audio 1176 as one of the most revered compressors ever created. This is a bit unexpected given that the needle on the CLA-2A moves much faster than the needle on the UAD LA-2A. The UAD LA-2A has a bit faster attack which tends to compress transients more. Interestingly, the two LA-2A emulations differ quite a bit on some of the sources.
The CLA-2A seems to have a slower attack which tends to preserve transients more so than the UAD LA-2A. Both plugins have their own unique sound. Judging and comparing the sound of the two products at such a subtle level of compression can be quite challenging. The shootout consists of two parts – the first part compares the plugins when compressing very slightly (about 2dB) and the second compares the sound when compressing heavily (about 8dB).īelow are my conclusions but go ahead and have a listen for yourself. I have created another comprehensive shootout comparing the sound of the UAD LA-2A and the CLA-2A.