Lawrence created a device to level the incoming audio stream using military optical sensors found in his surroundings. His ground-breaking concept involved employing optical sensors to build the first levelling amplifier. Jim Lawrence, born in 1924, worked as a radar operator in the Navy during World War II, pursued electrical engineering, and spent some of his early years working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Although the typical attack duration is set at ten milliseconds, the release characteristic gives the sound its distinctive personality.ĭepending on the program’s content, the first release time is specified at one to fifteen seconds for the complete release and at 60 milliseconds for 50% of the release. The compression ratio and release time might vary significantly depending on the source content because the optical attenuator is completely program-dependent. The original compressor accomplished gain reduction by the use of an optical attenuator powered by a tube. The LA-2A has long been a favourite among engineers because of its revered rich, warm tone and smooth melodic compression characteristics. One of the most well-known compressors ever created is the LA-2A. CLA’s massive hardware arsenal includes racks and racks of the most coveted compression units in music history.Do you want your song’s vocals to stand out and match properly in your mix? We have gathered the Top 11 LA-2A Compressor Plugin Emulations 2023 for you.

His hard-hitting mixes have transformed the radio soundscape, and introduced a new sonic vocabulary along the way.

| Tim McGraw | Faith Hill | Tina Turner | Rod Stewart | Celine Dion | Santana | Steve Winwood | James Brownįor almost thirty years, Chris has energized the sound of popular music. Green Day | U2 | Dave Matthews Band | Daughtry | Pink | Leona Lewis | Avril Lavigne | My Chemical Romance | All American Rejects | Nickelback | Rob Thomas | Snow Patrol | Ray LaMontagne | Miley Cyrus | Jonas Bros. Grammy®-winner Chris Lord-Alge is the mixing engineer of choice for pop and rock royalty. With a Frequency Response of 30Hz to 15kHz (+/- 1dB) and < 0.5% THD, the original provided up to 40dB of gain limiting. However, many consider its most unique feature to be its program dependent, multi-stage release, which was achieved using a 2-stage photo-electric cell. (Tubes, however, do, and we made sure to model that distortion.)Īdditionally, the inspiration for the CLA-2A’s frequency-dependent attack and response speed made it an instant favorite of audio engineers. Unlike many other designs, electro-luminescent circuitry doesn't add distortion when it modulates the sound. Initially intended for use in broadcast, the original used an electro-luminescent optical attenuator called “T4” for gain reduction. The CLA-2A is modeled on a hand-wired, tube-based compressor originally produced by Teletronix in the early 1960s.

Cla 2a compressor limiter