distressor doesnt do enough for me in this example. CL1b sounds great but i can hear the compression pumping a little too much. i love the tone of it though. La-2a i just dont like that version of the la-2a but the tone is still quite strong. It just leaves me asking for a little bit more. 1176 sounds more balanced in this mix than the others. cant go wrong with an 1176. preferably I probably would want to snap off the top with the 1176 and then run it through the CL1b for some color and further compression
I think the Distressor gave the vocal a little more bite. That being said I still prefer the CL1B and the color it gives even if it's pumping was present.
All of them performed in legendary status as one would be lucky to own all of them, We all know compressor has their own thumbprint and this stand right, each told an individual story of audio (Bliss) and each scored well!
NIP28 Funny enough, I went a completely different direction and decided to go with the manley vox box. For a while though, I had the warm audio WA2a and the WA73. They were pretty close to the original as far as I could tell, but the vox box sounds like a finished sound. Rarely needing any further processing. Mind you, I bought it modded with new RCA tubes which were an upgrade from the original tubes, and the limiter section gives more of an LA2a vibe. The 1176 still gets used a lot, but the plugins don’t even come close!
@@InternationalBassStation thanks for the reply... im researching for rap vocals... is not the same as singing or playing a bass... so i need the most precise one for rappers
NIP28 this preamp used to belong to Rob The Viking of Swollen Members! It’s pretty expensive though. On average this preamp and compressor and EQ combo , Or channel strip, goes for about $4000 used.What microphone and preamp combo are you using currently? What is your budget?
La2a will fit a vocal in a mix like no other but nothing touches the Distressor for fidelity and versatility. If I could only have one great compressor, it would have be that. It is an asounding piece of gear.
For me, the 1176 has got the most musical tone and finished touch. The CL1B is more on the smooth, open and subtle side...the LA2A sounds a bit boxy and mid focused...and the Distressor has got the in your face attitude (agressive and grany)
Sweet test...thanks. They all sounded good but my faves were the 1176 and the la2a. The distressor sounded good but kind of added a plastic type quality. the cl1b is good but a tad too sheeny and clean for this type of song.
I feel like the LA2A really adds to the high end on the vocal, and I also like how the 1176 works with the vocal too, Very much glues it to whatever track it is on.
the thing about this is all these compressors work well for different things. the la2a is great for this type of vocal, but on something faster like rap, or something very intimate and dynamic, the la2a will choke up the vocals a bit, whereas the fixed attack/release on the tubetech or 7/7 attack/release on an 1176 is where its at for rap and you can get 20dB of compression out of a tubetech without feeling choked or crushed. these are all amazing compressors but they have their own strengths and weaknesses.
distressor does the best job for catching peaks , but 1176 have the best character / I think distressor is better for vocals and 1176 is the best for drums
The real question is why didn't we get to hear the sweet ol' 1176 that was piping up from time to time in the video? :) Love the LA2A! wish I could have heard these driven really hard to really A/B the differences. cheers!
Apples to Oranges, the LA2A just sat in the right place in the track, really made the vibrato stand out and sound like a record. The distressor is a desert island Comp but was too round on the low mid dynamics at these settings, didn't sound pro. I could swear I heard the squash.
1176 and 2a brought out the textures of the vocals …and had more depth perception. Where as the distressor did a great job but felt 2d ….am I tripping or does someone notice that too ?
My ears say this. I hear artifacts in the vocal... first. Second critically listening The distressor is the cleanest probably because there is no added distortion clearly. Very open sounding. Tube tech sounded great for color. Very warm if looking for a vintage squashing compression sound for this. 1176 sounded like and in between. La 2 just sounded grainy actually. I have no idea why but from what i hear. It also seems less compressed. My two thoughts. All of this stuff could be worked with. Most people that will say there a is a huge difference probably don’t mix real world shit. I get all kinds badly compressed untuned vocals. Sometimes even recorded with an iPhone with tons of background noise. The key is being able to work with anything. Not a slightly different compressor or pre amp sound. The Vocal also is louder than the mix i’m guessing for hearing the compressor... although compressing it in the mix is better in my opinion.
1176 took the cake at the end. Up to then I was liking the LA2A, it was very natural and flattered the vocal. The Distressor did not flatter the vocal, little hard and flat. The CL1B added that CL1B sheen to the top end, sounded good, very modern, perhaps not the right choice for the material, if the vocal was rock solid and you wanted to mix it up high and really feature it then the CL1B but I liked the LA2A or especially the 1176 which helped place the vocal better and flattered it, left a little dynamics in the vocals so the weaker points could be helped by the rest of the mix whereas the CL1B put the vocal on full display.
1. CL1B Natural smooth 2. 1176 Nice Bite, would have adjusted the attack and release a little differently. 3. La-2a Too wooly, too much sag for this material. 4. Distressor Killed the upper frequencies, not my cup of tea for vocals.....great for snare drum
Oh man love your voice !! Layne Stanley must be smile right now in his grave... Btw LA2A has more vibe for this particular song. Something voodo going on here ; )
I suppose a 2$ vocal track wins out over the usual drum machine tests. Seriously,,,this is just more evidence that no amount of money spent on recording gear is capable of creating excitement for the listener.
distressor doesnt do enough for me in this example. CL1b sounds great but i can hear the compression pumping a little too much. i love the tone of it though. La-2a i just dont like that version of the la-2a but the tone is still quite strong. It just leaves me asking for a little bit more. 1176 sounds more balanced in this mix than the others. cant go wrong with an 1176. preferably I probably would want to snap off the top with the 1176 and then run it through the CL1b for some color and further compression
nickwarnermusic Agreed, I never rate distressor on vocals!
I think the Distressor gave the vocal a little more bite. That being said I still prefer the CL1B and the color it gives even if it's pumping was present.
la2a made me turn the volume up soon as it kicked in... that warmth and tonal colour is outlandish
CL1b for me here, hands down.
definitely, its the warmest
I thought it was too gentile. Too acoustic balladish to my ears.
It’s the warmest but it can sound so much better. His attack release settings don’t let the compressor shine
Not sure why people feel the need to bag on the f***ing vocal track. Thanks for posting this.
Teletronix sounds so warm and pure. slow tubby compression mixed with the fast clamp of the 1176 is the obvious answer
i like la2a. distressor also good but sounds very "round" (which is distressor's sounds trademark)
LA2A for me!
Next time please include the dry signal ;)
Best regards!
Distressor 1176 la2a cl1b in that order for me.
All of them performed in legendary status as one would be lucky to own all of them, We all know compressor has their own thumbprint and this stand right, each told an individual story of audio (Bliss) and each scored well!
Fantastic! Thx for the comparison, now I know my 1176 really is where it's at, and the distressor is my next compressor!
u got it?
NIP28 Funny enough, I went a completely different direction and decided to go with the manley vox box. For a while though, I had the warm audio WA2a and the WA73. They were pretty close to the original as far as I could tell, but the vox box sounds like a finished sound. Rarely needing any further processing. Mind you, I bought it modded with new RCA tubes which were an upgrade from the original tubes, and the limiter section gives more of an LA2a vibe. The 1176 still gets used a lot, but the plugins don’t even come close!
@@InternationalBassStation thanks for the reply... im researching for rap vocals... is not the same as singing or playing a bass... so i need the most precise one for rappers
NIP28 this preamp used to belong to Rob The Viking of Swollen Members! It’s pretty expensive though. On average this preamp and compressor and EQ combo , Or channel strip, goes for about $4000 used.What microphone and preamp combo are you using currently? What is your budget?
@@InternationalBassStation i have a u87 and an avalon m5.. trying to get a compressor now
This video is gold!
DRY VOCAL
1:20 1:29 CL1B
1:38 1:47 LA2A
1:56 2:06 Distressor
2:14 2:24 1176
1:20
1:38
1:56
2:14
... for reference, I was monitoring it thru the ensemble thunderbolt and KRK V8II's... Thanks for posting thisaddtemup2!
Wow, excellent Shootout. Very close.
La2a will fit a vocal in a mix like no other but nothing touches the Distressor for fidelity and versatility. If I could only have one great compressor, it would have be that. It is an asounding piece of gear.
For me, the 1176 has got the most musical tone and finished touch. The CL1B is more on the smooth, open and subtle side...the LA2A sounds a bit boxy and mid focused...and the Distressor has got the in your face attitude (agressive and grany)
The 2A sounds surprisingly shitty on this very material. I thought the Distressor was top but the 1176 def took the cake!
Compressors can’t fix bad vocals.
🤣
The vocal was actually really good. The haters are ignorant at best.
1176 sounds super !
Sweet test...thanks. They all sounded good but my faves were the 1176 and the la2a. The distressor sounded good but kind of added a plastic type quality. the cl1b is good but a tad too sheeny and clean for this type of song.
“Plastic type”🤔🤣
the most seamless and transparent for me LA2A
Transients don't do it for me though.
Distressor would've work like a charm with the Distortion setting 2 or 3 in my opinion. It really bring the vocal to the front of a mix.
I agree that the distressor was too clean for this example.
acapella
1:20 - CL1B
1:38 - LA2A
1176 had a very open, clear sound that was nice
I feel like the LA2A really adds to the high end on the vocal, and I also like how the 1176 works with the vocal too, Very much glues it to whatever track it is on.
cl1b is so nice, i just here how they all handle the transients and so nice
Definitely LA-2A and 1176 are the best for my ears.
Awsome job man. Nice UREi!!!
Wooow the 1176 sounds amazing on this vocal. In the mix and solo !!! There's no chance to beat the 1176..
for this vocal cl1b and distressor
the thing about this is all these compressors work well for different things. the la2a is great for this type of vocal, but on something faster like rap, or something very intimate and dynamic, the la2a will choke up the vocals a bit, whereas the fixed attack/release on the tubetech or 7/7 attack/release on an 1176 is where its at for rap and you can get 20dB of compression out of a tubetech without feeling choked or crushed. these are all amazing compressors but they have their own strengths and weaknesses.
this the comment i was looking for... i guess im getting those two "cl1b n 1176" .. which preamps do u recommend?
distressor does the best job for catching peaks , but 1176 have the best character / I think distressor is better for vocals and 1176 is the best for drums
The real question is why didn't we get to hear the sweet ol' 1176 that was piping
up from time to time in the video? :)
Love the LA2A!
wish I could have heard these driven really hard to really A/B the differences.
cheers!
LA-2A sits so delicate to me.
1176 For me. Im thinking then run that into the la2a.
I'd use the LA with 1/2 as much GR and the 76 in parallel
Winning
Big W
Apples to Oranges, the LA2A just sat in the right place in the track, really made the vibrato stand out and sound like a record. The distressor is a desert island Comp but was too round on the low mid dynamics at these settings, didn't sound pro. I could swear I heard the squash.
Distressor fit the vocal best imo
1176
1176 and 2a brought out the textures of the vocals …and had more depth perception. Where as the distressor did a great job but felt 2d ….am I tripping or does someone notice that too ?
La2a sounds more full and thicker I think la2a
My ears say this. I hear artifacts in the vocal... first. Second critically listening The distressor is the cleanest probably because there is no added distortion clearly. Very open sounding. Tube tech sounded great for color. Very warm if looking for a vintage squashing compression sound for this. 1176 sounded like and in between. La 2 just sounded grainy actually. I have no idea why but from what i hear. It also seems less compressed. My two thoughts. All of this stuff could be worked with. Most people that will say there a is a huge difference probably don’t mix real world shit. I get all kinds badly compressed untuned vocals. Sometimes even recorded with an iPhone with tons of background noise. The key is being able to work with anything. Not a slightly different compressor or pre amp sound. The Vocal also is louder than the mix i’m guessing for hearing the compressor... although compressing it in the mix is better in my opinion.
Lol I know this is old but I thought I was the only one. Every comp seemed shit on this vocal
1176 took the cake at the end. Up to then I was liking the LA2A, it was very natural and flattered the vocal. The Distressor did not flatter the vocal, little hard and flat. The CL1B added that CL1B sheen to the top end, sounded good, very modern, perhaps not the right choice for the material, if the vocal was rock solid and you wanted to mix it up high and really feature it then the CL1B but I liked the LA2A or especially the 1176 which helped place the vocal better and flattered it, left a little dynamics in the vocals so the weaker points could be helped by the rest of the mix whereas the CL1B put the vocal on full display.
couldn't agree more
i really can here the tubetech working!!!!
No better music there?
1176 on this one for me...evened it out in a nice natural way and made it sit well in the mix.
I like the Urei 1176.
distressor and Cl1b sound great here..
0:06
0:24
0:43
1:02
the distressor should sound like an LA-2A if you do the opto setting.
Can you have distressor into 1176 chain ?
Is it better to have a hardware compressor than a plugin compressor?
Is it better to look at ice cream or eat it?
You tell me, frogger.
cl1b has my vote
I like distressor
Not enough compression on any of them for me.
TEST TEST TES TES TEST- you have 20:20 vision.
How can you monetize this video while singing an Alice in chains song?
CL1B then Distressor then 1176, a cup of tea and no La2a. Thanks.
Get new monitors
why not???
CL1B AND 1176 FOR ME
The last thing this track needs is more goddamn compression - skip to 1:21 to hear just vocal.....although even that is exhausting.
1176, great tone and balance and control...if i had to pick one i would pick the distressor
1176 was surprisingly smooth. CL1B sounded thick and gritty. LA2A was nothing special to me, same goes for the distressor.
You have to think of it in the context of a mix though.
1. CL1B Natural smooth
2. 1176 Nice Bite, would have adjusted the attack and release a little differently.
3. La-2a Too wooly, too much sag for this material.
4. Distressor Killed the upper frequencies, not my cup of tea for vocals.....great for snare drum
I agree ! i m about to buy a 1176, perhaps wes audio beta 1176 but hesitating with distressor.... did you have one of them ?
@@MELOPSMUSIC I would definitely go with the original 1176 or a Distressor. I have the Wes audio Mimas honestly not very fond of it.
Oh man love your voice !! Layne Stanley must be smile right now in his grave...
Btw LA2A has more vibe for this particular song.
Something voodo going on here ; )
la2a for me...transparency babeh
1176>La-2a>CL1B>Distressor
His tuning
I'd say it was more the sharpness in his melisma. I didn't think the held notes were that out.
The LA-2A was the most transparrent one.. the other 3 sucked, compared to.. especially the 1176
CL1B and Disressor :)
1176 sounds nasally
la2a don't hold the sonics
la2a was the only thing here enhancing the vocal while keeping it organic imo
I suppose a 2$ vocal track wins out over the usual drum machine tests. Seriously,,,this is just more evidence that no amount of money spent on recording gear is capable of creating excitement for the listener.
clearly shit in => shit out. no matter what
cl1b wins stereo clean
LA2A
That vocal is beyond horrible.
spoken like a true professional
+Phil Perry Its just to compare compressors genius.
It's not beyond horrible. No need to exaggerate... Just not favorable.
Let's face it: anyone doing Layne sounds horrible
Nobody can sing it quite like Layne so really it's no surprise
1. la2a
2. 1176
3. distressor
4. cl1b
1176 just made the vox sit right. They all have great character and tone each their own though.
+Guy Martin - Sit right? The vocal is boosted 15db over the music on all of them so its more noticeable, how can any of them sit right? lol
LA2A wins.
For that "constipated" voice work any comp. Choose some "soul-ish" and not so screaming for test.
cl1b is better than Monica Bellucci.
LA2A. CL1b is way overated
1176