![cla 2a compressor hardware cla 2a compressor hardware](https://media.sweetwater.com/api/i/q-85__ha-2820e3a0433d2b28__hmac-51df459aece1021aec0490e45979bd209778491c/store/enhanced/items/LA2A/f4392d-LA2A_detail1.jpg)
The brief? Not a traditional review as such, but an invitation to go into some serious detail about the various LA-2A models, teach us a few things about compression and discuss some of the strengths and weaknesses of modelled compressors in general.Ī feature written by a competitor of the product being tested? I was intrigued! But I love a challenge so I said yes to writing the feature as long as I could be honest about the fact that I’m a competitor and share the full truth of whatever I discovered as I explored the possible uses and applications of these plugins in dance music production.
CLA 2A COMPRESSOR HARDWARE SOFTWARE
We realised it was time to call in a self-confessed LA-2A fan whose all-round knowledge of production and engineering, compression, analogue hardware and audio software development is second to none: Gregory Scott of Kush Audio. And still an old nagging doubt played on our minds: are emulations of 40-year-old analogue units really the best tools for dance music production?
![cla 2a compressor hardware cla 2a compressor hardware](https://www.doctormix.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Teletronix-LA-2A-9.jpg)
How many emulations of subtly different versions of the same unit are necessary? Is emulation now so accurate that it really warrants this kind of approach? Then, to compound matters further, software development veterans Cakewalk released another new LA-2A emulation in the form of their CA-2A plugin. When Universal Audio announced three new emulations of the classic Teletronix LA-2A compressor, it raised a few questions. Companies such as Softube, Universal Audio and D16 go to extreme lengths to model the characteristics of analogue circuits then recreate them as software. The net result is that we can all now get our hands on incredibly realistic emulations of units as diverse as the Roland TR-909, Tube-Tech CL-1B and Studer A800. There are, of course, still countless plugins which take that approach, but over the last decade a much more authentic type of emulation has emerged. It’s not so long since most of us were happy if a plugin compressor, synth or drum machine emulation looked like the original hardware and sounded, well, vaguely similar. And by emulations, we really mean painstakingly accurate modelling of the behaviour of those classic units – a huge step up from some of the lacklustre imitations passed off as emulations over the years. One of the key growth areas in music software over the last decade has been the market for emulations of classic hardware. Universal Audio’s Teletronix LA-2A hardware compressor