1176, LA2A or LA3A on vocals?

[Johnkenn]

I've used all of them - I thought I liked the quick attack of the 1176, but lately, I've been digging the LA2A. The main use will be vocals...Just wanted to get people's opinions. I've seen great prices on all of them...Even a great price on an MC77. The LA3 is the cheapest with the 76 and the LA2 being more expensive...I'm looking at the reissues...

[musicl]

Try out the LA3A, it's sort of in between the 2a and the 1176... I think it's an overlooked piece of gear; compress or limit. It feels a little less squashed and a little more modern than the la2a. Not a bad thing but it's opinion. One man's cheesecake and all that..

[frans]

Come on, this is Gearslutz - so you have to buy ALL of them.

[HIGHENDONLY]

Originally Posted by frans

Come on, this is Gearslutz - so you have to buy ALL of them.

Yes all of them in pairs, you neve know when your gonna need to side chain

[Doc Mixwell]

Hey Guys,

While these are all great units,

I have found that the Crane Song Trakker, can do all the tricks of these above compressors, and them some! The Trakker has an extremely cool "grit" when on the "HARD" "V" setting that can give you the character and size of the above units, but with less apparent artifacts in the gain reduction cell.

If you desire a slightly more aggressive tone, go for the Purple MC77, you won't be disappointed in the slightest!

peace
mixwell

[Johnkenn]

What about the Distressor?

[stenerlov]

I would suggest the LA-3a if the reissues are good. I have the original UREI version and it is the best vocal compressor I´ve heard. Simply amazing. I use mine after Gefell - V72.

It is impossible to go wrong with it, just compress alot and gain up - two knobs.

I guess in an all solid state chain a LA-2a would be good also.

Best,
Carl-Johan

[crimelab]

Mmmmm,, Distressor, So Versitile. I Just Usd an LA-4 with My M-147 for a metal Screamo Voice, Kept in Nicely Warm and in Control but and LA-3..Nice!

[drewrevolution]

get uad-1 card and get the licenses for all of them

[stenerlov]

UAD plugs are great but - not the same. No, no.

[Studio9]

I just recorded vocals at a studio this weekend the guy had all of the above we used the Distressor on almost everything.

[andsonic]

none of the above.

Give me an Aphex 660 "Tubessence".

[u b k]

your choice here comes down to coloration.

la3a has the least obtrusive sonic footprint, and works smoothly on damn near any kind of vocal. la2a has more vibe than attitude and softens the top considerably, is a dream on showcase vocals, but is not quite as well suited for spiky uncontrolled singers. 1176 can level anything, but will make a voice edgy and aggressive if you do any kind of serious GR, which also means the sound will cut in a dense arrangement.

so if you're gonna have just one, figure out which mojo you're willing to have on every vocal in every mix and choose accordingly.


gregoire
del
ubk
.

[Numarek Music]

Most often I like LA2A for vibe and smooth levelling into an 1176 for catching the peaks. Best of both worlds, if you could only have one you could also replace the 1176 in that chain with a distressor or any other reasonably fast compressor. LA3A is sweet too, but most of the time on the guitar bus.

[Jason Poulin]

I never tried a real La2a or 3a but I really like the 1176 on vocals...


It's really fast and if you're into compression like I am... you can really slam it without pumping.

It's got a lot of mojo




J.

[Twinskin]

I have the LA2A and LA3A reissues and the MC77 at home right now.

If I could only keep one, it would probably be the MC77, but what you really want is:

mic -> preamp -> LA3A -> MC77

or

mic -> preamp -> MC77 -> LA2A

This combination is magic. The whole greater than the sum of the parts.

Don't waste your time/money like I did on modern imitation do-all boxes.

[not_so_new]

Originally Posted by Twinskin

I have the LA2A and LA3A reissues and the MC77 at home right now.

If I could only keep one, it would probably be the MC77, but what you really want is:

mic -> preamp -> LA3A -> MC77

or

mic -> preamp -> MC77 -> LA2A

This combination is magic. The whole greater than the sum of the parts.

Don't waste your time/money like I did on modern imitation do-all boxes.

I have a pair of MC77's myself.... love them but I would never get rid of my Trakker either and I guess you might call that a "modern imitation do-all box" huh?

LOL...

The Trakker ROCKs.

Anyway, I use my Trakker and MC77 together just like Twinskin above... very very good vocal sounds.