the MC77 is to the 1176 what the "X" is to the LA2A

[dubrichie]

alrighty,

just wondering if there is a magic box out there that could be regarded as a superior reproduction of the LA2A to that currently offered by UA, like the way the MC77 is held in such high regard compared to the UA reissue of the 1176?

just wondering.

regards,

richie.

[AdamJay]

Skibbe Red Stripe

[IMG]******//keyclubrecording.com/skibbe/images/redstripe.jpg[/IMG]

[tvanveen]

How do I not know about this?

That's damned sexy. (we really need a sex smiley)

[dubrichie]

hot damn!

that red stripe looks like what i'm talkin bout!

how does it sound though?

ya gotta give some kind of comment on the sound with that post man!

regards,

richie.

[thethrillfactor]

Originally Posted by dubrichie

alrighty,

just wondering if there is a magic box out there that could be regarded as a superior reproduction of the LA2A to that currently offered by UA, like the way the MC77 is held in such high regard compared to the UA reissue of the 1176?

just wondering.

regards,

richie.

In a quick nut shell there isn't.

[roonsbane]

I think the ADL 1000 compressor was supposed to be strongly based on an LA2A before ua started making them again. I have never heard a bad comment about these compressors, though I haven't had the pleasure of checking one out myself.

Cameron

[thethrillfactor]

Originally Posted by roonsbane

I have never heard a bad comment about these compressors, though I haven't had the pleasure of checking one out myself.

Cameron

I got one...no headroom.

You can only hit it but so hard before it poops out.

Its part of the reason you don't hear about them like you did in the mid 90's.

The other was the Summit TLA-100 which is nice albeit a bit noisy.

The CL1B wa king but it doesn't really sound like an LA2A to begin with.

[Silver Sonya]

As a Tchad Blake devotee, I'm a fan of the ADL, although it does have its own sound. It is squishier than an LA2, but... I don't know... squishy in a cool way to me.

But to each their own.

In terms of robust, transparent optical limiters, I believe the current reigning king is the Pendulum OCL2.

-- c

[scotty-o]

We have 2 ADL 1000's and an LA2 at the joint where I work and if the LA2 is in use in another room, I don't hesitate to grab one of the ADL's. I like 'em......
FWIW

-Scotty

[Fletcher]

Originally Posted by roonsbane

I think the ADL 1000 compressor was supposed to be strongly based on an LA2A before ua started making them again. I have never heard a bad comment about these compressors, though I haven't had the pleasure of checking one out myself.

Well golly.

Allow me to be the first to say a bad word about them [OK Thrill... second]. I have found the unit to be a very grainy, snotty sounding 2 dimensional kind of box... which I think is absolutely the dog's bollocks for things like "pedal steel" but un-fukking-useable for vocals [in my world... YMMV].

I've found the Tube Tech CL-1B does a nice LA-2A... and the SPl "Kul Tube" doesn't exactly suck in similar applications... but me, personally, I wouldn't piss on an ADL 1000 if the damn thing was on fire... why waste good urine on shit tone [but that's just one asshole's opinion... don't let it get in the way of Tchad Blake worship... he's had way more hits than I ever will].

Peace.

[kellyd]

I have 2 ADLs. They were the first higher end comps I bought 8yrs ago when I started my studio. I wanted someting like the LA2A but couldn't afford one (this was before UA reissues). For some things they work great but they do have a serious headroom issue. They do not sound like a LA2A. They do a similiar thing being a tube opti but that's about it. I believe with a couple mods they can be seriously improved.
I now have 20 chs of really good compression so the ADLs don't get used as much as they did 8 yrs ago.

[MJGreene Audio]

If I weren't going to buy and LA-2 I would buy the Manley Opto. It does all the same things that the LA-2 does but doesn't have the frequency squish when compressing a lot like the LA-2 has. It is cleaner and much more pretty than an LA 2 but it is a really great box. That combined with the fact that its stereo and cheaper makes it my goto LA 2 replacement.

The other side of the coin for me is find me 2 LA-2a's that sound the same and I will still call you a liar. I have used probably over 30 LA 2a's and I don't think I have ever found two that sound the same. Some sounded great and some just sounded like total crap. Tubes? Optos? I don't know. All I do know is when you find one that sounds great it is really a wonderful sound.

Michael Greene

[Silver Sonya]

I just want to say that the ADL1500 and 1000 are mostly great "effect" type limiters. A tool for sonic transfiguration, not an elegant dynamic reduction piece. If you regard them this way, you'll enjoy them more.

In other words: Headroom? What is this headroom you speak of? Who cares when it makes the drums go GOOOOOSH!?

Listen to Sam Phillips' "Martinis & Bikinis" (produced by T-Bone Burnett). I swear I can hear the sound of the ADLs all over the place on that record. If you view them as a really cool sonic toy as opposed to a polite vanilla optical compressor, you'll have a lot more fun with them!

- Chad

[yeloocproducer]

I know T-Bone is a big fan of the TG1, are you sure it's not that? It goes "GOOOSH" as well...

[Silver Sonya]

Well, there are different types of GOOOSH in this world.

That being said, the record is mixed by Tchad Blake and has his fingerprint all over it. The general musicality and vision is, of course, the product of the collaboration/marriage between Sam (singer/songwriter) and T-Bone (arranger/aesthete).

I am not speaking as any kind of authority on this record, I'm just a fan of it. But I swear --- I'd bet money --- that there was an ADL or two involved in some of the tones.

- c

p.s. I also have a TG1 and, while I love it as a parallel compressor, it's another animal entirely.

[thethrillfactor]

Originally Posted by Silver Sonya

. But I swear --- I'd bet money --- .

How much?


Just busting your chops man.


It just drives me crazy when people try to wrap up someone's "sound" based on a box.


Its like if you use "X" you will sound just like "Y".


Its crazy.

[Silver Sonya]

Originally Posted by thethrillfactor

It just drives me crazy when people try to wrap up someone's "sound" based on a box.


Its like if you use "X" you will sound just like "Y".


Its crazy.

Well, I agree --- and believe me, what most distinguishes Tchad Blake from other engineers is not the gear but the degree of art, eccentricity, and personality he puts into his work.

That being said, don't you ever hear, say, a Tom Petty song and say to yourself "Well, that's probably a Rickenbacker into an AC30..."? Similarly, sometimes you can hear a record and make a pretty good educated guess what the process was (including sometimes specific instruments, microphones, compressors) and often you'd be right. It's not a scientific thing, it's just... idle conjecture. I mean, don't you ever hear a record and think "I bet you this was a 2" tape record..." I mean, don't you, with all of your experience, feel that you can probably guess this sort of thing accurately at this point?

Far be it from me to reduce the magic of "Martinis & Bikinis" down to a single box, though!

I mean... there must have been, like, SEVERAL boxes involved...



- C

[dubrichie]

so has anyone actually heard the skiibe red stripe?

regards,

richie.

[blastula]

Requisite PAL is nice.

[blesscurse]

Has anyone on the list ever had a chance to compare an LA-2A with a
(I kid you not) Peavey VC-L2?

[Coldsnow]

I have a VCL-2. Love it. Can't say I've ever heard and LA2a and it back to back though. I have used an LA3a a lot but that is a different kinda sound because of the amp in it. both are great.

[dubrichie]

thanks for all the replies,

shame noone could report on the actual sound of the skiibe red stripe, i am intrigued by it.

im leaning towards the manley elop right now for the kind of opto/tube compression i would like to have on call for tracking, due to its price and my previous experiences of manley quality (dig the slam, if you get your head/ears around it, beautiful sounding box).

i must say that i am quite taken aback by the variation in prices for these kinds of boxes; ELOP is about €2k, LA2A is €3k, CL1B is €2.6k and CL2A is €3.7.

can the ELOP really be so much less the equal of the UA or Tube Tech opto/tube boxes?

whatever!

regards,

richie.

[thethrillfactor]

Originally Posted by dubrichie

thanks for all the replies,

shame noone could report on the actual sound of the skiibe red stripe, i am intrigued by it.

im leaning towards the manley elop right now for the kind of opto/tube compression i would like to have on call for tracking, due to its price and my previous experiences of manley quality (dig the slam, if you get your head/ears around it, beautiful sounding box).

i must say that i am quite taken aback by the variation in prices for these kinds of boxes; ELOP is about €2k, LA2A is €3k, CL1B is €2.6k and CL2A is €3.7.

can the ELOP really be so much less the equal of the UA or Tube Tech opto/tube boxes?

whatever!

regards,

richie.

The compression on the Slam and the compression on the ELop sound totally different.


And the Elop compared to the others is just different sounding.


More neutral and less colored.

[dubrichie]

Originally Posted by thethrillfactor

The compression on the Slam and the compression on the ELop sound totally different.

that's cool, i was just indicating my previous experience of a manley compressor and what i would therefore expect from any other manley; what i perceived as excellent sound quality.

regards,

richie.

[Mike Jasper]

A couple of months ago, 5 a.m. Studios in Austin was doing a comparison of different compressors on bass. We tried the UA LA2A resissue and the Tube-Tech Cl 1B back to back. The two sounded competely different from each other. I was stunned. Mark Warren agreed that they did sound different from each other, although he had never heard that they were supposed to sound similar.

In a nutshell, the LA2A sounded fatter with lots of color, while the Tube-Tech sounded much more transparent. I could have spent another hour running tests on both units, but unfortunately my time had run out by then.

Jasper

[toolz]

The Bloo La2a is worth a look, if you fancy a bit of DIY

[IMG]******//i44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/sin-tech/FinishedBlooLa2aFront.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]******//i44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/sin-tech/FinishedBlooinside.jpg[/IMG]

[not_so_new]

Originally Posted by toolz

The Bloo La2a is worth a look, if you fancy a bit of DIY

[IMG]******//i44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/sin-tech/FinishedBlooLa2aFront.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]******//i44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/sin-tech/FinishedBlooinside.jpg[/IMG]

Nice work man...

thumbsup

[API]

I second the Bloo!
If you are a bit handy with a soldering iron and have the time to source parts and build, its great.
I built one and it sounds quite spectacular on vocals!!

[NathanEldred]

Tube Tech CL1-B is pretty standard.

[Jonathan Starr]

I find the ADL 1000 weakens the bottom.

It's ok on some drum & guitar sounds, but I don't love it for most vocals, bass or kick.