With its nippy attack, languid opto release, easy operation and 10:1 maximum Ratio, CL 1B is, as expected, particularly keen on vocals, basses, keys, guitars and the like, and very much one of those compressors befitting the epithet ‘musical’. Rebuilt from the ground up a few years ago, the Mk II incarnation added dry/wet mix control, a sidechain high-pass filter (fixed at 80 or 220Hz) and high-res graphics, and improved the core algorithms to deliver a sound even closer to that of its hardware counterpart than the already-impressive original version. Sonically superlative, endlessly versatile and regularly improved with significant free updates, Empirical Labs’ virtual compressor is nothing short of a masterpiece – we’d honestly take it over its physical counterpart!ĭon’t be fooled by the deceptive name, as Softube’s contribution to our list actually only comprises the current and original versions of a single plugin: their emulation of Tube-Tech’s CL 1B opto compressor, itself a reimagining of the legendary Teletronix LA-2A. There’s simply no dynamics-wrangling situation that Arousor can’t handle, and the punch and energy it brings to drums, basses, vocals and anything else you might send its way is extraordinary. The ‘official’ plugin version, Arousor, not only brings you a hugely convincing take on the hardware in every sense that matters, but goes far beyond the original design with the transformative implementation of four extra ratios (1.5:1, 6.5:1, 7:1 and 8:1), two LA-2A-inspired Opto modes, attack stage shaping, and variable saturation and soft clipping. A recording industry standard since the end of the ’90s, Empirical Labs’ groundbreaking Distressor changed the dynamics processing game with its thoughtfully crafted preset compression curves, highly adaptable response and distortion characteristics, and knockout sound.
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