Empirical Labs® EL8 Distressor
Customer Reviews
Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor Compressor
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T. Brooks
If you don't have the real one, you need the UAD
All five stars for me. The few times I've had the pleasure to work with the hardware unit, I've absolutely fallen in love with the Distressor's tightness and unique balance of saturation and transparency. It's the richest mortar for drum buss material, whether acoustic, electronic, or combination. Its side-chaining options are also powerfully simple, especially at the initial stages of your mix where you may still be trying to key in on "sound"; between the L+R linking options and the side-chain options for handling BOTH signal-hogging lows and piercing upper-mid transients -- I feel like I can access and cycle through dozens of flavors, and intuitively. It also has the scary ability to shapeshift between Opto, FET, and VCA-like performance based on your Attack, Release and Ratio settings. Without a doubt, a powerful magic box of a compressor. And I think UAD has emulated all of this with incredible care and accuracy. Super excited to keep exploring.
Just to think of some specific applications: if you're playing with anything in the cinematic hip-hop/jazz, power-soul, or arena-pop veins, give the Distressor a go. I'm thinking Kendrick Lamar's "Institutionalized," Robert Glasper's "Black Radio" with yasiin bey / Mos Def, Emily King's "Good Friend," Adele's "Rolling In The Deep," Imagine Dragon's "Believer." With some character preamps or tape saturation early in the chain (i.e. V76, 1073), you could get flavors even more retro (yet still clean). I'm thinking Vinyl Williams, Jack White, and Danger Mouse.
J. Davies
Favorite Compressor
The Distressor is my go-to compressor for everything! The Opto present is particularly nice on vocals. I also use the LA2A for vocals and acoustic and the Fairchild for bass.
E. Guerra
It makes your instruments alive in your mix!
This is a great and versatile compressor. Very useful on bass drums, bass or acoustic guitars. I highly recommend it if you want to take advantage of the multifunctional processor.
G. Corley
Best compressor, ever!
This is my new go to compressor. I love it on just about anything. It really adds something special to the mix!
G. Corley
Best compressor, ever!
This is my new go to compressor. I love it on just about anything. It really adds something special to the mix!
L. Lammert
Wow
Can’t tell the difference between this and my hardware
k. jang
Easy to use and amazing sound.
We use it in various ways, especially for drum kick and snare. I have not used the original hardware but it is a very good compressor.
B. Unis
Hard pressed to find things it doesn't sound good on.
Anytime I find myself pausing in a mix, wondering what a sound 'needs' to just feel better. I reach for the EL8! It can really bring a vocal forward in a mix, fatten up any drum you throw at it, add grit to guitars and can probably even park your car ;) Swiss army tool for sure! Love it. Highly recommended.
A. Hume
Great Plugin!
One of my favorite UAD plugins. Sounds great on pretty much everything - Dry/Wet mix feature is awesome to have.
B. Willems
Allround
Very good allround compressor!
B. Willems
Allround
Very good allround compressor!
M. Bravin
Magnifique
J'ai testé ce produit pendant 14 jours en démo sur le mix entierd'un album et je suis bluffé, je l'ai mis à coté de mon compresseur Slate Digital et je bypass pour pouvoir faire une vraie comparaison et c'est le jour et la nuit. Je l'utilise sur mes voix, sur mon Bus de drum, tout devient plus clair, plus de punch... Je ne pourrai plus m'en passer. J'attends les promo UA pour en faire immédiatement l'acquisition, les jours sont désormais longs face à cette attente! A posséder d'urgence...
A. Warren
Easy and sounds great
Thank you to whoever encouraged me to buy this. I can hear why, very versatile. Could become a favourite.
A. Warren
Easy and sounds great
Thank you to whoever encouraged me to buy this. I can hear why, very versatile. Could become a favourite.
D. Zahn
Favorite UAD Compressor
It sounds great on everything, and the ability to run numerous instances makes me go from 6 to midnight.
D. Gianesello
Really similar to the real Distressor outboard!
I own a real Distressor outboard, an exceptional and extremely versatile machine ... and I can say that this UA plugin sounds almost the same ... wonderful!
J. Tristán
De lo mejor
Es impresionante lo que este plugin es capaz de hacer. Desde algo suave hasta lo más agresivo que te imagines. Aporta vida y carácter allá donde lo insertes. Totalmente recomendado.
D. Cojocaru
Tasty!!
I love what it is doing to my drums!!!!
P. Giacalone
Great software comp
To be clear, it’s still not the same as the hardware - but... nothing is. It’s still great in its own right and well worth owning. I do wish they had emulated the britmod version.
A. Milyukov
Empirical Labs Distressor Plug-In for UAD-2
Loved the plugin !!! Perfect for vocals plugin !!!