Empirical Labs® EL8 Distressor
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The world’s most popular compressor, exactingly recreated for UAD and Apollo.
Introduced in 1993, the Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor is revered in studios all over the world as the modern, “must-have” compressor. Versatile, super fast, and offering tons of color, the Distressor picks up where the legendary UA 1176 and Teletronix LA-2A compressors leave off — a modern tool that’s equal parts utilitarian and creative, as heard on thousands of hit records.
The only authentic Distressor plug-in endorsed by Empirical Labs’ founder Dave Derr, the UAD Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor is available exclusively for UAD hardware and Apollo interfaces. An exhaustive end-to-end emulation of Derr’s iconic hardware, the UAD EL8 Distressor is the only faithful emulation of this true “desert island” compressor.Track and mix with the only authentic emulation of the EL8 Distressor — the world's most popular modern compressor
Radically shape guitars, drums, and vocals with nearly infinite gain reduction variations
Harness plug-in-only features like Dry/Wet parallel processing and Headroom for user‑customizable operating level
Creatively color instruments and vocals with famous “Dist 2” and “Dist 3” modes
Embellish, pump up, or destroy bass, synth, and room mics with custom detector filtering
Mix with presets from Joe Chiccarelli (The Strokes), Vance Powell (Jack White), Jacquire King (Kings of Leon), Jimmy Douglass (The Rolling Stones), and more
Take a Listen
Learn how to Add Energy to Drums
Grammy-winning engineer Vance Powell (Jack White, The Dead Weather) and the Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor plug‑in.
The Only End‑to‑End Distressor Emulation
The Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor Compressor plug-in provides all the features and coveted sound of the original Distressor design. UA’s team of DSP experts started with a complete circuit trace and component study of Dave Derr's selected golden unit. Simultaneously, the team analyzed three more Distressors representing the lifetime of the product — ensuring one of UA’s tightest circuit models to date.
When comparing Distressor software emulations, contrast the original hardware’s ultra-fast attack time to quickly hear where most plug-ins fail, and the authentic UAD Distressor succeeds.
The Right Ratio
The crux of the Distressor are its staggering variations in compression — 1:1, 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, 6:1, 10:1, 20:1 and Nuke — each delivering unique tones and curves. Use the 1:1 ratio to gently warm up synths or strings without compression, while adding musical low-order harmonics. At the other extreme, the Nuke limiter setting is famous for adding explosive excitement to room mics, or energizing a entire mix.
Distortion Modes
The Distressor's iconic Dist 2 and Dist 3 modes feature a wide palette of compression coloration, letting you shape sources with even or combined even/odd-order harmonic distortion. From delicate thickening to burnished tape to fully saturated, the Distortion Modes, combined with low-frequency filtering, let you focus the Distressor’s textures.
Powerful Sidechain Controls
The Distressor’s sidechain control lets you easily focus your dynamics. High Pass filter unwanted low frequency pumping and breathing — perfect for drum bus processing. Band Emphasis works to tame strident vocals or can laser in on harsh “power region” instrument midrange peaks, or use both together.
You can also run the Distressor on buses, linked or unlinked, for flexible imaging. Exclusive plug-in features like Dry/Wet Mix offer easy parallel compression on a mix bus or instrument group. Finally, the Headroom control lets you optimize the Distressor’s overall operating level to your playback system.
“The UAD EL8 Distressor feels just like the hardware, giving me results that I’ve been missing in the box.”
– Jacquire King (James Bay, Kings of Leon, Tom Waits)
“The Distressor is capable of such radical compression tones, that it becomes its own instrument. I’m confident the UAD version will become just as useful as the hardware.”
– Joe Chiccarelli (Jason Mraz, Beck, The Strokes, Morrissey)
“The Distressor is the perfect all around compressor, and no studio should be without a few of them. Now with the UAD Distressor, you can have as many as you need!”
– Vance Powell (Jack White, The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs)
“From subtle compression to destruction, the Distressor handles everything with style.”
– Hector Delgado (A$AP Rocky, Selena Gomez, Lana Del Rey)
“The Distressor truly is the desert island dynamics tool, for controlling levels or creatively reshaping instruments into sounds that couldn’t be heard otherwise.”
– Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beach House, Future Islands)Watch The Reviews
5-Min UAD Tip
In this video, learn how the EL8 Distressor compressor can transform your mixes into something truly special.
Customer Reviews
J. Kriske
September 30, 2023
Just wading back in
I don't currently own a hardware version of the distressed to A/B this with, but I do have fond memories of working in a studio that had one. This is an equally fun and useful tool. As...
Read MoreJ. Kriske
September 30, 2023
Just wading back in
I don't currently own a hardware version of the distressed to A/B this with, but I do have fond memories of working in a studio that had one. This is an equally fun and useful tool. As...
Read MoreA. Sis
September 27, 2023
Best Drumbus Comp!
Can’t mix without this Plugin on my drumbus chain. Makes it punchier, crispier and saturated! One of the best plugins of UAD!
Read MoreA. Rosell
September 27, 2023
Fab Fav Compressor
Best compressor I've got for anything rock! Sounds amazing and gives you enormous power and depth to your tracks.
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Key Features
Painstaking, end-to-end circuit emulation of the iconic hardware designed by Dave Derr, exclusively for Universal Audio
Provides the entire circuit path and control set of the original Empirical Labs hardware
Features seven fixed ratios, including Optical and Nuke, Distortion Modes, and Detector Modes
Plug-in-exclusive features include Dry/Wet parallel processing and Headroom for user-customizable operating level
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Customer Reviews
Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor Compressor
J. Kriske
Just wading back in
I don't currently own a hardware version of the distressed to A/B this with, but I do have fond memories of working in a studio that had one. This is an equally fun and useful tool. As others have said, it's fantastic on percussive sounds. I'm looking forward to trying it on other things!
J. Kriske
Just wading back in
I don't currently own a hardware version of the distressed to A/B this with, but I do have fond memories of working in a studio that had one. This is an equally fun and useful tool. As others have said, it's fantastic on percussive sounds. I'm looking forward to trying it on other things!
A. Sis
Best Drumbus Comp!
Can’t mix without this Plugin on my drumbus chain. Makes it punchier, crispier and saturated! One of the best plugins of UAD!
A. Rosell
Fab Fav Compressor
Best compressor I've got for anything rock! Sounds amazing and gives you enormous power and depth to your tracks.
M. Dellit
Amazing!
Impossibly good on everything!
M. HARRIS
Nice Work!
UAD did a good job with this one!
T. Cherry
Amazing plugin!
I’ve always wanted to analog version of this and to now have it! Perfection! Once again y’all knocked it out the park!
C. Kim
Great!
My go-to compressor for Drums and vocals.Worth every penny!
T. Jackson
Just decent
Seen a lot of guys on YouTube recommending use it on a few vocals it’s ok but I expected more
V. German
Incredible device!
Great on drums, vocals, and grand piano
W. Rice
Love it
Use it with my LA2A between dry and comp for parallel compression sounds great in my DAW
G. Bernhardt
Great compressor
Just as good as my rack mounted EL8's...
A. Ayer
Wonderful and versatile
This is a great compressor. It can be used very effectively on any source material. Drums (oh yeah) vocals (definitely) bass, guitar, synth etc. it’s like a fully customizable 1176 and la2a in one box. Bottom line it sounds fantastic.
A. Martínez
distressor
I have got a great work experience with the distressor, getting to control my dynamic signals range to another level and and many other functionalities because of the versatility of this processor... thanks
R. Embick
Outstanding!
not expecting such a useful compressor, details that are so helpful - my new favorite product from you folks - actually, I really love all the gear that you have come up with that I've got.
A. Cengic
Amazing
EL8 Distressor is simply amazing! This plugin brings the magic of the Distressor hardware unit into the digital realm. The sound is truly authentic, and the distortion and compression options are outstanding. It allows me to add warmth and character to my recordings, whether it's a solo instrument or an entire mix. The user interface is intuitive and easy to use. EL8 Distressor has become an essential tool in my production, and I can't imagine working without it. Simply incredible!"
J. LACRUZ
Fantastic Emulation .Good
I use it on my main tracks. Definitely one of the best plugins to have!
J. Mateo
The one to beat
This is hands down one of my most used compressors in my collection. It can work on almost everything you slap it on and even for livestream's it is always on my master bus so i dont clip and get very versatile and transparent compression.
G. Mahn
Rich and Versatile
The EL8 rocks! Rich, warm tone and versatile options make it useful on a wide range of instruments and situations. It is a cornerstone in my primary DAW templates.
G. Udvarhelyi
Maaaaan!
I thought it will be great, but maaaan!!! :)))
