Empirical Labs® EL8 Distressor
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Get the colorful sound of the world’s most popular compressor.
The Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor is revered in studios the world over as the modern, “must-have” compressor. Versatile with tons of color, the Distressor picks up where the legendary UA 1176 and Teletronix LA-2A compressors leave off — giving you a modern tool that’s equal parts utilitarian and creative, as heard on thousands of hit records.
Included Versions
UAD Native
Runs on your Mac or PC without UA hardware.Apollo Realtime & UAD‑2
Runs accelerated on Apollo interfaces and UAD‑2 hardware.UAD Native plug-ins run on both macOS 10.15 Catalina or newer and Windows 10 and 11. Go to our UA Support page for system requirements.
- Track and mix with the only authentic emulation of the EL8 Distressor — the world's most sought-after 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.
Shape with the Only End‑to‑End Distressor Emulation
The EL8 Distressor Compressor plug-in gives you all the features and tone of the original hardware. Simply compare other Distressor emulations for yourself, and contrast the original hardware’s ultra-fast attack time to quickly hear where most plug-ins fail, and the authentic UAD Distressor succeeds.
Find the Perfect Compression 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 offering unique sounds. Use the 1:1 ratio to gently warm up synths or strings without compression, while adding musical harmonics. Conversely, the Nuke setting gives explosive excitement to room mics or your entire mix.
Add Color with Distortion Modes
The Distressor's iconic Dist 2 and Dist 3 modes give you a wide palette of compression textures, letting you shape sources with even or combined even/odd-order harmonic distortion, from delicate thickening to burnished tape to fully saturated.
Focus Dynamics with Powerful Sidechain Controls
The Distressor’s sidechain control gets rid of unwanted low-frequency pumping — perfect for drum bus processing — while Band Emphasis tames strident vocals and harsh “power region” instrument peaks. You can also harness "plug-in only" features like Dry/Wet Mix for easy parallel compression on a mix bus or instrument group.
“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
P. Phorun
April 15, 2024
Very versatilely compressor.
Good compressor and very good preset to get start. I love this .
Read MoreJ. Ruziev
April 13, 2024
The Сlassic!!!
The best distressor emulation ever! I use it in every project, it's a must-have plugin!
Read MoreJ. Medlin
March 25, 2024
Empirical Labs in an affordable format!
Absolutely essential plug-in for guitars, bass, keys, vocals… You get the idea. Works on everything!
Read MoreG. Smith
March 15, 2024
Low key incredible usage!
I had other versions of this plugin but with the UAD manual giving such precise and useful info I love this version the most! Such a versatile comp that sounds amazing!...
Read More -
Customer Reviews
Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor Compressor
P. Phorun
Very versatilely compressor.
Good compressor and very good preset to get start. I love this .
J. Ruziev
The Сlassic!!!
The best distressor emulation ever! I use it in every project, it's a must-have plugin!
R. Cherry
Can't use blurry or black none of received instructions have worked.
Unable to use, blurry or black and no updates work. Forced to use other products.
W. Baldwin
download
I never got the download it did not work. I need help with that asap.
W. Baldwin
download
I never got the download it did not work. I need help with that asap.
W. Rice
Everything compressor
If you had only one in your tool box this it.
V. Ruzicic
Old but gold!
So much greatness!
J. Medlin
Empirical Labs in an affordable format!
Absolutely essential plug-in for guitars, bass, keys, vocals… You get the idea. Works on everything!
G. Smith
Low key incredible usage!
I had other versions of this plugin but with the UAD manual giving such precise and useful info I love this version the most! Such a versatile comp that sounds amazing!
E. Brassard
Excellent
Excellent
E. Brassard
Excellent
Excellent
L. Leonard
The classic!
so easy to use and reach to the sound I aimed.
Love to use on kicks and stringsA. Adedwuon
When it works, it works.
I believe this is the first 5 star I have ever given to any UAD plug that I own. Having used this plug for about two years, I believe it's a worthy tool that gets the job done. I have tracked vocals with it in Unison, as well as used it in a mastering chain post analogue Buss Comp and it worked its own magic at the right settings. I have tried it in mixing and I have not found a real use for it in that arena compared to other tools in my arsenal. When you find the sweet spot in your use case, you will understand what I mean by it works when it works. I am reviewing as a plugin tool and not comparing to the real hardware as I have never used the hardware.
E. Alexis
Worth Every Cent
If you found yourself looking through the reviews for the distressor, you pretty much already have your answer. Yes, it's worth having this in your arsenal and yes, you will probably use this on most of your mixes if not all of them. Great saturation feel, and just a positive element to any vocal or instrument.
t. fassbender
this smacked my tracks up
fantastic compressor, using it daily. a great tool to control dynamics and punch.
A. Hunt
This is becoming my go-to comp
Clean and dirty. Use it on anything
H. Hamid
a legendary compressor
Heard a lot of good things about this compressor that I had to have it in my tool set.
H. Hamid
a legendary compressor
Heard a lot of good things about this compressor that I had to have it in my tool set.
L. Jáger
Super!
I recommend this versatile compressor.
n. else
Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor Compressor
Excellent little Compressor. I had experimented with the Kiive unit so though an amateur was familiar with the layout. Though mostly rely on presets with some minor tweaking. Very Satisfied
