Free or inexpensive VST LA-2A - Page 2

rocaro · 10-07-2010, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheppola

Antress stuff rocks

Yes, i know what you mean. Maybe life is not true in the matrix, but much more comfortable.

robo · 10-07-2010, 05:38 PM

You guys might laugh but the PodFarm2 Compressor model with the LA2A gui is freaking awesome.

I really doubt it's modeled after anything but it is a good smash to hell Rick Rubin signature sound.

Try it on snares if you dares.

-robo

Sheppola · 10-07-2010, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocaro

Yes, i know what you mean. Maybe life is not true in the matrix, but much more comfortable.

It you are correct I'm glad I'm not

rocaro · 10-08-2010, 01:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnypig

You guys might laugh but the PodFarm2 Compressor model with the LA2A gui is freaking awesome.
I really doubt it's modeled after anything but it is a good smash to hell Rick Rubin signature sound.
Try it on snares if you dares.
-robo

No laughing. I have it too (Podfarm1-version). It actually sounds very LA2A-like, but it starts to scratch with high transients and comp settings above 30%. The UAD version always keeps the signal smooth.
But all in all the Podfarm stuff is realy good. I also like the Avalon preamp and the reverbs. The vintage EQs are not achieving the smoothness of URS and UAD but for Guitar they are also uasable if you let the drive in untouched.

Magicbuss · 10-08-2010, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnypig

You guys might laugh but the PodFarm2 Compressor model with the LA2A gui is freaking awesome.

I really doubt it's modeled after anything but it is a good smash to hell Rick Rubin signature sound.

Try it on snares if you dares.

-robo

The line 6 M13 pedal board also has the "studio comp" found in Podfarm. According to the manual it is indeed modeled from an LA-2A. I think it sounds quite nice on live (!)clean guitar. Squashes transparently and adds some sheen.

The one thing I dont like is that it has auto makeup gain so you can't go above halfway on the compression knob before it starts boosting the volume output (even with the level control full CCW)

winbe · 10-08-2010, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocaro

And - by the way - if you found an LA2A that is good on "master buss" ... sorry man, this plugin can`t be a LA2A. The LA2A sound is so unique, actually only usable for some specific single tracks like some vocals or Bass.

oooh I did not know. The only thing I see is that Lost Angel is fine on my master buss, and I love its simplicity. I did not get it because it is an LA2A as I don't have the faintest idea of what a real LA2A is made for or sounds like).

Quote:

Go for digitalfishphones, audiocation and variety of sound, which offer more Mojo for less CPU and everything is fine.

I played with Blockfish, very very colored so I had the fear it would destroy my mix a bit, and that I could overuse it as it sounds great

I also tried Density mKII, a little too complex for me at first, and buggy with reaper. (like epicverb, by the way). I have to use it in a "bridged" configuration.
Concerning the CPU, hm, on my system LostAngel consumes 50% less than DensityII

I guess I should really give Density II a try, but I am a bit lost, so many parameters... I just want some nice, slightly "colored", "warm" compression before entering Izotope OZone on my master buss.

I'll give AudioCation C1 a try if you recommend it. (I see it is coded by Budde, who is a reference I think)

winbe · 10-08-2010, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocaro

Today the most LA-2A sounding is the compressor in varosound`s NastyVCS of course.

oh ? I have used it on my master bus on all my past productions. It seemed to my ears that it had this "warm" or "analog" if you see what I mean, kind of sound. But I was unable to really understand which of the knobs was really doing what. I used it to increase my volume before hitting Ozone...

But it was source of some very slight distorsion on some frequencies when the signal was crushed by Ozone. I now use Gclip and get cleaner results. But I am now looking for a nice/warm bus compressor.

musicroom · 10-08-2010, 11:01 PM

In the world of inexpensive and/or free vst's. You sometimes need a combo of plugs to do what you want. I will tell you this combo is nice. Very nice. I would not use this on the master. But for a 2-bus parallel setup for strong vocals and lead guitars. It is sweet and silky. Okay here goes...

fx chain:
Gain plug - of your choice to tame levels
Major Tom - Light compression
TLs-2095-LA - Shorter release times, but you can drive the front end - this is the featured plug in my chain.
Audiocation Compressor AC1 - a 1176n smoothing effect (light compression settings)

(I can share my saved presets if anyone wants them)

A cigarette, you will want to relax afterwards.

Smurf · 10-09-2010, 10:00 PM

Thanks for the link to the Das Audiocation VST Plug-In rocaro, I'm enjoying this one on bass & drums!

rocaro · 10-10-2010, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smurf

Thanks for the link to the Das Audiocation VST Plug-In rocaro, I'm enjoying this one on bass & drums!

You`re welcome ! Dont forget to try blockfish in Opto-Mode for your Bass and with around 50% SAT dialed in - it rocks. Use the little knob in the frame on the left to enter the plugins backend. Set the Opto-Memory completely anticlockwise for beeing most LA-2A like. I compared it to the UAD-LA2A - not even 70% of the original, but better than most other freeware out there.

Another hot recommendation in case you still need a good vintage EQ for free:
I tested the new SonEQ and my UAD/URS-ears told me, that this is the best freeware vintage-EQ you can have today. The developers site is in spanish, so here is the direct download-link: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6560042/Sonimus%20SonEQv1.0.zip
Try it yourself, i`m interested in your Opinions.

surfsup · 10-13-2010, 05:42 AM

Quote:

fx chain:
Gain plug - of your choice to tame levels
Major Tom - Light compression
TLs-2095-LA - Shorter release times, but you can drive the front end - this is the featured plug in my chain.
Audiocation Compressor AC1 - a 1176n smoothing effect (light compression settings)

(I can share my saved presets if anyone wants them)

Musicroom, if you don't mind I would like to check out your FXchain...

chip mcdonald · 10-13-2010, 09:33 AM

Too many options and opinions to consider and investigate, as usual.

There should be a way for Reaper to consolidate users plugin settings, so that one could periodically download a preset list that would provide the appropriate settings in the drop down for the VST menu.

It's too general/vague of a suggestion, IMO, to off the cuff reference a compressor without context/settings. It's also too massive of a time sink to attempt to consolidate/test "all possibilities".

If there was a way for Reaper to have a "master list" of presets that could be updated, then everyone could try out everyone else's settings of a plugin and THEN discussion could be a little more contextural and relevant.

musicroom · 10-13-2010, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by surfsup

Musicroom, if you don't mind I would like to check out your FXchain...

Check your PM.

JoeyM123 · 08-17-2016, 08:40 PM

I wonder if we could have another look? I've tried all the LA-2A VST emulations including UAD - and I most like Cakewalk's CA-2A. I was about to "buy" the plugin the other day, did some research, and it's $99 from Cakewalk's website, or $30 on sale at Musician's Friend. All I needed to know was the licensing scheme. Could I install it on 5 computers, ONLY ONE OF WHICH IS EVER RUNNING AT A TIME like a lot of other items that go into a DAW? No, just one computer. I read the license for CA-2A and it's a deal breaker. You're not even allowed to analyze it! Sorry but I heavily trust VST Analyzer to tell me if something is aliasing all over the place and a lot of other details. In addition I got no response from Cakewalk when I asked (3 days gone by).
Cut to chase, no way; must find other replacement.

I just wanted a track plugin for vocals with one or two knobs! And really it might be a better strategy to just use George's W1 and forget about an LA-2A altogether.

But I wonder if we have the talent to make our own emulation as a preset in ReaComp or something? A hardware LA-2A is a fairly simple box that's 50 years old. And we don't have the building blocks out of freeware to match it ourselves? We can't be that dull.

But if I've been reading correctly, an LA-2A has a high frequency sidecahin that had something to do with interfering frequencies at radio stations, and maybe - not sure but maybe, that's why some clones are blah and sterile and other designs are gooey and sort of fluid.

noise_construct · 08-18-2016, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeyM123

But I wonder if we have the talent to make our own emulation as a preset in ReaComp or something? A hardware LA-2A is a fairly simple box that's 50 years old. And we don't have the building blocks out of freeware to match it ourselves? We can't be that dull.

LA-2A might have simple controls on the panel, but it's opto-based program dependent operation and harmonic enhancement resulting from combination of tubes and transformers can't be easily replicated by a chain with ReaComp.

Have you tried ThrillseekerLA? https://varietyofsound.wordpress.com...eleased-today/

I don't have the luxury (nor interest) to compare it to a sufficient sample of real LA-2A units, and it isn't even a 1:1 clone, but VoS stateful saturation sounds superb in the plugin world in my ear, and both it's attack and release times are program dependent which ReaComp can't do.

airon · 08-18-2016, 04:30 AM

Klanghelm's DC8C2 may be able to replicate the behaviour reasonably well, and it's inexpensive. Perhaps someone has done just that. You can really tune that units program dependency quite well for both attack and release.

The LA2A and its clones have its uses, that much is true, but they're specific. I use the IKMultimedia version, which serves its purpose well.

citizenkeith · 08-18-2016, 06:29 AM

I tried the demo for Native Instruments VC-2A, and finally found a decent LA2A style compressor that I could use on both Windows and MacOS.

https://www.native-instruments.com/e...effects/vc-2a/

Nothing prior has ever been a satisfactory replicant.

jpanderson80 · 08-18-2016, 07:10 AM

Does anyone know the basic LA2A settings (attack/release times)? I'm curious how close ReaComp can come, minus the tube mojo.

citizenkeith · 08-18-2016, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpanderson80

Does anyone know the basic LA2A settings (attack/release times)? I'm curious how close ReaComp can come, minus the tube mojo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LA-2A_Leveling_Amplifier

JoeyM123 · 08-18-2016, 10:00 PM

Wow super cool, you all charge me up :-) From like, empty lol
Okay my quest will begin with Klanghelm and Thrillseeker.

The freeware version of Klanghelm had me highly suspicious the full version could be tweaked good enough, and finally the thought occurred about LA Thrillseeker that program dependent may (or may not) at least partially have something to do with tempo.

That's one thing I never found, is a compressor that works by tempo so much. But an LA-2A style can be like 40ms before it reduces peaks and you'd think that's transferable to tempo from that point.

As for IK and NI I know those sound great, but am not sure if the licensing restricts to one computer or you can go with everything in your house.

I've had this fear for a long time, that one computer with all the licenses goes up in smoke, and to allay that fear I've got four humble Windows machines loaded with good licenses (like Reaper) where I never use more than one anyway. If NI or IK have compatible licenses I'd strongly consider them.

And I don't know how to put it any other way: Ladies & Gentlemen, after unexpected heart problems a couple years ago, I've resolved to use products that don't have what I'll call a bad karma license. If you read the Cakewalk license it's done in a mean spirit and comes off oppressive.

So happily, I think this year is the year something to smile when you're not singing comes along. More than anything it's for the benefit of guest vocalists to feel at home and appreciate their own voice. :-)

citizenkeith · 08-18-2016, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeyM123

As for IK and NI I know those sound great, but am not sure if the licensing restricts to one computer or you can go with everything in your house.

All the info from NI is here:

https://support.native-instruments.c...ments-Product-

I was reluctant (I will never install a Waves or IK product because of the horror stories I read here and elsewhere).

Could the NI license be better? Sure, I'd prefer a Reaper-style license. But so far, between Kontakt and VC-2A, I've had no issues whatsoever.

JoeyM123 · 08-27-2016, 12:32 PM

Man if only Klanghelm or Variety of Sound would take this on... both are SO CLOSE.

Even Cakewalk CA-2A is perfect, especially on sale but again the licensing terms are limited (that's mighty pun'ny)