La3a vs. Distressor on Vox

[slowblue]

I know the Distressor is much more flexible overall, in fact I have one and like it on most sources, but purely for vocals and maybe a smattering of bass and acoustic would you take a La3a over the Dist? Basically trying to decide whether to add another Dist or improve my vox chain via a La3a. Thanks.

[klangtone]

I have both and have been using the LA3A on vocals (and other stuff like horns and clarinet). The cool thing about the LA3A is it is really simple to use. Just two knobs, ya know? What you have to be careful about is how much compression you do. Unless you really want to use it as an effect, I find that you don't want to push it much past 5dB. The release time is kind of slow, so you start to hear it when you start pushing 7+dB.

So, if you're working with vocalists that need a lot of compression, I wouldn't necessarily recommend the LA3A. If you generally just need a little, it sounds great. Very natural.

I haven't used it on bass or acoustic guitar. It could be cool though, I'm sure. I certainly have used the opto mode of the Distressor on bass, and I like that. If you need to cut some harsh transients on an acoustic guitar, it probably would do the trick too.

Roy

[joel hamilton]

Slower= better for tons of compression on a main vocal sometimes... slower= less pumping, and less obvious noise floor changes into the gaps...

Anyway, regardless of that OPINION,

They are very different beasts. I have two channels of LA3A because I use them for loud guitars a lot... pairs of loud guitars.
I only use one distressor. They are pretty cool, but certainly not the end all of compressors.

Keep in mind that i am not in love with 1176's these days either... I know.. blasphemy. I havent sold mine just because I feel bad about NOT having one in a recording studio.. it is like a good luck charm or something...

[Kelly]

Judging from what I've heard regarding the Distressors, and hearing the La3a's in person, I think they'd have to be almost polar in sound.

La3a are pretty transparent, but can get pretty sounding on certain sources. It can impart a certain "sadness".


- kelly

[RodC]

Have you considered a dbx 165? I really like mine on vox. You should be able to find one a bit cheaper than a La3a.

I have been thinking about tracking down a 165a (with peakstop) but im not sure how different they sound.

[cgarges]

The LA3A has a sound and it does a certain type of thing. It's a GREAT thing when it works and it works well for a lot of vocalists. There are times when it KILLS the sound of a Distressor, but there are also many times when a Distressor will be the right thing over an LA3A. I own two Distressors and have regular access to four of them these days. It's not uncommon for me to use all four of them at any given time. While I'd LOVE to have an LA3A and generally try to find a use for one if I'm working somewhere that has one, I really couldn't see myself ever putting four of them to use. I almost never used two of them when I had two available to me regularly. They're very cool, but for me, I find they're a pretty specific type of thing.

Hope this helps.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[slowblue]

cool, thanks for the feedback, it's demo time for me, probably pull a purple mc77 in as well to get a little taste of everything.

[jmpizzoferrato]

yesterday i actually ended up A/Bing the two because the ADL was way too distorted. the LA3 was a little thin sounding and was a bit too slow for hard compression on vocals. too much pumping going on. i switched the distressor on 10:1 opto. it sounded less thing but it seemed like there was SUCH a fine line between not enough compression, and too much. i finally locked it in half way through a take. it ended up working well but the ADL is just so right and so easy to get settings on that it was kind of a bummer to switch. i love the LA3.. one of my alltime favorite compressors but this time around.. the distressor won it! sorry LA3A!

[Drew's Analog Planet]

Are we talking about VINTAGE Urei LA-3A or reissue?

I have two Distressors and three LA-3As, two of which are the real-deal, and one is a reissue.

I love my distressors for lots of things, including vocals, but the LA-3A has been my GO-TO vocal comp for 20 years.

Usually I track with the Distressor, and use the LA-3A on mix. But lately, I've been tracking vox with the reissue LA-3A in the mod-mode.

You should be able to find the sweet-spot on there for levelling voice where you never have to move the freakin' fader...set it and forget it.

If you can't get a good vocal sound with an LA-3A, well, the problem AIN'T the LA-3A!

[trodden]

I totally wouldn't use that.