What's The Best Compressor for Vocals? (SHOOTOUT - 12 TOTAL) Shred Shed
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- Опубликовано: 25 июл 2024
- 3 different male vocal tracks ran through 12 industry standard compressors, each with different settings.
- Light Compression (Michael Morgan) 0:14
- Moderate Compression (Dan McClurg) 8:34
- Heavy Compression (Adam Cesarz) 14:30
-Compressors -
- Universal Audio LA2A
- Chandler Limited RS124
- Manley Labs Nu Mu
- Manley Labs Vari Mu
- Manley Labs Elop +
- Purple Audio MC77
- Warm Audio WA76
- Heritage Audio 2264jr
- DBX 160A
- Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor
- Kush Audio Tweaker
- JDK Audio R22
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#vocalproduction #Vocalcompressor #CompressorShootout 
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thanks for this content sir amazing work!
I learned how awesome the Chandler and Kush compressors were from this. Thank you.
Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together
Pleasantly surprised by the 160! I love them!
Tweaker and RS124 for the win to my ears. Thanks!
Thank you so much for the comparison👍
My faves were the LA-2A and the RS124, the smooth creamy tone of the LA-2A is just a winner all day long. None of them sounded crap to be fair. I was surprised how good the DBX160 sounded on vox. Great shootout, I learnt a lot, subscribed :)
Thanks for the Shootout! Distressor Fan here!
RS124 has a top-end excitement that really makes it stand out. Perfect balance of harmonic colouration and transparent gain reduction.
Great vid... Thank you for all the effort!!! LA2A... I was very surprised by dbx160... sounds great... and it’s VCA... go figure.
amazing video, thank you very much for the great content! it helps!!!
thanks for the video...great work...my top three...manley elop...dbx 160...distressor...
in that order...
That distressor works like I’ve heard in all the reviews. Very nice finished sound , right in the sweet spot. I wanna like the 160 , it’s so creamy in the low end, but sometimes too much so, borderline muddy . La2a is a beast and that Manley elop is super nice
This video is incredible, probably the best I've ever watched to help us learn about what different compressors are doing in detail to vocals. This video inspired me to purchase the Chandler RS124 which has really upped my vocal chain to a new level so huge thank you for making this!!
Do you got any video using it ? What would you say make it do special,Im tryning to buy a compressor in my ears I don’t know what to look for but I want something for vocals that make it sound clear and crisp and sheeen and professional
And 3d
Thanks for this. Being of limited budget the WA76 has been on my list for a character compressor. It doesn't seem to handle being hammered too gracefully (sounds more like a brick-wall limiter) but for less aggressive signals it looks like it would meet my need to get vocal, sax, and bass into the ballpark outside the box.
Now this is a proper compressor shootout! Kudos!
super tough choice coz of beautiful source, nicely recorded!
for me
1. Manley ELOP
2. MC77
3. LA2A
I like the way that kush audio tweaker sounds
This is an awesome one man ! Thanks a lot for letting us hear all these great hardware compressors ! Very clean recorded vocals, so its easily possible to hear the characteristics of compressors.
Just a suggestion: Esp for 3rd vocal, MC77/WA76 on 3rd Attack, and 7th(Fastest Release) thats the beauty of 1176 on such vocals..in your face !
I really liked RS 124, MC77, Kush Audio, MC 77.
Can you do same vocals with ITB, Slate, UAD same modeled compressors ?
Please let us hear the differences. It really will be an insight on listening and hearing differences between analog and plugins !
Thank you !
I loved them all 😍 some of these comments are oblivious.
But the dbx, chandler, purple and kush stood out to me the most and sounded amazing
great comparison! the chandler and the kush take it for me.
The Best Vocal Compressor demo ever. Teletronix, Chandler, Heritage Audio, Purple Audio, Dbx 160, Distressor are my choices. There's a reason why these are Iconic designs. Lots of character and clarity. Vocals on steroids. Great Vocal samples as well. Excellent comparison.
I liked the distressor and the tweaker. and the purple mc77. la2a had the prettiest metering/needle ballistics :)
Ok I loved the Chandler on every example. Really smooth and transparent. Good at taming those peaks without pumping. That’s the winner for me. BUT I also really liked the Distressor for more color and urgency. Maybe I would process in parallel and mix together to taste?
I’m surprised so many liked the vari-mus. I found them to impart a lot of pumping which I didn’t personally care for. To each his own!
1) La2a handles all with grace. 2) Loved the Chandler! It added a little snark to the emo vocs, but really smooth reduction. 3) Manley is so versatile! That’s were I would put my money for a fist big dollar comp purchase. Vocals, bus, bass. 4) I am loathed to say that the WA performed very well. Would actually consider buying one based on these examples.
As so many others, the DBX still does a really great job. Was amazed by the kush tweeker, made the heavy compressed performance better
That Tweaker is amazing!
My favourite:
Purple Audio MC77
Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor
Thanks dude!
I go with the chandler limited! Thanks for this awesome video
Thanks for watching!
LA2A for everything
Awesome video. I think the heritage and tweaker handled the heavy compression best. To me they had the least amount of artifacts and pumping when doing so much heavy lifting. They also didn't bring out the room sound as much. And The LA-2As were so nice on the first two vocals. Thanks for the video
Great stuff
Light
LA 2A @0:27
RS124 @1:07
Elop @3:09
Tweaker @7:13
Moderate
LA 2A @8:43
RS124 @9:11
Elop @10:38
Tweaker @13:33
Heavy
LA 2A @14:40
RS124 @15:12
Elop @16:50
Tweaker @20:07
The "Heavy" example does a great job of showing off the speed of the different compressors. Some of them seem to be having a hard time keeping up
Really surprised here. On the lower country male vocal the chandler killed it. But also a surprising favorite was the kush audio- sounds amazing. Also the distressor just sounded good on every vocal. I have an 1176 clone , I have a la2a on order and now I believe I need a destressor, It just sounded good on everything- so chewy with some sizzle and just great.
Really hard to say what the best is! Trick question? On the first vocal I really liked the LA-2A and the Chandler Rs124 fairly equally, but for me the RS124 won by hair. I liked the sheen it had and it brought the hi mids forward in a very nice way! I also liked the Manley Elop. It had a nice smoothness and warmth! Honestly I liked all of them for certain aspects. On the second vocal I again really liked the LA-2A and the RS124 , but I think my favorite were the Manley Vari-Mu and the Elop, but preffered the Vari-Mu, it had a smoothness and rounded off any harshness , but not too much, it still stayed aggressive. On the third vocal I liked the La-2A most, and was a tie for second between the Rs124 and the Kush Tweaker, probly the Tweaker by a hair! The LA-2A was definately more even and fat but the Chandler and Kush had a good agression. I liked the Elop again but may have been to soft in the mix. That's where this whole thing is a trick question, I think to decide 100% Id have to hear it in the mix. But overall my favorites were the LA-2a, RS124, The Elop and Vari-MU , and the Tweaker, but I could easily say I liked them all for their own reasons!
I’ve always been a fan of that Chandler Abbey Road unit. I was rather impressed with the Kush Audio Tweaker, really nice tone.
Great shootout comparison. My favorite in order:
1. Manley Labs Nu Mu
2. Manley Labs Elop +
3. Kush Audio Tweaker
4. Purple Audio MC77
I really liked the numu and varimu. Seems most people prefer others. I agree with your list. Although I like the varimu a lot too.
Proud owner of two Kush Tweakers. Most underated compressors ever. I use more as a mojo/coloring box but boy does it satisfy many needs! The customer service is the absolute best I ever encountered and they have a great sense of humor too!
Came here looking for a opto cell to add to the family. Great video!
Kush Audio Tweaker - I don't do "best" but for transparency, this was fantastic. I own the Clariphonic MS and Electra and will be getting one of these!
It didn't clamp no matter what the comp level. That's a great comp.
the tweaker is so good! very underrated piece.
Found it the best tonally as well
The LA-2A sound the most "right" and natural but unexpectedly the DBX have some "grain" that I like!
All awesome singers, awesome gear.... Loved the DBX 160 in the 4:1 range. However I would have liked to have heard it on the last singer in a heavier compression setting.... Was surprised how that JDK Sucked the life out of last singer at 9-10 Ratio. The Kush was kush. The RS124 was unique in the way it grabs the top end and displays it like running light through a diamond....and of course the ubiquitous La2a..... ala: smoothest comp on the planet that never disappoints. It's kind of like a one trick pony but that one trick never gets old... LOL
very nice shootout!!
I´m surprised... LA2A is easily the best, also with heavy compression. I would have thought the rs124 would be a LA2A killer, but I preferred the LA2A on every singer and over all comps. Didn´t see that coming honestly...
Kush tweaker is the hidden star of the show, imo. Works very well, too, but considering a a fast workflow its ridiculous how fast you get good results with UA LA2A.
With light compression every comp will get the job done, even plugins. So probs for letting them battle in 3 disciplines (light - medium - heavy compression).
Once again, big thumbs up for doing this!
Thanks man, we appreciate your kind words : )
Just came across this, and I've heard most of em, besides the Kush. That's my only one, that I've not worked with here. And boy does it come as a shock! Thought the Distressor was gonna take the cake for all styles, although I would chose a different setting..;), but the Kush was a real shocker for me, especially for vocals! Thought it was like putting a little bit of the Distressor function into an La2a...maybe....maybe not, but it was warm and round but didn't bloom so much during heavy compression like an La2a or some of the others, which I thought was great! So you still got a bit of warmth out of it, but not as much bloom, which I don't like! My 3 favs where Distressor, Kush, and VariMu, in no order...but it'd prolly be Kush, Distressor, VariMu. The VMu was super vibey, which I dig, but still manageable to an extant...but it just won't work on some things....The Distressor is of course the only all in one compressor really! The shocker was the Kush! I really want one now! LOL. Although I work mostly in Rock/Hard Rock/Metal/Alternative stuff....Anyone have experience with the Kush in Metal?
This is the best shootout I have ever seen on RUclips. Thanks for doing this. I like the Heritage 2264Jr, and the LA2A. The Warm Audio was the worst. In every shootout I hear, I always dislike the Warm Audio stuff. Also, that loud country singer was a perfect choice to show off the dynamics of these units.
Love the Cartel vocals :)
14:30
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20:07
20:39
This is how you do a shootout! My top 3... 1) La-2A 2) Tweaker 3) Distressor
Excellent tests. Thanks for your work!
Please, could you provide a link to the raw vocals.
The Chandler is super smooth at high reduction. Probably too much leveling overall, but feels like it would slay in parallel with the dry vocal or just a less comped vocal.
I have to go with the LA2A for my home studio because I don't know how to use a compressor lol.
Dbx 160 killed it
My top 3: LA-2A, Nu Mu, 160A
All of these comps do a thing and are good in their own way. I would certainly use all of them in the right context. The Tweaker is definitely the most transparent sounding of all of them at high gain reduction settings. La2a and Elop have the hifi saturation thing going for them. Distressor has a nice saturation similar to that as well. I would choose the tweaker and the Distressor for all around versatile comps that can emulate all the others fairly well. You can do a whole project with just two of each in my opinion, they are a strategic what comps should I buy first if I don't have any other type thing. For their color and overall sonic imprint it would have to be the La2a , the Elop and RS124... The Dbx are great on bass guitar and drums or anything you want anything you want to tightly control with a nice pleasing saturation thing and for the money, well duh.
I feel like the most obvious/useful example is that last note on the aggressive vocals with heavy compression. That’s where you can really hear the tone of the compressor
LA2A is on another level on this shootout...
The DBX 160A sounds amazing for the price! Overall i preferred the Kush Audio Tweaker.
LA2A all the way.
Honestly I wish I had them all, I like having more flavors to choose to match with the song
Beautiful collection of gear. Must be fun to have your whole mix getting treatment on specific setups, bringing out the best of a signal. Nice.
the dbx 160s still sound great! lol
Call me crazy but the dbx 160/Kush Audio sounded fantastic.
You're not cray man. it is, a killer compressor ; )
great comparison!
the Purple MC77 and Warm Audio 1176 clone had some strange settings for 1176-ish style of compression though. They would fit the vocals much better, if the attack was slower and the release faster....would make a huge difference for transparency and would have made a big impact for the purpose of this video. Thank you though!
My exact thoughts :)
I thought they sounded great. To my ears neither sounds like the real deal but not bad. I mean we all use these things differently. Dude in this vid to me did well enough where he just took off the peaks with the purple and I love that with the any 1176 that's just me though 🤷🏾♂️
It's crazy. I came here mainly for the Purple and the Distressor, and left mostly impressed with the DBX!
Oh....that's why the LA2A is that popular. Except I'm not a big fan of it when it compresses heavy. But it's the best for soft compression. Thank you for the video. I was going to buy a DBX 160 for live vocals and now I know NOT to buy one. It's not as smooth as I wish it were.
Cool comparison video! Now let's talk about what "light compression" means ;)
0:14, 0:25, 1:06, 1:47, 2:28, 3:08, 3:49, 4:30, 5:11, 5:52, 6:33, 7:13, 7:54
1. manley elop+ most natural
2. Manley Variable MU lost topend a bit..but still natural.
Sounds like theres some weird fluttering thing going on with the warm wa76, with the "heavy" setting at least
I believe it's the transformers with Carnhill's in the Heritage's. They seem fuller.
By any chance do you remember the mics used? Iv been curious about the golden age and Saw a vid where you had one of the singers use it .
This would be useful to know how the compressors worked with what particular mic type
you can can't have a vocal compressor shootout without the CL1-B!
Read my mind
Yup, comparison is great, but the CL1-B has to be in this!
Oh hell yes you can, most expensive unusable compressor ever.
LA2A and Elop are the winners for me.
Really interesting. The LA2A on the second vocalist was a match made in heaven. Loved the Chandler on the first vocalist with that open upper mid. Manleys I found consistently rather uninteresting. The Warm did quite well on vocalist 1 but was not great on 2 and terrible on 3. The Kush - very hi-fi sounding, get the feeling this would work well on jazz or classical. DBX - Heritage put in a pretty consistent performance on all material, DBX limiter would be a good cheap soluition for very demanding vocals if high end was not available.
overeasy should have been enabled in the dbx?
it depends on the style, but teletronix and kush audio keep the vocal dynamic, warm and natural.
Is the fuse switch being used on chandler?
no ua/retro 176?
Kush to me is the best for vocals
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LA-2A all the way!
VARIMU, KUSH, MC77, WA76
I’m really surprised at how thin all of the Manley compressors sound. Not my cup of tea. Kush is my favorite. I wonder if the release time is a tad different on the warm compressor, it seems to be really pumping and bringing up a lot of the room reverb
Really surprised by DBX160 and wa76, 2264JR. They really compressed without adding unnecessary harmonics. Chandler and Manley series sound bit harsh to me. Above all, LA2A is the best. Thanks for the review!
I've never used an 1176 with that slow of a release. Just seems weird.
i agree, weird setting for vocals
I know this comment old lol but I'll never understand comments like these 💀
ELOP+ sounds the best all around imo. 160 sounds good too but kind of breaks up when doing heavy lifting
8:42
9:11
9:40
10:09
10:38
11:07
11:36
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well, this settles it for me. I’m sticking with my combination of LA, 1176, or CL1B
Aye the cartel song 👌👌👌
W76 vs MC77 ????
la2a, rs124, vari mu, wa76, 2264jr sounded best to me
To me the Teletronix sounds warmest, the dbx is the most neutral and the WARM audio is the most pleasantly colouring - the latter is better suited for light than heavy compression I think.
I love a fast DBX feeding a slow LA2A. DBX Gets it level, and LA2A makes it lush.
the Warm audio compressor is so clean
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Manley Elop+ or LA2A or DBX 160 with some eq depending on what you going for sound wise in the song tone wise.
Opto/Mu just sound right on vocals... but damn man, that Tweaker does the job and stays out of the way if you need it to.
Yes! It can also get really gritty and hairy. That's a great option if you need to distort the daylights out of tracks
For me is a battle between La2a and Chandler. Chandler has been set a little bit louder than La2a. That's a little bit tricky and because of that at some moments seems that Chaldler is the winner. But if you listen both of them at the same level, La2a is the winner. Especially in the way he treats the consonants. Way more sweet and natural. Anyway I vote for La2a and I will give the silver medal to Chandler. Maybe I would choose Chandler for hip-hop or metal...
Why do i like Manley so much better than the others ?
adit nugroho its amazing!
Agree
anybody know
VariMu = wow
who is
LA2A alway win on vocal
This is the best the warm audio 76 has ever sounded it’s still terrible!