Waves Audio released a software plug-in emulation of the Teletronix LA-2A with Chris Lord-Alge's personal presets as the CLA-2A Compressor/Limiter plug-in. This plug-in has since been re-branded as the Avid BF-2A.
īomb Factory Digital released an emulation of the LA-2 as part of their Classic Compressors for Pro Tools plug-in bundle. An updated version was introduced in 2013, when UA released the LA-2A Classic Leveler Collection for their UAD-2 platform, which included three different versions of LA-2A: the late-'60s 'Silver' version, the mid-'60s 'Gray' version, and the early-'60s LA-2. Universal Audio has offered an officially-branded Teletronix LA-2A software plug-in since 2002, when they included the first version with their UAD-1 PCI DSP card. And unless you hit them way hard and make the tubes sizzle they don't really distort. When you put bass and drums in them they get fatter and bigger. LA-2As warm things up.they EQ all the warmth and low mids and bass. Joe Chiccarelli used an LA-2A to add distortion to Jack White's vocals on The White Stripes' album, Icky Thump.
The LA-2A was used to record Alanis Morissette's vocals on Jagged Little Pill, Kurt Cobain's vocals on Nevermind, and Shakira's vocals on " Hips Don't Lie". Recording engineers who cite the LA-2A in their work include Joe Barresi, Mike Clink, and Tony Maserati. The LA-2A has the ability to preserve the impression of performance dynamics while performing extreme level management-a sonic character that makes it sought after by many recording engineers, particularly for use on vocals and bass guitar.
The average attack time is 10 milliseconds, while the release time is about 60 ms for 50% release and 0.5 to 5 seconds for full release, depending on the previous program material. The VU meter may also be switched to show the gain reduction or output level. The LA-2A has simple controls: a Peak-Reduction knob controls the gain of the side-chain circuit, and therefore, the gain reduction a Gain Control for make-up gain and a Limit/Compress switch which alters the compression ratio. The properties of the T4 give the LA-2A its unique character by making it an entirely program-dependent design. It uses an electroluminescent panel together with a cadmium-sulfide light-dependent resistor (which in the LA-2A's own terminology is called the T4 cell) to provide gain reduction.
The LA-2A is a hand-wired, tube-based compressor. The LA-2A was inducted into the TECnology Hall of Fame in 2004. Īfter Universal Audio was re-established in 1999, the company re-issued an updated version of the LA-2A. Three versions of the LA-2A were made until 1969. In 1965, Lawrence sold Teletronix to Babcock Electronics of Costa Mesa, California, and in 1967 Bill Putnam's company Studio Electronics (eventually renamed UREI), acquired Babcock's broadcast division, including the Teletronix brand. The LA-2A had evolved from Lawrence's first leveling amplifier, the LA-1, which was favored by Gene Autry, and its successor, the LA-2, which had been adopted by CBS and RCA. Lawrence II, founder of the Teletronix Engineering Company in Pasadena, California in the early 1960s. Accept no copy.The LA-2A was invented by James F.
As a result, today’s LA-2A will bring the same legendary compression characteristics of the original to all of your recordings. With painstaking care, every new LA-2A unit is point-to-point handwired in Scotts Valley, California, with every component carefully evaluated for authenticity. Universal Audio’s Teletronix LA-2A Classic Leveling Amplifier reissue provides the performance characteristics of the iconic original. ”Bill” Putnam later purchased this patented technology, continuing to manufacture the LA-2A for years to come. His ingenious optical compression design was a technological breakthrough, far surpassing the stability and transparency of earlier circuits. Teletronix founder Jim Lawrence first used photocells for controlling audio gain in the early 1960s.
WIth its unique tube-driven electro-optical attenuator system that allows instantaneous gain reduction with no increase in harmonic distortion, the LA-2A massages signals like no other compressor ever made. For over 50 years the Teletronix LA-2A has been revered for its smooth, natural, musical compression.