Empirical Labs® EL8 Distressor
Customer Reviews
Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor Compressor
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C. Klutts
Gnarly
This things adds the nasty with just a few twists but is also capable of subtle compression.
I. Kravchenko
Excellent
Super versatile and great sound!
M. Peak
I Keep Coming Back to the EL8
The main strength of the Distressor is how fast it is. Even on a 2:1 ratio, the attack and release times make it quick and smooth, especially for vocals. I've also used it as hard limiter. Add to this its detection and color features (such as distortion) and it is a great go-to compressor.
M. Verblakt
Amazing!
Just like the hardware units. Put it on drumbus and Bam!
e. rydberg
Just like the hardware
I own a pair of EL-8X's. Now I can slap several of these on my mix without having to do the hybrid setup thing a few at a time to find the blended sound I want. thumbs up.
J. Bullard
Toolbox Staple
A must have in your arsenal, especially for drum parallel compression...distression*
S. Ramsay
Such a vibe
Added this to a track to try give it a bit of extra vibe and life. Works very well on drums and vocals. Have used on rhythm guitar bus tracks to make the stereo width sound fuller too. Love it, hopefully a UADx variant soon :)
E. Ananda
No explanation needed
There's a reason everyone loves this unit. and this plugin delivers it. so so good!
K. Beleznay
Perfect sound
good plugin! hot sound!
T. Young
Recently purchased and already loving it on my mixes.
UA has the best plug-ins
R. Bond
If you could only have one
Demo this plugin on my drum buss using a preset with a little adjustment I stop the song and immediately purchased this plugin!!!!!!!
O. Viamontes
Great for tracking
Just finished tracking vocals without the need of a preamp, thanks to the distortion modes… thanks UA
F. Mico
Top
Top
J. Wade
Stress!
A must have!
I. Krstic
Great Tool
Great compressor, very useful, great tool for every professional ...
J. ter Borg
Awesome!
Not just flexible and versatile, but also a visually well-designed tool that really helps to understand limiting and compression in general if you don't have a lot of experience.
R. Matias
Best compressor available
It works with everything, glad it was finally on Tuesday sale
.
Intuitive and precise!
More than any other compressor I have ever used, physical or plugin, this puppy changes the sound the way my brain wants it change. In other words, with many other compressors I really have to think about ratios etc, but the Distressor is just full of great sounding options. It has lots of color and is a joy to use.
So many other compressors work, and work well — this thing is something special.
C. Carouthers
Instant vibe and power
I’ve always loved the original rack unit. This thing lives up to every bit of its “real world” origins. So much flexibility with the blend knob. Hard for me to not put this on EVERYTHING. The only negative is that the people at UA really modeled everything perfectly. Even the noise and hum. So be prepared for a little noise on your tracks. But other than that, it’s great. Very happy with my purchase.
C. Leonard
Great for Particular Purposes
The Distressor creates punch for drums and pushed up the vocal without being harsh, so depending on the drum or vocal sound you are aiming for, it can be really helpful. It has a unique tone and I do like the adjustable "grit". I find that it works really well as a contributor to a chain as I like the vocals to cut through the mix, yet still remain warm and smooth and this helps with the former without negatively affecting the latter. For my voice, personally, this was a nice complement and once I got used to hearing my vocals through it, comparing it to bypass made it clear how much it was contributing to the tone. I really like it on drums; it smooths out the overly-dynamic while really bringing all the different drum contributions into the spotlight without them overpowering, which I find hard to accomplish in general. However, if you do want a drum kit to power through the mix with some good tones and maintain natural dynamics while still compressing enough, this is a great tool. I think this is a plugin that should be in most people's arsenal, though selectively. For the money, it's a winner and I've already incorporated it into multiple new recordings and prior ones, both of which it made significantly better.