Empirical Labs® EL8 Distressor
Customer Reviews
Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor Compressor
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S. Woolgar
I just love it
I'm not one of those that had the hardware version. But I have to admit that it sounds fantastic on everything I've put it on. This is an ongoing exercise as I try it on more and more things.
C. Clouser
Spot-on emulation of the hardware
I've owned hardware Distressors for twenty years, and the UAD emulation is right on the money. The same crunchy push, the same in-your-face sound - it's all there. They pass the A/B test against the hardware with flying colors.
m. linett
great to have it back.
Great plug in emulation of the mighty Distressor
A. EMIXPRO
Forgot to add!
Pair this with the Fatso in parallel and just WOW!!
A. EMIXPRO
Superb emulation. Super easy to dial in
I own all but the Slate emu and all do a great job. This clinches it though as I find this emulation super easy to dial in, just like my hardware version. All the others take a little more time to get there, but get there they do. If time is money, then this is a no brainer. Best emu yet
J. Maiwald
Very impressed
In comparison with all the competitors, this Baby is the easiest to dial in, and the one with the fastest and best results...obviously it’s home is more the acoustic, real recorded world, but this beast on my drum bus fulfilled with electronic impacts is a milestone in the plugin world. I own all the distressor competitors and with no doubt I will buy this one to have MY distressor finally.
A. Schebstadt
299 USD = 299 EUR is unacceptable discrimination
Money-making-UAD charges EU customers more than US customers. There is no justification (like cost, etc.) for this discrimination of loyal customers who use the UAD platform and products. Back in the days we all paid in USD, than they changed it. Inacceptable.
M. Fletcher
A wonderful compressor
Fabulous sound, great emulation, so glad it has a wet/dry knob would be so much harder to use without it. Can be extremely powerful like a cartoon version of a compressor but also adds very nice glue at lower amounts of mix and 2:1 and 3:1 on the master. Just annoyed it's another mindblowingly good plug I'm having to buy. UAD are hitting homerun after homerun at the moment.
W. Taylor
Distressor vs Distressor
I have 2 hardware distressors. In my study, I find the UAD plug-in to be great, but it is brighter. One of the big things I try to work on in digital recording is smoothing that high end, 'rounding' things out so to speak. My hardware units have more of 'that sound' when I track/mix through them.
W. Taylor
UAD Distressor and Hardware Distressor
I have a pair of hardware distressors. In just initially comparing a vocal through the hardware/UAD, I could not discern any difference. ( I had identical microphones, identical preamps, set hardware comp/UAD comp identically and compared). However, when I did a similar test with a kick drum, recorded the results and listened back n forth, I could hear a difference. To my ears the UAD distressor sounds great but it is a little 'brighter' than my hardware. I guess it's a matter of taste. If you just buy the distressor and have never had the hardware, you're getting a great compressor. If you have a hardware unit and are used to the sound of it, you might hear differences. One thing I'm really glad with the UAD version is all the presets that come from various engineers. It's great to be able to try them out on the UAD but also to be able to try out all those different settings on the hardware as well.
L. Walker
So, Dave, you're saying this is better than your own Arouser v2?
I doubt they differ by much, if at all. But having a distressor plugin available for tracking still makes this compelling, and the reason why I purchased it. I'll do a comparison of all the distressor plugins from UAD, Empirical Labs, Slate, Sknote, but who really cares which one sounds closest to the hardware? How does the plugin sound and is it useful? Again, having one for tracking gives the UAD version another BIG use.
J. MAILLE
Il est enfin arrivé
je suis impressionné par le caractère de ce compresseur légendaire. Son cousin Fatso jr/sr complètera à merveille ce trio de choc.
Je le recommande vivement.
V. van Tiel
Awesome
This one is massive! It sounds amazing. And I love the GUI. It's really easy to dial in the right settings. Love it!
J. Moreland
As good as it gets
This is really the first compressor emulation UA makes who’s sound I’m intimately familiar with - and I must say, you kids friggin’ nailed it. Oh God, this thing sounds beautiful. So, the good news - I’m buying this thing - like, right now. The bad news - well, this is likely the last compressor I’ll buy from UA (or anywhere else), as I’m unlikely to find a better sounding, more flexible comp. And the wet/dry mix feature… well, I’m getting a little misty eyed just thinking about it. Thank you so very much.
f. rotthier
instant great sound on kick & snare
just tried it really quickly on kick and snare and it sounded great! I think I made the right decision not buying the Arouser or Slate FG-Stress. Hope this one goes on sale on Black friday next week!
S. Noti
Incredible
Smooth, warm and has a wet knob. What else can you ask for!
R. Howard
FINALLY MY ISLAND COMPRESSOR ON THE UAD2 PLATFORM
It's the best Distressor emulation on the market sounds like the hardware.. Thanks UA you the best lol , yall got me spending to much money lol
H.B.
IT'S HERE
Distressor has finally arrived, and it's awesome!