Best LA-2A Emulation?

[Eddie TX]

For those interested, here are the identities of the compressors used in the most recent LA2A shootout. There were two sets, the first with acoustic guitar and the second with bass. The order was the same in both, with the dry track first.

1 - Waves CLA-2A
2 - UAD LA2A Silver
3 - NI VC2A
4 - UAD LA2A Gray
5 - Cakewalk PC2A
6 - SKnote Opto 2A
7 - IK White 2A
8 - UAD LA2A Legacy
9 - UAD LA2
10 - Antress Modern Lost Angel

This same shootout was posted in GS, and the standouts among the favorites there were the UAD Legacy and the IK White 2A. Interesting that there weren't quite so many votes for the new UADs -- I suspect they might be better suited for other sources, or they colored the track too much for some. Each of them has a "sound" compared with other emulations, and they obviously don't necessarily supersede the original UAD model (which rocks!).

As for the IK, its good performance didn't surprise me at all -- it's my favorite native emulation. Its GUI is excellent as well.

Also noteworthy were the several votes for the SKnote 2A. I think it generally works nicely, but I hope the next version of StripBus has a better GUI.

Cheers,
Eddie

[momalle3]

I bought the Waves CLA-2A and liked it, but then I demo'd the CakeWalk CA2A and liked it so much more. I can see where I might prefer the Waves version in some instances, but the cakewalk seemed much smoother, with less aggressive highs and far less obvious distortion artifacts. I'm glad to have both, but like the Cakewalk a lot more

[pheeleep]

Old thread (but remains the most recent one regarding this topic). I thought I would add my 2 cents. I have had the IK white 2A and NI VC2A for a few years now and never really used them/compared them. I finally spent some time comparing them yesterday (not on vocals though) and my conclusion so far is that they both do a good job. I still need to test vocals.

The way I see it, the NI VC2A is the "matte" version (flat, without shine) and the IK Multimedia is the "glossy" version (colorful). Overall I prefer the IK White 2A. If I had to pick between the two, that is the one I would keep. But I don't have to pick. That's the beauty of it. I will probably mostly use the IK version when I decide to go for an LA2A emu, but for those times that I want transparency and no added mojo, I will have the VC2A at the ready.

I find myself wishing that the IK White 2A had a mix/dry knob and a Low-cut dial to ignore certain frequencies as is the case with the NI VC2A. On the other hand, the IK version has m/s processing which the VC2A does not.

I plan on doing the same type of comparison using the IK Black 76 and the NI VC76. Curious to see which one I end up preferring

[Caine123]

now it would be interesting how the waves take would ve compared to ni and ik.