Post by saltyjames on Nov 14, 2019 7:45:54 GMT -6
Observations on comparing an original ELOP to the LA2A reissue:
In light compression:
ELOP grabs highs (10-12khz) a lil more than the LA2A
ELOP adds a little low mid heft to the signal.
LA2A is very natural sounding with the highs in place.
LA2A adds a mid range sweetness and has a lean honest bass sound.
Medium compression (reduction at 12:00 both units)
ELOP sounds more grabby. Highs go away first. Sound gets smaller, not just quieter as the compressor eats both highs and lows more.
LA2A starts that sweet sugary thick sound (mid distortion?). The lows get leaner and the highs don't disappear like the ELOP but are tied to the mids sugary sounds. Imo this is approaching the great LA2A sound everyone loves. Which is...
Compression up 70-80%
ELOP here has only 1 compression characteristic left and this imo is glue. I often like this super drastic gluey sound on complex instruments like piano. It just glues the entire field of sound together. The cost though is the loss of tons of high and low end.
LA2A on the other hand reacts very differently under such heavy compression. There is high freq. loss although much much less than the ELOP under the same heavy hitting as well as a similar though lighter loss in bass.
It is under this much compression where, to me, the LA2A really shines. Breathy, yet natural still. Ok, not natural, but compare to the ELOP it's natural sounding. The sugary mids have less sweet grain texture and now sound more warm. Not pillowy warm, but iron transformer warm. As you dial into this heavier compression you hear the unit biting down on the volume and you can actually hear as the highs are swallowed up. It is this effect that I listen for and use as a guide to just how far I want to go with the LA2A's gain reduction knob. This is soft breathy vocals, medium delivery vocal leveling and intimate whisper vocal heaven. Yelling into an LA2A with the gain reduction between 12:00 and 3-4:00 is a sound everyone has heard.
Overall the LA2A has a sweet sugar texture whereas the ELOP is drier sounding with a more velvet texture. You can really hit an LA2A and still have normal sounding material, not an ELOP. It will stomp he sound into a box.
This squashy, boxy sound the ELOP does cannot be imitated by the LA2A. The LA2A stays more honest (although tubey as hell) sounding as it just quiets down the signal more.
The ELOP, in heavy compression like this, reminds me of the Fairchild over-compression on Beatles tracks. It is THE reason I keep my ELOP parked on my upright piano and Rhodes.
In light compression:
ELOP grabs highs (10-12khz) a lil more than the LA2A
ELOP adds a little low mid heft to the signal.
LA2A is very natural sounding with the highs in place.
LA2A adds a mid range sweetness and has a lean honest bass sound.
Medium compression (reduction at 12:00 both units)
ELOP sounds more grabby. Highs go away first. Sound gets smaller, not just quieter as the compressor eats both highs and lows more.
LA2A starts that sweet sugary thick sound (mid distortion?). The lows get leaner and the highs don't disappear like the ELOP but are tied to the mids sugary sounds. Imo this is approaching the great LA2A sound everyone loves. Which is...
Compression up 70-80%
ELOP here has only 1 compression characteristic left and this imo is glue. I often like this super drastic gluey sound on complex instruments like piano. It just glues the entire field of sound together. The cost though is the loss of tons of high and low end.
LA2A on the other hand reacts very differently under such heavy compression. There is high freq. loss although much much less than the ELOP under the same heavy hitting as well as a similar though lighter loss in bass.
It is under this much compression where, to me, the LA2A really shines. Breathy, yet natural still. Ok, not natural, but compare to the ELOP it's natural sounding. The sugary mids have less sweet grain texture and now sound more warm. Not pillowy warm, but iron transformer warm. As you dial into this heavier compression you hear the unit biting down on the volume and you can actually hear as the highs are swallowed up. It is this effect that I listen for and use as a guide to just how far I want to go with the LA2A's gain reduction knob. This is soft breathy vocals, medium delivery vocal leveling and intimate whisper vocal heaven. Yelling into an LA2A with the gain reduction between 12:00 and 3-4:00 is a sound everyone has heard.
Overall the LA2A has a sweet sugar texture whereas the ELOP is drier sounding with a more velvet texture. You can really hit an LA2A and still have normal sounding material, not an ELOP. It will stomp he sound into a box.
This squashy, boxy sound the ELOP does cannot be imitated by the LA2A. The LA2A stays more honest (although tubey as hell) sounding as it just quiets down the signal more.
The ELOP, in heavy compression like this, reminds me of the Fairchild over-compression on Beatles tracks. It is THE reason I keep my ELOP parked on my upright piano and Rhodes.
I think the biggest similarity between these units is that they both only have 2 knob controls. Haha
I've been using both these units for over a decade now and am kinda proud of actually being able to put all this into words.
I originally posted this on that purple site, but that place makes my ass want to chew tobacco. So I'm sharing this here.