The Native instruments VC2A is probably my favourite version in a plugin. I used a hardware one constantly in 1990's when I was a studio recording engineer. Included when buying the CLA-2A are presets made by Grammy-winning mix engineer Chris-Lord-Alge, a side-chain frequency filter, and a limiter mode. But it has also proven itself as a competent vocal compressor as well. I use this style of compressor as a leveller. It seems that most producers use the CLA-2A for leveling purposes, particularly for bass sounds. for Studio one /// Individual presets for the waves plugins.
Great for bass, guitars, keys, and vocals (in conjunction with another compressor like an 1176 if you need to deal with a vocalist's transients). Recording template for Modern Trap Vocals. It leaves transients alone and averages out the signal over time. The CLA-2A accurately reproduces the smooth, frequency dependent behaviors that the tube compressor also had, which make it a popular choice for mixing vocals, guitar, and bass. As far as I know, this is the only compression plugin by Waves that has this quality to it. You can also reverse the order of the two, using the LA-2A in Limit mode. The CLA-2A is a compressor that was modeled on a legendary tube compressor. But the 1176 knocked the big peaks down, which would have thrown the LA-2A into quite a bit of compression. The shootout consists of two parts the first. The LA-2A should be set up just like you would if it were being used alone, with the Compress/Limit switch set to Compress, and Gain Reduction and Gain set to taste. Gain would make the panel inside brighter optically and then you adjust the peak to control the amount of compression (how much of the light the photo cell responds to). Hey all, I have created another comprehensive shootout comparing the sound of the UAD LA-2A and the CLA-2A. You control it by using the input gain and peak together.
It worked using a luminescent panel as an input and photocells 'seeing' and adapting the compression ration and release, if the photo cell sees light it continues to work. If it was modelled properly then the attack/release and the ratio are dependent on the source signal but generally the original Teletronix was a 10ms attack time, a 4:1 ratio and the release was around 60ms on quick signals with a further hold from 1s - 15s depending on the signal.