LA2A Compressor: Hardware vs UAD vs Slate Digital

[@alihanapiyahofficial24]

Hardware 03:43 UA 04:58 Slate 06:12

[@JamesClark1991]

My guy

[@lupit1]

life saver. this guy sucks at comparisons.

[@jemarmitchell5555]

❤ awesome

[@pb25193]

The take is amazing

[@johnisrael5183]

I think Slate Sounds the Best, its got the best Tone......Slate Helps the Vocals Sit in the Mix Better Slates Amazing on Vocals...VMR....hands down best Vocal Plugin out there

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Cool thanks for watching. I agree the slate plugins are absolutely stellar on the whole and the LA2A is no exception!

[@BrianSladek]

Thanks for the shootout, UAD handled the dynamics best, but I did like the tone of the slate, but seems more closed in on dynamics. I was considering hardware, but honestly UAD is fine. I do have a gainlabs empress eq that gives me the tube warmth I can run after the plugin. Lot of creative options these days

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

I agree. The UAD version is stellar and if anything slightly warmer and thicker than my specific hardware - probably due to those original transformers if they modelled an old vintage unit. But they nailed the compression action perfectly. I do love my hardware unit particularly for tracking. But you’re right there’s absolutely no need to go and fork out thousands when these 2 plugins sound this good - especially the UAD.

[@pb25193]

They are giving away uad for free

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

@@pb25193 yeah until the end of October! That’s a no brainer!!

[@jurapuclin]

Beautiful voice❤

[@tekshino]

Am i the only one who seems to hear that the hardware is more hifi and 3d sounding than those plugins?

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

I’m obviously biased as I own the hardware so probably not the best to answer your question. But I have to admit I was astounded by how good the UAD version was. The slate one is very good too and I’ve used it a lot but the UAD is what I tend to reach for now (after the hardware).

[@minkfranchise6389]

No you're not. I'm wondering what everyone else is listening to.

[@italrecordsportal]

Nope, hardware wins

[@3d8d]

Slate digital is Little airy means it has more high frequencies.

[@mjamiep12]

I have the Slate subscription and I don't think I'd ever need to move from that at all. They are all so close, you'd have to have magical golden ears to listen to a song mixed and mastered by any of these companies and pinpoint it. The general audience won't have a clue, or care.

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Totally agree - especially amongst these three LA2As. There are differences for sure and in isolation you can hear them but no one will ever hear it in isolation!

[@matt_nyc_audioengineer]

Hey Adam, did you record this? I'm only asking because it's obviously recorded with compression as well. So I'm curious what was used during tracking. Makes it much easier to really tell when these units are doing! 🙂

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

@@matt_nyc_audioengineer hey dude. Yes I did. If my memory serves me correctly it was tracked through a CL1B. Low ratio, medium attack/release, around 3-4dB gain reduction at most. Fairly subtle and transparent!

[@matt_nyc_audioengineer]

@@adamfiascoVEVO 🙏🏻

[@Notinserviceij]

So this makes me wonder did slate digital add high end frequencies to the coding? So its the beighter the better? You say indistinguishable but there was a difference and also turn the flipping reverb off ao we can hear the compressors properly

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

@@Notinserviceij I think it’s entirely possible that the unit Slate modelled their plugin after was brighter than the UAD or indeed my hardware. Even down to the tubes that are in the unit can have an impact on the sound.

[@hahdanghongha7810]

The Hardware is like the Slate with some Salt and grain, in a nice way, and it s smoother The UAV makes the voice sounds effortless. However, some part it feels like the nose is closed and the image of the singer is shorter

[@alihanapiyahofficial24]

all so close..but Hardware more have Body and roomy

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Thanks for watching man. I agree it’s super close!

[@andrescremin3823]

Whats the vocal chain, man? It sounds amazing!

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Hey man thanks a lot. So the mic was a Warm Audio 251 with NOS replacement GE tube into Neve 1073 preamp then into the LA2A

[@ST-fl5fy]

UAD more depth. Slate more mono sounding but still good tone. HW the best. No one would know or focus on this. All are great

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Yeah - all are great options and pretty hard to tell apart in blind test! Interesting comparison though

[@ridelmakane1854]

Slate digital all day

[@ridelmakane1854]

Uad sound good but slate and the hardware sound the same

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

I agree - I was astounding how similar the slate FG2A sounded to my hardware.

[@italrecordsportal]

Warm yet Hifi…hardware wins

[@mdp1991]

The hardware sound better, the slate sounds a little quiet

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Interesting. I thought the hardware and Slate plugin were insanely close - I definitely couldn’t distinguish them. UAD perhaps a little more weight and saturation in the lower mids making it a tad warmer sounding. Either way all are great options IMO

[@minkfranchise6389]

The Hardware has the most weight in the lower mids and the most depth. The Slate is closer to the hardware (shown here). I'm surprised at how cold the UAD sounds compared to the Hardware version and the Slate Plugin here.

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Thanks for commenting. I think the UAD compression action is excellent and super close to the hardware. But in terms of tone the hardware seems closest to Slate to my ears as well!

[@minkfranchise6389]

@@adamfiascoVEVO Yes... I agree, and I doubt UAD would slack on the main function of an emulation. What I'm referencing are the color girth added by the harmonic response of the hardware. I don't hear that in the UAD version it's there in the Slate.

[@lolilollolilol7773]

Completely free LA-2A freebies: Analog Obsession LALA ADHD Leveling Tool ThrillseekerLA TLS 1295 LEA Sonic Anomaly SLAX BPB Dirty LA GVST Gcomp2 Haven't tried them all. I like the first 3 in the list best, and can easily replace the UAD plugin, without the iLok crap and the UADConnect crap.

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Cool. Haven’t tried any of these but this is useful for people to know. Although I have to say I’ve never had any issues with iLok or UADConnect - always run smoothly.

[@JSSTUDIO-wr2jq]

🙂👍

[@eklipseRomania]

Slate sounds the best, the hardware version is the crappiest.