Vocal Compression Shootout: CLA Classics Compared

[@GuitarversumSandraSherman]

Great idea, but the autotuned vocals are terrible.

[@davidhodgin8900]

i wonder how they sound without auto tune

[@symondealmeida9454]

the video is for showcasing the compressors not the singer, or the voice processing, just the compression

[@soopgodreal1550]

@@davidhodgin8900they sound like they can probably sing but I’m not a fan of the tamber

[@tomassimon6361]

It's mindblowing they would use this track to show off their compressors

[@charlesbonkley]

The original, non-autotuned singer was normally priced at $249.99. This one, however, was on sale for $29.99.

[@SimonTebbenhamMusic]

Ha, and not even Black Friday!

[@EsaShaheed]

LMAO

[@josevega7498]

Hahahahaha

[@eyesofobsidian]

Hahahaha

[@gernblan99]

Genius.

[@FiragoMusic]

The autotune is outrageous distracting

[@OriginalShantivibes]

Ta daronne sonne pas mieux sous autotune

[@gregdicrosta]

Waves Tune I would hope!! I stopped watching at "Not Lord Alge"

[@innocentmwagilo406]

True man

[@sin-nx1sv]

Shutup

[@gt7unity]

You damn right !

[@breezyoakk]

first off, back off that damn autotune. this is not a trap song

[@rat.jay.music1]

It's a Trap song

[@ChadElliott2012]

LITERALLY about to type this but decided to check the comments first to see if it was just me

[@gabejohnston1556]

@@rat.jay.music1 Billie Eilish does Trap. She doesn't autotune. Try again.

[@rat.jay.music1]

@@gabejohnston1556She is Wtf

[@aarona.dubzperson8245]

These untalented artist NEED AUTO TUNE. Not like the singers of yesteryear

[@markyoungmusic]

Is that Autotune or Waves Tune? Either way, it's horrendous.

[@alexinstoy1984]

@winters twilight It`s Waves Tunes.

[@theleastbannedman]

it sounds like the auto tune is out of key. this is bad

[@PineHillSoundStudio]

Please, demonstrate these nice compressors on natural sounding sources. This may be confusing for some people ...

[@tonyvincentproductions]

or ALL people for that matter.

[@edrugmanmusic]

Totally agree absolutely horrendous vocal to demonstrate this

[@KalleCanto]

@@edrugmanmusic totally agree

[@NIP28]

yea... sounds to robotic.. it has eq saturation everything 🤦‍♂️

[@zachary963]

Um, I liked the effects? I thought they were fun? And I’m a novice at this stuff, I mix my own music for fun, and I heard very clear differences on all of them. Especially going from the 2A to the 3A. Besides, if you’re actually working with artists, I’m that at some point you will have a vocal like this to work with. It’s the name of the game. Imagine getting upset demoing a plugin on distorted electric guitars…

[@michaelyoung7911]

Why auto tune it’s horrendous.

[@Sam1Mr]

CLA-76 Blue and CLA-2A is a perfect combination here....Thanks very much because this is gonna help me a lot not just in the studio but for live gigs that I do as well...I already use CLA-76 Blue followed by Rvox and a C6 on vocals for live sound...Love it.

[@austincelaya1139]

Cool video but too much tuning to really focus on the compression comparisons

[@rockstarjazzcat]

Unlistenable due to prominence of autotuning effect.

[@kris_lx]

Hire someone who can actually sing (without the need for autotune) and do this video again.

[@RandomRelapse]

Preach✊

[@mister_xenomorph]

a m e n

[@elcantantejr1]

Sure man, I can't hear the voice correctly with the autotune

[@Anubis_power]

@@elcantantejr1 how can you not hear the compression when a vocal is autotuned? think you need to learn what compression is and come back to this video. Because believe or not there is such thing and pre & post compression. Both are so important to master when mixing songs. Id say more post compression is common because more use plugins these days and not outboard compressors etc. All im saying is in simple terms, the sound of the voice is nothing at all relevant when talking or learning about compression. Will hate to hear your guys comments if was they were using a violin as a example instead of vocals lol

[@prodbynxne2297]

you do know that every big artist you know uses mild auto tune to polish right

[@danielsntg]

I usually use the bluey followed by the 2A, and have love the warmth I get from the combo.

[@charlesbonkley]

For the first 12 seconds of the video I felt I was watching a Muppet.

[@huntertripps]

`you weirdos obsessing over auto tune, this clearly shows the capability and functions of the compressors and thats the videos intent good video

[@MonstarMk3]

The Volume changes so much it makes it hard to compare. The auto tune makes it impossible to focus on the compressor.

[@AightOAightFriends]

Exactly

[@joshuastratmann4026]

Right? Everybodys complaining just about autotune, but no gainstaging makes it almost impossible to compare...

[@Novalight]

do this again with some listenable vocals and I might come back

[@kendallhoulder5139]

CLA-3A Sounds the Best on her Vocals !!

[@KingMarino]

Same shit I said. That shit was beautiful!!!

[@DonPiruflo]

Yes! it has more presence, more cutting highs. At least for that song I think is better, but other genres might need a warmer tone like the 2A's

[@CyrilViXP]

Wow, Casey has a great built-in autotune in her vocals! Astonishing vocal technique!

[@pedro.sh101]

CLA2A 6:44 CLA3A 6:57 CLA-76 7:09 7:21 - the first cla76 (the black one) sounds louder no? i don't think that the gain was properly compensated, which might lead to some wrong judgment

[@gideonhansen5485]

All I can say is, why?

[@mentorlatifi6221]

CLA are great but why this vocal with auto tune ?I can't be concentrated to the sound .

[@ottomanmuzic5744]

Thanks for back to back comparison. This made me realize I need to buy a hardware la3a

[@gutekzpoligonu]

Chris "Not Lord Alge" and I almost spit on monitor XD

[@Nevermour]

The CLA-76 is definitely a lot warmer than the other two. I personally have the 2A and 76, may be looking to get the 3A soon as well. Cheers!

[@LionOfKingston]

They on sale

[@AmagrasMUSIC]

On heavily vocals the dbx160 is king, there's something about VCAs that simply fits like a glove on the artifacts created by the fast pitch correction 🧤

[@niceguyeddie]

Too much auto tune!

[@tumi6ocdn]

....so we're all in agreement that the autotune made this barely listenable? I fought through and suprisingly found the 76 (Bluey) to be the best, but I generally use the 76 (Blackey) followed by the 2A on my vocals

[@demarlowoods6833]

Do you do fastest attack fastest release on the 76 also?

[@tumi6ocdn]

@@demarlowoods6833 lol yup, I start there and then dial back as per the requirement of the vocal/song 💯

[@demarlowoods6833]

@@tumi6ocdn thanks for the snappy response and do you automate vocals before compression?

[@tumi6ocdn]

@@demarlowoods6833 no problem man, glad to share. Honestly I’m more likely to layer compression than automate before my vocal chain. Obviously this isn’t a rule, it’s just my tendency. The closest I get to automating pre-chain is adjusting the gain on some of the clips after comping and cleanup (like breath management, manual de-essing etc). Because I’m not riding faders, I tend to automate after my chain because it’s really just to accentuate moments for me

[@tumi6ocdn]

@@demarlowoods6833 also, don’t sleep on some light upward compression when you have a very dynamic vocal

[@jayfromdaa_apk]

FINALLY a video that compares the few. Have been scouring the internet nd found very little information.

[@nosajisnow]

As people said in the comments already, the autotune is very distracting, I think this video would have been better with natural vocals, but still good video idea to help us all out

[@jamodrama]

A singer who cant sing in tune without any technical device (autotune) should never be allowed into a studio

[@lnxguit]

Nice comparison video. I really liked the CLA-3A. I understand that the autotune effect exaggerates the transients, but I was able to hear the attack character of the compressor clearly, which I found useful.

[@KingMarino]

I liked the CLA-3A. Which is ironic because I had almost only been using the CLA-2A. I wasn't judging the singer and just listening. The 3A sounds like a still fat sound but close to a clean digital sound as well. Thanks. Btw, I'll be comparing these to UAD LA-2A tomorrow. Can't wait!!!

[@mzonemusicful]

Why is everyone bashing the use of auto tune??? If that’s the sound she’s going for who cares. Great Video Geeeesh

[@SykebrickZ]

Thankful the world still got people like you!!!!! Big up

[@sartoriusrock]

The problem is the way/degree to which it's used here. Lots of audible artifacts (listen for the "gargling" sound on the long notes, especially "spell")

[@artysanmobile]

Keep Pressing Productions I definitely care! We come to make a sonic judgement of a Waves product and have to do it listening to crap. It’s too ironic.

[@WNxExectechWarriorNation]

It's because when comparing vintage compressors most are wanting a vintage sound to compare it against. A Cher style auto-tune effect is right at the era where that vintage sounds begins to disappear and the modern EDM pop sound begins. It also does a disservice to what sounds like a very beautiful voice underneath all that processing.

[@SimonTebbenhamMusic]

Because you test conpressors on a voice because it's the one instrument we can all recognise and identify with, expertly. When you introduce wild artefacts to make it robotic and unidentifiable, that defeats the purpose. The video would have got just as much stick had they have used a synthesized space nose flute. Which they may as well had done.

[@tdulpeeplesshawdy2101]

Finally after a year, the video of all videos!!!

[@ILOVEDRAGO]

CLA compressors have built-in Waves Real-Tune now!

[@sabothawk]

I love shoot outs! My favorite compressor out of these four on the vocal? The 76 black face worked best as the "one and done" solution in this case: FET's can really contain volume swells and the black face brought the transients to the front, which helps pop vocals since they compete for attention among other percussive elements. The FET also offered release time control, which helps in this case since it sounded like there was a reverb effect already on the vocal (?) -- heavy compression with an opto like the 2A is likely best attempted on a dry source to avoid pumping the reverb tail

[@makethemix]

I liked the comparison. I'm not sure why so many people are upset by the use of Autotune in these vocals. It's a stylistic preference that is extremely common in today's music. I can still tell the differences in the compressors perfectly fine in this video. Thanks for the video. I have all three compressors and have never tried the 3A on vocals so I'll give it a shot.

[@frankhoward4485]

Professional singers should NOT need "autotune". It should be used as an effect in specific genres ... NOT as an intonation aid. I suggest you start with vocal training before you use compression. No diss on the girl. She seems nice.

[@wildhorse4262]

When 100% of commenters agree that you f*cked up.....

[@ChadElliott2012]

Yeah, I'll say it as well. Turn that auto tune off, or back off the correction. Casey they've made you sound like a robot. I wish I could hear the differences in this without it.

[@artysanmobile]

Chad Elliott It’s fairly obvious, even with all that tune crap, that she can’t sing. Terrible voice.

[@ChadElliott2012]

@@artysanmobile Well - you don't /know/ that. You can apply terrible autotune to a GOOD vocalist and have it sound bad. The plugin is just a computer doing what a human told it. Lots of areas of failure here.

[@siriusfun]

How about we first hear the vocal with no auto-tune?

[@brandonawesome1994]

Thank you for the informative video! It helps making a decision of what to buy a lot easier!

[@official_ret3k492]

Did you double the Compressors on the vocal bus, or did you just use a single compressor?

[@Renaxelo]

hello, did you combine 2a - 3a - 76 in the end of the video ?

[@soundandstuff_leo]

Why 2A is so popular if 3A sounds a lot more more transparently?

[@KingMarino]

Right!!!

[@izvarzone]

Because they don't want transparent sound?

[@soundandstuff_leo]

ne_skaju maybe

[@Vambibuda]

Waves, I love you with all my heart ❤️

[@JakeAdams27]

The Chris "Not Lord Alge" Lawson got me to pause and like right off the bat lol.

[@trabye]

great info! poor example. it’s like showing a masterpiece painting on a lo-res screen. doesn’t do the compressors justice. please make better decisions next time. best regards from a long-time (and paying) waves user.

[@AnwaarAliOfficial]

What type of mic and preamp is used to record these vocals?❤🙏

[@holland151]

The CLA-76 Bluey (or Kramer Pie) is always my favorite. I use them on Country vocals that get wild and it tames them quickly without adding unwanted distortion. Amazing plugins!

[@dalemartin4361]

I rarely watch videos from email mailing lists but the subject of this intrigued me. Unfortunately, I couldn't get past the overdone autotune and poor eq during the intro section so looks like I'm back to avoiding mailing list vids.

[@sin_phany_tv]

Hello, I’m a visually impaired music producer and I’m just wondering if I’m correct since you don’t go specifics in detail, with the 76 what is the peak reduction that is marking on the meter, and on the LA 2A it would be amazing if you could tell me that And exactly where the knobs in the input and output of the 76 thanks

[@waves]

Hi there, our tech support department is open 7 days a week and will be more than glad to assist. Please contact us directly: www.waves.com/contact-us

[@2slick4u66]

in which decade are you guys living? autotune is the most popular and used standard voice modeling option by now. and the mid-range of her voice, which is slightly boosted by autotune, makes it easier to hear the differences. good job waves.

[@AshRavens]

Oh my god. waves, come on! Read the comments and do this over!

[@kastrouorpe9847]

As mastering engineer I don't want to argue too much ,but if you want to tell people what is different, just show them the natural vocal without added any thing otherwise this is audio advertising.

[@sebastianlindon8992]

It's hard to tell what the compressors do when the voice is already autotuned so heavily, and it even sounds like there was some noise removal done too (idk if that was done or not, but it sounds like it)

[@smpiggystudio]

I always use cla-76 behind schoeps omni channel, to replace schoeps's compressor.

[@TriggaDesigns]

Idk why everyone is complaining about how "the autotune is so bad", "she's such a bad singer, you should've gotten a better singer for this"....you guys do understand that they're likely using the autotune for that specific effect, right? People will get that more "robotic" sound to fit specific tracks - depending on the genre that they're making. From the sound of the little snippets here, it sounds like a pop or electronic song. You can still hear what the compression is doing with no issue even with the autotune. I personally think it sounds just fine - the vocals and the compressors.

[@gabet3754]

Can we hear it without music and auto-tune?

[@rickymolina7390]

I agree. Let's get rid of auto-tune once and for all. It just destroys her vocals and doesn't help the CLA compressor presentation at all.

[@saucebeatz8977]

Ofcourse you’re one of the best teacher here. God bless you 🙏

[@MultiProximus]

Autotine on and the reverberation on . You just colorize the vocal !

[@LeGaLdeadparliament]

CLA-2A is my favorite among these for a female vox. this one is very smooth, so it saves the natural dynamics of the voice, as per my personal perception. if I have the raspy and various male voice in the mix (e. g. the rock/metal singing or an aggressive rap), I'd use the CLA-3A or CLA-76 blackey variation with 4.1 ratio and fast attack/release to accent the aggression, yet keeping it in place, so everything sounds "altogether". you could also include the comparison of these compressors with a vocal group bus, as far, as this field is also perfect for them (I like the way CLA-2A smoothly "gathers" the instruments on the bus) and the test feels incomplete without it. so is my humble opinion over these amazing tools. greetings from Ukraine and wishing you to be sound always. :)

[@PendelSteven]

For anyone complaining about autotune: an unaffected signal is an unfaccted signal. I don't care if they had this or any other longstreched midrangy sound. Like a leadsynthsound.

[@H3XOR]

AUTOTUNE 4 LIFE !!!! Nice video. I use the 1176 from Waves

[@Treezymcee]

Thank u for this video, how to use SSL Channel to Sharpe the vocals?

[@weststarr2046]

AWESOME VID...putting againts all the best compressors i like LA-2A but this time i will pick the CLA-3A... BANGER!!!

[@nunu9849]

What pre amp was used for tracking her vocal?

[@laz288]

Could not even get through the first compressor review. She must have paid you to sponsor her with Autotune otherwise you could have used a stock already recorded dry vocal track.

[@fleshtonegolem]

Well... This was an unlistenable let down...

[@janosgrausza8790]

On this vocal the CLA-76 Blue is the best.

[@JayGoreGuitar]

How are we supposed to hear the compressors with the outlandish amount of Auto Tune on her voice, adding it’s own compression. Maybe demo these great products with a singer who doesn’t require it?

[@miguellombana9847]

For reference, what MIC is she using, hard to tell from the quick glimpse

[@JulianWorden]

Looks like one of those Blue condensors

[@miguellombana9847]

@@JulianWorden It's honestly hard to tell from the video, I was thinking Baby Bottle or Bottle Rocket because it's a little darker than the basic Bluebird but would be nice to know if it's a 200 or 1000 dollar mic as that might impact dynamics a little

[@RBGMusicEnt]

Cla76 sound pretty good

[@nogoogleplus]

Nah....Let's first hear the vocal with no autotune...

[@danyagha5654]

Can it be used for live singing?

[@oscarchan8295]

what autotune did u use? It sounds so heavy.

[@Bloemanstudio]

1176 ratio 4 first, 2A after light comp

[@Loransrap]

Thx 👏👏👏💙🎶🎧

[@Passkin]

Isn't 7ms "slow" for a compression? What? I'm super confused right now.

[@mrkewlgai1]

The Attack and Release Settings on the 76 compressor are reversed.

[@rabinrai5203]

CLA vocals has compressor, so is CLA 2A still necessary to add?

[@andyleigh2784]

Necessary is a strong word, it depends on what you're looking for really, I sometimes like using the comp in plugins like CLA Vocals and such if I'm looking for something quick but if I need something more specific and have more options to tweak the behavior of the compressor I would go for something else probably. Also, sometimes one compressor isn't enough and you're looking for something to just add a little bit more compression or add a specific color, in which case it might come in handy. Demo it and run a few tests, that way you can decide for yourself :)

[@RogerioValgode]

Great compressors, just love them all!

[@sphumelelegcwabaza975]

Great Video thanks guys

[@AnwaarAliOfficial]

Very nice

[@DamienSebe]

The autotune was unbearable

[@LKit63]

You guys didnt pick this girl for her voice thats for sure

[@GavinSteiner]

"Lets first hear the vocal without AUTOTUNE".

[@tonyvincentproductions]

Let's just employ a gifted vocalist!

[@omgMBP]

Literally didn’t make it 30 seconds... do better waves.

[@ut1004bp]

I found the CLA-2A bumps my CPU using Ableton10 from 2% to around 20%! Highest usage plugin I have.

[@raghuttamdasmusic]

Which song ?

[@destiny_religion]

Which is the best compressor?

[@Romello_Purba]

diference level or gain maybe...but i like cla2a more natural

[@Kracsta1]

Ya'll are sick in the head 4real...she Clearly can sing..Excellent..At the end of the day..we mix and manipulate sounds..For entertainment..and the Autotunes on this song makes it more Entertaining...If you can't embrace everything in the mixing world..thennn..don't mix or touch anyones song...Especial hers or minez...lol..Everyone isn't cut out for this career..because your opinion doesn't matter..the artist do..Do the work or find something else to do..

[@이디허니]

3A really made it front face

[@jamahlrawls3520]

Yeah, I thought the same

[@Saiyanin95]

I buy waves studio but a cant open this program RLL gooood

[@waves]

Hi there, our tech support department is open 7 days a week and will be more than glad to assist. Please contact us directly: www.waves.com/contact-us

[@soun.slayer]

I been using the attack n release wrong af good thing it aint been but two tracks lol

[@hybridmcgee]

So she has autotune and rotary built in to her vocal chords?

[@lujithegenie1]

Here's what I've never understood with the so-called pro producers. They spend thousands of dollars on a classic mic only to cut out the bottom and mid-range frequencies on a vocal recording. The vocals end up sounding like the singer was recorded on a $30 mic with no preamp, at the bottom of a tunnel with auto-tune doing all the work. Blue Bottle Studio Condenser Microphone price starts at $3,999 if I'm not mistaken. I don't hear the remaining $3998. Just an observation. I'm out.

[@Anubis_power]

All the people who commented about the voice or autotune and how its bad. Audio engineering is not for you sadly. You will find from recording artists, to mixing and mastering their songs.. you will not like the tone of their voice. Nor the etfects or plugins they want because they are a paid customer. If you cant get pass this, its not for you. If wanna try watching the video again, you will get the good points on compressing vocals and how these plugins work compared to standard rtas plugins etc. Or go buy multiple plugins and do the same thing urself with some vocals and stop being so negative

[@artysanmobile]

Flame Boy I suspect, Fame Boy, that you have been doing this for, what, a year or two?

[@Anubis_power]

@@artysanmobile umm tbh bro, prob close to 15 years. But i more purely do mastering now, but i still get raw stem files for mastering sessions with just autotune on them.. not very often tho. Well wet and dry versions of the mix in case they are needed. Then apply the compressor etc. But my personal opinion when recording vocals with auto tune recording is doing pre compression, because how the singers voice alternates once compression is applied, where if she has a accurate sound of her voice why recording on the fly, can make a huge difference in dynamics etc. But as im sure you already know, this is more advance stage of compression and this is for beginners 😪

[@kingyertle100]

it was hard to hear the potential harmonic distortion over the auto-tune. yeesh. i love the video concept, but rough execution.

[@dulmin_]

Thanks for the informative video!! (Hate the artificial tuning applied to vocal, but glad bec at least I saw the compressors).