The LA-2A Leveling Amplifier is an audio
compressor produced by
Teletronix Engineering Company from 1965 until 1969, and reissued in 2000 by
Universal Audio.
History
The LA-2A was invented by James F. Lawrence II, founder of the Teletronix Engineering Company in
Pasadena, California
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...
in the early 1960s. The LA-2A had evolved from Lawrence's first leveling amplifier, the LA-1, which was favored by
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...
, and its successor, the LA-2, which had been adopted by
CBS and
RCA. In 1965, Lawrence sold Teletronix to Babcock Electronics of Costa Mesa, California, and in 1967
Bill Putnam's company Studio Electronics (eventually renamed
UREI), acquired Babcock's broadcast division, including the Teletronix brand.
Three versions of the LA-2A were made until 1969.
After Universal Audio was re-established in 1999, the company re-issued an updated version of the LA-2A.
The LA-2A was inducted into the
TECnology Hall of Fame in 2004.
Design
The LA-2A is a hand-wired,
tube-based compressor. It uses an
electroluminescent panel together with a cadmium-sulfide
light-dependent resistor (which in the LA-2A's own terminology is called the T4 cell) to provide gain reduction. The properties of the T4 give the LA-2A its unique character by making it an entirely program-dependent design.
The LA-2A has simple controls: a Peak-Reduction knob controls the gain of the side-chain circuit, and therefore, the gain reduction; a Gain Control for make-up gain; and a Limit/Compress switch which alters the compression ratio. The VU meter may also be switched to show the gain reduction or output level.
The average attack time is 10 milliseconds, while the release time is about 60 ms for 50% release and 0.5 to 5 seconds for full release, depending on the previous program material.
[JBL vintage service manuals]
UREI LA-2A service manual.
"''This Instruction Book was reprinted from text composed by the original manufacturer (complete with errors and exaggerations; for example, the specification for attack time should have been in milliseconds rather than microseconds.''" Retrieved on October 11, 2009.
In use
The LA-2A has the ability to preserve the impression of performance dynamics while performing extreme level management—a sonic character that makes it sought after by many recording engineers, particularly for use on vocals and bass guitar.
Recording engineers who cite the LA-2A in their work include
Joe Barresi,
Mike Clink, and
Tony Maserati.
[ The LA-2A was used to record ]Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, she became a cultural phenomenon during the mid 199 ...
's vocals on '' Jagged Little Pill'', Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – ) was an American musician. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge band Nirvana (band), Nirvana. Through his angsty songwriting and anti-establis ...
's vocals on '' Nevermind'', and Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...
's vocals on " Hips Don't Lie". Joe Chiccarelli used an LA-2A to add distortion to Jack White
John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975) is an American musician who achieved international fame as the guitarist and lead singer of the rock duo the White Stripes. As the White Stripes disbanded, he sought success with his solo career, subse ...
's vocals on The White Stripes
The White Stripes were an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals). They were a leading group of 2000s indi ...
' album, '' Icky Thump''.
Software emulations
Universal Audio has offered an officially-branded Teletronix LA-2A software plug-in since 2002, when they included the first version with their UAD-1 PCI DSP card. An updated version was introduced in 2013, when UA released the LA-2A Classic Leveler Collection for their UAD-2 platform, which included three different versions of LA-2A: the late-'60s 'Silver' version, the mid-'60s 'Gray' version, and the early-'60s LA-2.
Bomb Factory Digital released an emulation of the LA-2 as part of their Classic Compressors for Pro Tools plug-in bundle. This plug-in has since been re-branded as the Avid BF-2A.[
]
See also
* UREI
* The 1176 Peak Limiter, another popular vintage compressor descended from the LA-2A
* The Empirical Labs Distressor, a modern compressor inspired partly by the LA-2A
References
{{reflist
Dynamics processing
Effects units