Waves CLA Classic Compressors (Mac/Win) Review

Jan 1, 2010 12:00 PM, By Michael Cooper

           
 

PLUG-IN BUNDLE EMULATES THREE VINTAGE FAVORITES

FIG. 1: Although their GUIs have different skins and are organized differently, the controls and metering options for Waves CLA-2A (shown here) and CLA-3A are exactly the same.

With the release of CLA Classic Compressors, Waves has expanded its line of plug-ins that model vintage hardware processors. The cross-platform bundle includes models of Grammy Award-winning mix engineer Chris Lord-Alge's personal handpicked Teletronix LA-2A, UREI LA-3A and UREI 1176 compressors. Lord-Alge has mixed pop and rock icons Green Day, Daughtry, U2, Dave Matthews Band and Avril Lavigne, to name just a few.

Bonus Material

Plug-In Pedigrees

Unlike the original analog units (which were mono), all three plug-ins in the CLA bundle come in mono and stereo versions. Waves offers both TDM (Mac and PC) and native bundles. The native bundle supports RTAS, AudioSuite and VST formats for Mac and Windows, and AU for Mac. I used the AU versions of all three plug-ins in MOTU Digital Performer 6.02, using an eight-core 2.8GHz Mac Pro running Mac OS X 10.5.4.

That's So Classic

CLA-2A models the Teletronix LA-2A leveling amplifier, an electro-optical tube compressor originally produced in the early 1960s (see Fig. 1). The plug-in's twin sibling, the CLA-3A, models the UREI LA-3A audio leveler, a solid-state opto compressor originally produced in 1969. (The LA-3A is essentially a solid-state version of the LA-2A. For more background on the hardware processors that CLA Classic Compressors are modeled on, see the sidebar opposite, “Plug-in Pedigrees.”) Although the GUIs for CLA-2A and CLA-3A have different skins and layouts, the controls and metering options are exactly the same.

True to their hardware counterparts, CLA-2A's and CLA-3A's compression curves are program-dependent — their GUIs provide no attack and release controls. Turning up the Peak Reduction control increases compression depth, for a maximum 40 dB of gain reduction. The Gain control provides makeup gain. A virtual switch toggles between compression and limiting modes (which, like with the LA-2A and LA-3A, sound very similar unless you hit the plug-in hard). You can switch the virtual VU meter for each plug-in to show the gain-reduction amount or the input or output level.

Another rotary control mimics a pot for a pre-emphasis circuit — originally designed for broadcast purposes — that was located on the original hardware processors' rear panels. Turning down this control makes the plug-in increasingly more sensitive to higher frequencies. That might be useful for de-essing a vocal, for example, but you'll want to use the flat setting for most music applications. The two plug-ins also have a virtual three-way switch that selects between models of 50Hz and 60Hz hum and noise or defeats these analog artifacts.

Black and Blue

CLA-76 (see Fig. 2) has two modes, Bluey and Blacky, that respectively emulate the Silverface Bluestripe and Blackface versions of the vintage FET compressor the UREI 1176 peak limiter. When you switch between the two modes, the entire control layout remains the same and all your previously wrought control settings are retained. Only the plug-in's skin (and, of course, its sonic performance) changes.

Four buttons let you select among 4:1, 8:1, 12:1 and 20:1 ratios. An additional All setting duplicates the aggressive compression curve and added distortion produced on a vintage 1176 by pushing all four ratio buttons in simultaneously. The input control drives the compression depth. Controls for adjusting the output level and the attack and release times are also provided. CLA-76 offers the same VU-style metering, metering source points (input, output or gain-reduction levels) and modeling of analog artifacts (50Hz, 60Hz or off) as CLA-2A and CLA-3A. Additionally, you can completely defeat compression to use CLA-76 simply as a subtle tone-shaping plug-in (emulating only the 1176's preamp section).

All of the CLA Classic Compressor plug-ins have the WaveSystem toolbar familiar to Waves users. The toolbar offers facilities for toggling between two setups for comparison purposes, saving and loading user presets in Waves' file formats, initiating as many as 32 levels of undo and redo, and opening the current plug-in's operating manual.