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LALA by Analog Obsession

LALA Is A FREE LA-2A Limiting Amplifier VST By Analog Obsession

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Analog Obsession has released LALA, a freeware emulation of the LA-2A tube compressor in VST, VST3, and AU plugin formats for digital audio workstations on PC and Mac.

LALA is Analog Obsession’s first emulation of the LA-2A Classic Leveling Amplifier. The plugin delivers all the core features of the original hardware unit, along with some extras such as an external sidechain input, a 3-band sidechain filter, and a mix control knob for quick and easy parallel compression.

See also: Best FREE Mastering Software For PC & Mac!

The original LA-2A hardware is based on a tube-driven electro-optical attenuator circuit. It is famous for delivering gentle and warm compression that works magically well on vocals. Analog Obsession’s freeware plugin isn’t a detailed circuit-level emulation of the original, but it is definitely inspired by the real LA-2A compressor.

As is the case with the original LA-2A unit, LALA’s main control parameters are the Gain and Peak Reduction knobs. These two controls are used to set the amount of dynamic range reduction that is applied to the signal. Additionally, the user can engage the sidechain input, which can be shaped using the built-in filter. Finally, the Mix knob will mix the clean and compressed audio signal on the output.

Some users wanted to see the famous optical limiter-compressor from me. And after some hard work, it’s finally ready to release!

LALA is available for free download from Analog Obsession’s recently-launched Patreon page. The software is compatible with VST, VST3, and AU plugin hosts. Keep in mind that only 64-bit digital audio workstations are supported. For more LA-2A style compression, check out the excellent AdHd Leveling Tool plugin by AudioTools.

Analog Obsession moved all of their plugins to Patreon a few months ago. All plugins (including those that weren’t freeware originally) can now be downloaded for free, with optional donations if you want to support the developer.

More info: LALA (4.59 MB download size, ZIP archive, 64-bit VST/VST3/AU plugin format for Windows & macOS)

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About Author

Tomislav is a music producer and sound designer from Belgrade, Serbia. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief at Bedroom Producers Blog.

15 Comments

    • KIM CHRISTOPHER MACHADO NEVES

       on

      Man after I saw a discussion on the KVR website about analog obsession plugins I was a little disappointed, by the “apparent” lack of care in the programming … These are not my lines. What I can say were the tests I did … I confess that I only tested 2. An SSL compressor and the “RARE”. I liked Rare, but the compressor was really bad! So I ended up buying the IK Multimedia T5 Max and stopped testing the Analog Obsession. So I suggest you try it out … Compare it with the demo versions of TRacks and Waves … If you get closer, it’s worth having.

      Reply

  2. Bani

     on

    Tried it, kinda liked it, and than thought… wonder how it compares to the waves one? And the waves was noticeable “better”. I had also added NCAR to my default chain and ended up turning it off every time. Seems like they were right saying this guy doesn’t really put much thought into his plugins. Anyways, I’m sure there is some materials it sounds good on…

    Reply

  3. MRG

     on

    I haven’t tried any of AO’s output yet. After all the shenanigans (see previous episodes for more info) it always left me a bit cold. And now that he cleaned up his act (he did!) he’s dropping 32bit support… What the?! >_<;
    That said, it must be noted he updated his plugins, he kept more promises than your average politician, he's responsive to criticism and ideas judging by the changelogs.
    If you have found better somewhere else, great. If you know why it's better, maybe tell him why, who knows he might agree with you and something will be a bit better in this world.
    As for me, I promise I'll convert to this 64bit religion someday, then I'll finally know what those plugins are about. :D

    Reply

  4. Paco

     on

    Tunca puts a lot of effort into building his plugins and is receptive to his supporters and users. The builds are not exact emulations but do a very good job of providing the characteristics and quality of the hardware from which they are inspired.

    The issue is not so much that he doesn’t put thought into his work but that he’s built numerous plugins and is dividing his efforts across the entire portfolio. It is incredibly hard and basically unfair to judge an indie developer’s work across those from IK Multimedia, Waves, Brainworx, and so forth. Those companies have the staff, capacity, resources, and scale to churn out highly detailed VSTs and can build and update rapidly. That’s not even to say how some larger VST developers and companies fail to optimize their code to maximize performance (looking at you, Audio Acustica).

    Reply

    • KIM CHRISTOPHER

       on

      Yes of course. I don’t think it should be equivalent to the products of big companies … But maybe focus on just a few, work with comparisons to deliver what he is proposing. Sometimes I get the impression that it’s just an equalizer, a normal compressor on an analog equipment GUI.
      If you can’t get close to the sound, it doesn’t make sense to go that way.

      Reply

    • MRG

       on

      I’d be surprised that big companies actually have devs working tirelessly as much as some smaller/indie devs on the DSP part of plugins. They sure have access to people who specialize in one area or another, gfx, drm, installers, in-house framework, etc… That’s a given.
      The only clear advantage they could have regarding plugins that simulate hardware, is access to the original hardware and taking measurements, recordings. AFAIK Tunca is only doing models off the schematics. Simulating old analog hardware is all in the dirt, noisey imperfections.
      If anyone has infos, can supply such measurements or A/B recordings to him, who knows…

      Reply

  6. Bitcoin

     on

    Tunca got much better & also sad to see the kvr lers bashing him like all the time now. think he stopped posting there which is understandable. Some of the new plugins are pretty decent & some just with too many flaws but if you take the time to check some of them out, you will find good ones in there too. And I also agree that some of his moves in the past were pretty lame. since the Patreon & Virus thing it seems gotten much better though. My 2 Bitcoins

    Reply

  7. corrosiveabuser

     on

    Tunca produces some superb plugins, – not every release is a winner, but he definitely puts a fair amount of effort into his creations… It’s true he started off with the wrong approach, but he’s listened, learnt and adjusted his actions accordingly… Personally, I prefer his EQs to his compressors, – that said, I really like his Kolin compressor.

    Thanks Tunca, always appreciated.

    Reply

  8. Adam

     on

    Hard to argue with free! Just started using AO in my sessions lately – YALA is super unique to my ear and immediately useful for upfront vocals with a nice grit and tone for my work. MASBAX has made it into my mix buss chain on multiple tracks now, that 40khz and those mid bands in M/S mode are super useful and great sounding. Can’t say LALA has been very useful to me but I have never really learned how to use LA-2As in general. But for free I mean come on!

    Reply

  9. synthi

     on

    wow, Analog Obsession is UNSTOPPABLE!! Love his efforts and plugs.
    He is almost like the new Herbert/Variety of Sound.

    I’m sure he must have learnt a thing or two from VoS.

    Will compare to Herberts own ThrillseekerLA.

    (I love V.o.S and A.O.

    Still wondering if Herbert will go 64bit. He mentioned that now that flowstone has made it available, he’ll give it a shot.
    But if not, i’ll use J-Bridge & V.O.S plugs forever.)

    Reply

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