Insider’s Secrets
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“I always use the LA-610 for vocals,” Fred Maher says.
“I almost always use the compressor to varying
degrees, depending on what I want. I don't have a
vocal booth [in my studio],” he adds, “so... I'll use a
little low roll-off at 70 just to get the room out, which
is very handy when you are literally in a room.”
The LA-2A, of course, is also primarily known as a vocal compressor, with a well-deserved reputation
for reining in the most untamable, dynamically fluctuating performances you can throw its way, and
improving the tone to boot. In his evaluation of the LA-2A (written for
Pro Audio Review
in their
August, 2002 issue), Ted Spencer writes, “Where it works best on vocals is when a certain blending
or warming of the sound is desired... This is especially true for particular voices (often female) that
are a bit “edgy” or harsh. The LA- 2A is like honey in your tea in these cases —smoothing, softening
and, yes, warming the sound. The nice thing is that it accomplishes this coloring effect without
sounding like anything heavy-handed has been “done” to the sound; it effortlessly does its magic
without taking away any of the apparent fidelity. On the contrary, the euphonic coloration adds a sort
of depth and dimension that can actually make voices sound
more
hi-fi.”
Similarly, Nick Batzdorf of
Recording
magazine reported in his October, 2001 review that he
successfully used the LA-2A on a male singer who had “a nice but small and dynamically uneven
voice. Even when it was providing as much as 10 dB of gain reduction (that’s a lot), all [the LA-2A]
did was smooth him out and make his voice thicker.”
Versatility
Of course, no preamp or compressor, no matter how well designed, is perfect for all applications or
for all microphones. Fortunately, the LA-610 is designed to work with a wide variety of microphones
and signal sources, and we think you’ll find that it acts as the perfect sonic complement for most of
them.
Reviewer Myles Boisen observed in his February 2002 review of the 2-610 for
Electronic Musician
magazine that “the unit can work magic on amplified instruments, electronic keyboards, strings,
horns, and percussion (including wood and metal percussion, alto and tenor saxophones, and trumpet)
and in ambient-miking applications. I also highly recommend it for use with ribbon and other low-
impedance microphones.” Nick Batzdorf, in evaluating the LA-2A, concurred, saying, “it sounds just
as good on acoustic guitar, pizz cello, alto recorder, and spoken voice.” The LA-610 works equally
well on cello, especially if you’re using it pizzicato or for tracking plucked parts. In fact, you’ll get
excellent results using the LA-610 on all variety of stringed instruments (even the notoriously
difficult-to-record violin and viola), whether they’re being played jazz-style or country-style.
The LA-610 is also great for kick drum. Often, a kick drum does not need a lot of compression, but a
compressor can nonetheless tame the big peaks, and add some character and tone to boot. The
LA-610 compressor has just the right attack time to let the beater hit come through, then the program-
dependent nature of the release time gracefully pulls the volume back as the low-end thump occurs.
Depending on the quality of the kick drum and the mic being used (as well as its placement), you may
not need any EQ at all, but it’s still well worth trying some high-frequency boost (usually 4.5k) and
boosting or cutting of the low frequencies. After finding the desired frequencies with extreme cut and
boost values, back them off to low or moderate settings for the most natural-sounding results.
“
I always use the LA-610 for
vocals.” — Fred Maher
