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Empirical Labs Distressor

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Audio compressor

EL8 Distressor
See 'Design' sectionTwo EL8-X Distressors
ManufacturerEmpirical Labs
Dates1995—present
Technical specifications
Effects type
HardwareAnalog
BypassYes
FilterHigh-pass
Controls
Input/output
Inputs1
Outputs1

The Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor Compressor/Limiter is an audio compression unit designed by Dave Derr and first sold in 1995. The name is a portmanteau of distortion and compressor.

The Distressor was inducted into the TECnology Hall of Fame in 2016 and has sold an estimated 40,000 units. Universal Audio, Slate Digital, and Softube all make software emulations of the Distressor.

Design

The Distressor is an analog VCA compressor with a soft knee and a fixed threshold. Its ratio, attack and release times, and input and output gain are all variable. The device has built-in options for tube and tape distortion emulation and high-pass filtering, as well as a built-in side-chain allowing for the compressed signal (but not the output) to be high-passed, boosted at 6 kilohertz and/or linked to another unit to operate in stereo. When set to a 10:1 ratio, it runs the signal through a separate circuit designed to emulate an optical compressor that uses photoresistors. The EL8-X model comes with additional switches for "Image Link", which causes a linked stereo pair of Distressors to have identical gain reduction, and "British Mode", which emulates a specific setting on the 1176 Peak Limiter.

History

Dave Derr

Dave Derr grew up in a "family of engineers" and studied music in college. He spent twelve years playing in a band in Philadelphia after graduating, then worked as an electronics technician for a medical company. In 1986, he left the company to work as an engineer at Eventide, where he helped design their H3000 effects unit. He left Eventide after nine years to work at his studio in Garfield, New Jersey and started designing the Distressor, being inspired to make his own compression unit after hearing how much his 1176 Peak Limiter and LA-2A Leveling Amplifier improved the sounds of his tracks.

Distressor

Derr sold the first Distressor units in 1995 and founded Empirical Labs in 1996. The unit initially sold poorly but gained traction after getting a positive review in Mix magazine and being used by the sound engineers George Massenburg and Mutt Lange. It also received positive reviews in Sound on Sound and Tape Op magazines, with the former writing that "if you're one of those people who believe only tube technology can deliver the true classic sound, a few minutes spent using the Distressor might cause you to rethink your position" and the latter calling it "the best thing to happen to compression in the last twenty years". By 2003, Tape Op wrote that "n many a studio the Empirical Labs Distressor is as much a common sight — and sound — as a guitar amp or coffee machine."

In 2016, the Distressor was inducted into the TECnology Hall of Fame. In 2022, it was estimated to have sold 40,000 units. In 2018, Universal Audio released a digital emulation of the Distressor.

Uses

Some notable uses of the Distressor include the vocals on Maroon 5's "This Love" and Shawn Mendes' "Treat You Better", the bass on Kali Uchis' "Fantasy" and Wilco's Sky Blue Sky, and the drums on Idles' Crawler. The audio engineers Michael Brauer, Joe Chiccarelli, Fabian Marasciullo, and Robert Orton all use it in parallel on drums. The producer F. Reid Shippen wrote that "I cannot live without on electric guitars, period." Derr himself also uses it on percussion, tambourine, and grand piano.

References

  1. ^ Weiss, David (May 21, 2018). "Inventor Insights: Dave Derr's Tips & Tricks for The Empirical Labs Distressor — SonicScoop". SonicScoop. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  2. Computer Music (December 27, 2017). "Slate Digital FG-Stress review". MusicRadar. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  3. Rogerson, Ben (February 23, 2021). "Softube and Empirical Labs offer new compressor and EQ plugins for your DAW, and a channel strip for Console 1". MusicRadar. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  4. Templeton, Slade (December 12, 2017). "The Empirical Labs Distressor and Its Emulations: Hear How 6 Plugins Compare to the Original". Reverb.com. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  5. ^ White, Paul (December 1997). "Empirical Labs Distressor". Sound on Sound. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  6. ^ Shippen, F. Reid (2002). "EL-8X Distressor". Tape Op. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  7. ^ Szalva, Walt (2003). "Dave Derr: Behind The Gear with Empirical Labs". Tape Op. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  8. Gluszak, Dan (December 15, 2016). "Three of Audio's Biggest Names Turn 20: SoundToys, Empirical Labs and Wave Distribution — SonicScoop". SonicScoop. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  9. Empirical Labs Inc. (January 18, 2016). Dave Derr Accepts TEC Hall of Fame Award for the Distressor. Retrieved August 26, 2024 – via YouTube.
  10. Shaw, Dan (September 11, 2022). "The Empirical Labs Distressor: a modern master of dynamics". Happy Mag. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  11. Computer Music (March 1, 2018). "Universal Audio Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor review". MusicRadar. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  12. Flans, Robyn (August 29, 2024). "Classic Tracks: "This Love," Maroon 5". Mixonline. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  13. Matera, Joe (July 2023). "How I Got That Sound: George Seara". Sound on Sound. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  14. Tingen, Paul (May 2023). "Inside Track: Kali Uchis 'Fantasy'". Sound on Sound. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  15. McKenzie, Alex (2023). "TJ Doherty : Wilco, Sonic Youth, Stephen Malkmus and more". Tape Op. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  16. Doyle, Tom (February 2022). "Idles". Sound on Sound. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  17. Senior, Mike (September 2009). "Classic Compressors". Sound on Sound. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
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