VLA-2A Mark II

About the VLA-2A Mark II

Inspired by the Teletronix LA-2A: the same slow, breathing optical compression that defined the original — now with the controls the hardware never had. The VLA-2A Mark II keeps the modelled T4A cell and adds emphasis, an external sidechain, three selectable cells, make-up gain and a wet/dry mix.

The VLA-2A Mark II is our expanded take on the classic opto compressor. The first VLA-2A stayed deliberately faithful to a two-knob unit — glorious for its simplicity, occasionally frustrating when a modern mix wanted more. The Mark II answers that without touching what made the original sing. You still get the program-dependent optical leveling, the tube warmth, the forgiving release. On top, there's a larger interface and a row of controls that pull a 1960s design into a 2020s session: Emphasis, Ext SC, a three-way Cell Selector, Make-Up gain and a Mix knob for parallel compression.

The LA-2A, refined rather than reinvented

The predecessor to the LA-2A dated back to the early 1960s and was first built for broadcast, before engineers noticed how well its multi-stage release and frequency-dependent response suited music. We modelled that behaviour to the original unit for the first VLA-2A, then asked a simple question for the Mark II: what would you add if you actually mixed on this every day? The answer wasn't a different compressor — it was more control over the same one. The emphasis filter network, transformers, tube stages and the T4A cell are all still modelled with our real-time SPICE-style circuit simulation. Nothing about the core tone changed. The new controls sit around it.

New controls: emphasis, sidechain, three cells and mix

The Emphasis control drives a shelving pre-emphasis filter on the sidechain, so you can hold high frequencies in check and stop bright vocals or cymbals from over-triggering the compression. Flip Ext SC and the gain reduction follows an external sidechain source — handy for ducking and rhythmic pumping. The Cell Selector is the real character switch: three opto cells, each with its own attack, release and knee. Cell A gives a soft knee at a low ratio, Cell B a soft knee at a higher ratio, Cell C a hard knee at a higher ratio — from feather-light leveling to firm grab. Make-Up gain trims the output cleanly, and the Mix knob blends compressed and dry signal for parallel compression without a second bus.

Using the VLA-2A Mark II on vocals, drums and the bus

On lead vocals, pick Cell A for transparent leveling or Cell C when a performance needs a firmer hand, then use Emphasis to tame sibilant peaks before they hit the detector. On a drum bus, engage the Mix knob and squash hard on the wet path for that classic parallel thump while the dry signal keeps the transients alive. Across a stereo mix it still glues like the original, only now you can dial the exact ratio and knee you want. Already run the first VLA-2A? The Mark II sits right alongside it in your plug-in folder. Want the faster, brighter opto-hybrid for percussion, or FET aggression? See the VLA-3A and the VLA-FET.

VLA-2A Mark II Features

Three selectable opto cells (A / B / C)

The Cell Selector switches between three modelled electro-optical cells, each with its own attack, release and knee: Cell A soft knee at a low ratio, Cell B soft knee at a higher ratio, Cell C hard knee at a higher ratio. One plug-in, three distinct opto characters.

Emphasis control (sidechain pre-emphasis)

A shelving pre-emphasis filter on the detector path. Increase it to reduce low-frequency content in the sidechain, so compression becomes less sensitive down low and more sensitive up top — the fix for bright sources over-triggering the cell.

External sidechain (Ext SC)

Switch from the internal detector to an external sidechain and drive the gain reduction of your main signal from another source's envelope — the route to controlled ducking and rhythmic pumping effects.

Wet/Dry mix and make-up gain

Blend the compressed signal back against the dry input for parallel compression straight inside the plug-in, and trim the output cleanly with a dedicated make-up gain control — link it to Gain to push compression without overloading the chain.

Larger interface and full metering

A bigger, redesigned GUI with the classic VU meter switchable between input, gain reduction and output, where -14dB full scale equals 0 dBu in the hardware reference.

Authentic circuit emulation

Our real-time, SPICE-type component-based circuit simulation captures the sound and feel of the analog counterpart in every nuance — transformers, tube stages, the emphasis network and the T4A cell all faithfully modelled.

SSE2-optimised code

DSP operations are pipelined on the SSE2 instruction set for high-performance operation, even under complex processing.

Auto-adjusted oversampling

A low-latency, linear-phase Dolph-Chebyshev polyphase design attenuates aliasing and auto-adjusts to your session's sample rate to save CPU while staying transparent.

HighDPI / Retina support

Crisp, high-pixel-density rendering on macOS and Windows for a sharp interface on modern displays.

VLA-2A Mark II Examples & Videos

VLA-2A Mark II — Additional Notes