
One of the key features of the LA-3A is its fast and musical release. You can quickly achieve the desired sound simply by turning the knobs and adjusting the compression levels. The compressor has only a few main controls, making it very intuitive even for beginners. The LA-3A can transform a simple sound into something more musical and impressive.Īnother remarkable aspect of the LA-3A is its ease of use. It has a warm and rich sound that adds life and a sense of space to any signal.

The first thing that impresses about the LA-3A is its sound characteristics. It is a true classic tool that offers unique sonic possibilities and exceptional results. I kept the plugins as close to the default settings as possible, only tweaking them when there was little to no difference between the processed and unprocessed versions.LA-3A is undoubtedly a fantastic hardware compressor that I highly recommend to professional sound engineers and musicians. The changes between the dry and processed tracks is subtle in almost every case, so make sure you listen on headphones or good monitors (although, if you’re reading this, you’re probably the kind of person who knows that much already). You can listen to a full audio shootout of all these plugins for yourself toward the end of this post, or download all the full resolution files here. This loop was made with Native Instruments Session Drummer, with all EQ, compression, and built-in tape saturation turned off.

To help you get a taste for them, I ran a short drum loop through each of the plugins on offer. Each of the entries on this list are fantastic in their own right, so the particular order I’ve presented them in here shouldn’t factor too much into choosing which one is right for you. Ultimately, the choice of tape plugin comes down to your taste and your goals.
