Teletronix LA-2A Leveling Amplifier

"For recording vocals, I use a Neumann U87 microphone going into the Avalon 737 and then into a LA-2A compressor. The signal then ends up going through Symphony I/O finishing off in Logic where it gets captured and edited."

Used on Lullabies to Paralyze for Josh's vocals. Sound engineer Joe Baressi : "I tend to compress when I go to tape. The 1176 is my favourite on vocals, but sometimes the LA2A works really well. If you're looking for more dirt you can turn a tube compressor up a little more. I'm not opposed to dirtying the signal up and blending that in with the original. I'm not a transparent compressor guy. I may send one compressor into the other as well. That works well if you need a very up-front vocal. When I'm mixing I'll compress the vocal further, perhaps using an 1176 again."

"These are really great compressors," says Steve Vai about the Teletronix LA-2A Leveling Amplifier which he uses in his studio setup.

Daft Punk record bass guitar via a Neve 1081 and Teletronix LA-2A. The LA-2A was also used to record a couple of vocalists, and during the mixing process it was used for parallel compression on the kick and snare.

"And so... the vocal is going to the LA-2A... it's just adding a couple more tubes in the signal path... I love gear like this that has only a couple knobs, does a very simple purpose." (9:53)

In this Instagram photo, the LA2A appears to the left of a young girl, presumably his niece. "Having my niece @winterrosea in the studio always makes the song a little better!"

"Pharrell's favourite outboard equipment — Tube-tech CL1, Dbx 160, LA2A, Neve 9098 EQs, Summit EQ/compressors — are all normalled." - via [Sound On Sound interview](http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul05/articles/andrewcoleman.htm) with Pharrell's engineer Andrew Coleman

Noah 40 uses a LA2A going tru drakes vocal chain preventing the vocals from hitting too hard

Here you see that SCNDL use the LA-2A Ampfilter in their studio (left on the bottom)

In this article it says Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) has a few LA-2A compressors in his April Base studio in Wisconsin

Mix engineer Tommaso Colliva on recording Drones : “We had the bass cabs in the basement, which meant quite a long cable run, and for this reason we also had the mic pres in the basement, which usually were Neve 1081s, going into an [Teletronix] LA2A or [Empirical Labs] Distressor for compression, and then into insert returns on the desk, where we could apply some final level and EQ while bypassing the line amp on the desk.”

"We recorded three different versions of the song, though the vocal remained the same throughout each incarnation, and we built the track around that. I had recorded demos of all the songs for the album at my studio, recording her vocals with my vintage Neumann U87, which I ran through an API 3124M mic pre or my Audio Upgrades Class A custom-built stereo mic pre, a GML 8200 EQ, and a Teletronix LA2A compressor, straight into Pro Tools," says Eric Rosse, about recording Sara Bareilles' song, Love Song, in [this article](http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep08/articles/itrosse.htm).

"I've got a hardware and a UAD LA-2A, which just seems to work so well as a carpet for the vocals."

As per the description it looks like a custom built LA-2A instead

In this photo, Waters can be seen with Teletronix LA2A leveling amplifier. Many thanks to jimmarchi1 for identifying the model!

You can see it under the first rack mount.

"J just got this, which is an old like, 50's, 60's compressor. It's called a Teletronix LA-2A *(turns to Dinosaur Jr.*) and you guys have been usin' that a bunch, right? Vocals and stuff? Yeah, so that's really an awesome piece of gear." -John Agnello, producer for Dinosaur Jr., on the gear used for *Farm*

"J [Mascis] just got this, which is an old like, 50's, 60's compressor. It's called a Teletronix LA-2A *(turns to Dinosaur Jr.)* and you guys have been usin' that a bunch, right? Vocals and stuff? Yeah, so that's really an awesome piece of gear." -John Agnello, producer for Dinosaur Jr., on the gear used for *Farm*

"J [Mascis] just got this, which is an old like, 50's, 60's compressor. It's called a Teletronix LA-2A *(turns to Dinosaur Jr.)* and you guys have been usin' that a bunch, right? Vocals and stuff? Yeah, so that's really an awesome piece of gear." -John Agnello, producer for Dinosaur Jr., on the gear used for *Farm*

In facebook steve show process of compression.

This article states that Jerry's studio includes "Alan Smart stereo compressor (2), Cyclosonic Panner, dbx 120A Subharmonic Synthesizer, dbx 160x, Electro-Harmonix NY-2A compressor (2), Empirical Labs Distressor (4), Eventide H3000, Focusrite 3 stereo compressor, Neve 2254 stereo compressor, Roland Dimension D (2), SPL Transient Designer 9842, Thermionic Culture Phoenix, Thermionic Culture Vulture, UA Teletronix LA-2A (2), Urei 1176LN Peak Limiter (2), and Urei LA-4 (2)."

"Still in the Orange amp. We also plugged the guitar DIRECT to the console and distorted the track in a way I watched Bob Ezrin do... called the CANADIAN method by some, which is basically cranking the gain on a Teletronix LA2A compressor/limiter, to the max, and you get some VERY interesting distortion."

We can see the amp at 8:27

"I went downstairs and he played it back. I did a vocal immediately on a 77 that was set up. The mic was hot with a lot of LA2A and I sung softly."

According to a list of equipment which is used in his studio, Crowdspacer, Joakim is also a user of Teletronix LA2A leveling amp.

"In the studio, I use a Telefunken V76 preamp, 2 Tubtek EQ units and an LA2a limiter."

On the bottom right, you can see he's using a Teletronix LA-2A compressor.

At 9:52 in the video. "Lots of outboard."

In this artcle Noah 40 Shebib states "a Neumann U87, and his scratch vocals. I'll use either a Sony C800G on him or, if he's in the control room, a Shure SM57. The mics go through a Neve 1073 or 1081, and I'll have an Teletronix LA2A on his voice, not hitting that too hard. These sketches will sometimes make it to the record. I'll sometimes sample them." on recording Drake. This was for the Take Care era

On the bottom right side rack of the desk, there are two Teletronix LA-2A Leveling Amplifiers.

The above article describes Arnalds using this to EQ compression.

Hannes Bieger in his Berlin studio. His name may be unfamiliar to many, but that’s only because he works behind the scenes. Those in the know are well aware that Bieger is an in-demand sound engineer who has mixed down tracks by artists like Steve Bug, Ruede Hagelstein, and Tale Of Us. We peeked over Hannes’ shoulder while he worked in order to learn a bit more about his philosophy and his approach to his trade.

From Andrew's blog post outlining his plug in staples. "The best "character" compressor. There aren't a lot of settings to worry about; you can instantly dial in some rich, thick warmth."

This article covers an in-depth look at MOM's studio gear. The LA-2A is visible in the first photograph.