The Native instruments VC2A is probably my favourite version in a plugin. I used a hardware one constantly in 1990's when I was a studio recording engineer. I use this style of compressor as a leveller. Great for bass, guitars, keys, and vocals (in conjunction with another compressor like an 1176 if you need to deal with a vocalist's transients). It leaves transients alone and averages out the signal over time. Gain would make the panel inside brighter optically and then you adjust the peak to control the amount of compression (how much of the light the photo cell responds to). that includes an army of hardware compressors I currently have, and bunch of 1176s and clones Ive gone through and sold because none of them are as good as the cla76. You control it by using the input gain and peak together. the waves cla 76 blue is still the best compressed ive ever tried (except an actual blue face) for in your face lead vocals in a busy modern pop or rock track. The cla 2a got a 3:1 ration in compressor mode and a 100:1 in limiter mode and the gain knob is for the make up gain (after compression gain) 1. To review the two compressors, the 1176LN Classic Limiting. Some people use three or more compressors on a track One basic rule is that each successive compressor has a lower compression ratio than the one before it, and the first one is typically just catching the peaks. It worked using a luminescent panel as an input and photocells 'seeing' and adapting the compression ration and release, if the photo cell sees light it continues to work. New to recording Our buyer's guide explains everything you need to know about the best vocal compressor for beginners so you can make the best choice. So using a fast compressor right before the LA-2A does the trick. If it was modelled properly then the attack/release and the ratio are dependent on the source signal but generally the original Teletronix was a 10ms attack time, a 4:1 ratio and the release was around 60ms on quick signals with a further hold from 1s - 15s depending on the signal.