ART Pro VLA II Tube Leveling Amplifier

A good hardware compressor for someone new to hardware. Good value for the money compared to other "quality" compressors. Fairly forgiving controls and has the ability for using while tracking, or routing through when mixing. I also like that it can link both channels for applying to a stereo track, stereo buss, or the master buss.

Ok so When I first got this unit Id say I was less than stocked. I was like what the heck, its a tube comp and it sounds kind of sterile... that being said I got a recommendation on a popular gear forum that suggested I order a pair of NOS mallard tubes to swap the cheap stock Ruby tubes out.... Holy crap when I did it opened the unit right up. I would say the units top brightened up and the bottom got tighter. After that swap the unit had a present character. There is a reason you see these "cheap" units in a lot of studios, even high end ones.

... you have 220V just remove the fuse box, turn it and then reinsert. Your amplififier now 220V device! I have no idea about that on other ART products...

Along with the RNC, RNLA, and DBX 160 I think this is the other bang-for-the-buck classic dynamics box. This one sets apart from the others with a largeness and beefiness of sound thanks to the tube/optical design. It has great clarity or fidelity at the same time. I used it on things that I wanted to thicken up like bass and vocals, most of the time. It also worked really well on drum rooms for some pumpy action. If you drive it too hard it will act a bit crazy, but, that can be good for pumpy drums, and, in other cases I never wanted to drive it that hard anway. Two sides for the price of one is another great feature. I don't think you need to swap the tubes in this I think they are JJ which are high quality tubes. If you're going to throw money around like that just go higher on the ladder, something like the FMR PBC-6A.

I like this. I use it. It's colored but not nearly to the level that I would say it has "mojo". Most signals will get rounder, fatter through this box. Beefs: The bypass switches are horribly crackly which really damages A/B analysis, and I don't entirely trust the meters, and the stereo link function does something weird to the signal (sounds better with both channels separate and matched). But I am overall happy with it. If you're just gearing up, try to remain honest with yourself and remember that when a signal gets louder 9/10 times the listener/ear is going to say that it just got better. Also, I put an expensive "matched" set of mullard tubes in the unit, and while I do believe there was clarity improvement, it was verry, very slight. For the bang for buck factor, I would not recommend the tube upgrade. If you have them try em out. If not , don't bother...unless you need mental placebo.

this is my 2nd one. i bought the earlier version back in the mid 90s and have used it on every recording i have done since then. so now i use both versions for tracking vocals and instruments. this thing is ir-replace-able. it defines my sound. i use one channel for limiting and one channel for leveling. either parallel or series i get perfect predictable recordings every time. Vocals sit in the mix like "breasts in a bra"; direct bass sounds like "McCartney's sound in "Come Together"; electric or acoustic guitars are given new life. and for the price... it's a no brainer. wish i could take these with me on the road, but in my situation that would be quite impractical. but if i could. you know i would.

Very classy look and performs above the standards it is truely a great buy for you buck.

This is a great entry level compressor for the home studio owners. I very much like it on vocals and acoustic guitars so far. I did swap out the tubes for NOS Mullard 12AT7 tubes and found that it gave the compressed signal a smoother midrange and an overall more polished sound. I'd definitely recommend the upgrade to get the most out of the unit. The unit does cut a little high frequency and I hear that the NOS Telefunken 12AT7's are recommended for this unit as it restores some of those highs. This was the first time I've purchased from Front End Audio, and overall I've been impressed with their range of product, packing shipping and followup. I'll buy more audio equipment through them for sure. The ART Pro VLA II compressor is excellent value for money and I can highly recommend it for home studio owners on a budget.

This an excellent compressor for starters. big VU meters and easy to use. I used it on vocals, kick, and snare. I find it to be pretty transparent to. Even with the input all the down and no compression the VLA warms up anything running through it. Its very easy to recall setting on this compressor as well. I lot of people switch the tubes in them but I'm fine with the stock tubes for now.