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Your cart is empty.A Great-sounding Distressor with a Tough British Side!The Empirical Labs Distressor EL-8XM single-channel analog compressor adds some distinctive British flavor to an already outstanding unit! The EL-8XM provides the aggressive "all buttons in" characteristics obtained from the classic LN1176, courtesy of an onboard British Mode switch. While the Distressor can function very smoothly and transparently, the addition of the British Mode allows it to take on a very "un-subtle" character, giving you the best of two compressors in one! If you want the functionality of a Distressor plus aggressive "British" vibe, choose the EL-8XM!"All buttons in" The original concept of the "British Mode" came from an unusual setting on the classic UREI LN1176 limiter. The unit was designed to have only four ratios, each ratio being engaged by selecting one of four buttons. However, as early as 1980 (or before), renegade recording engineers, always on the lookout for something a
Adam Phillips
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2022
Really hard to beat two of these on a master bus without spending 5 figures. Get one… or two!
Chris30542
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2014
I have owned this unit with Brit mod for about 6 years. When I first started using it, I thought it was defective. It works so smoothly, you don't realize it's compressing as opposed to cheap units that color the sound. You find the beauty of the Distressor when mixing. Vocals sit more smoothly in the mix and tracks gel together better. I use it with the 610 side of a UA 6176 preamp/ comp and I get a nice big sound.
Don Capone
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2013
It slices! It dices! with hundreds of options with just few control settings... emulating tape saturation and classic tube compressor sounds. With advanced sidechain EQ and eight unique curves...harmonic bliss... the sound... will astonish you! the Distressor EL-8X-X is the Cameleon of compressors!!!Don CaponeVoice Actor
J. Whiting
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2013
Before I got my stereo pair of these, I'd only ever used compressor plugins. Once I had the Distressors, I learned what all those plugins were actually *trying* to do - but not doing as well. Once I learned how to really use the Distressors musically (which is not hard - and there is a HUGE range and versatility in them, especially the British mod - definitely get the British mod), I got a lot better at working with compression in general and all my software compressors got more useful as well. Even for - or especially for - someone on a really tight budget, it's hard to argue against the Distressor due to it's class-act sound and amazing range of settings.
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