Art Pro VLA

It has balanced 1/4" and XLR inputs and sounds great for the money. I have used it in my studio www.chrislieckstudios.com daily for a year. Sounds great and don't waste money putting any new tubes it. Simple controls on the front, look at the photo I have attached. Pretty self explanatory if you know compression. If you are looking for a great compressor for a great great price then this unit might really serve your needs. I think that it is a great compressor. The tubes sound fantastic and although it is a bit noisy on the output stage and at times it can be a bit erratic in that it makes some very strange sounds that I cannot describe but that is not constant and that could be just a bad tube but it does not stop me from recommending it nor does it stop me from using it. I like this unit a great deal. There is massive headroom on the input stage and the compression is really nice. The sound is really nice and the compression sounds really good. For really heavy hitting instrumentation it is a bit colored like kick drums. I first tried this on a room mic on the kick drum and it was a bit to colored but on vocals it shinned. I was pleasantly surprised that it sounded so good right out of the box. I was not expecting it to be so solid. The construction is very solid and the unit much to my surprise was very well made. The body is full metal and the knobs are metal as well. The large VU meters are great and remind me of an older unit. ART did a great job designing this unit. Most compressors in this price range don't even come close to the sturdy construction of this unit nor do they come close to the sound of this unit. I will say that there is a bit of coloring but only on extreme inputs of heavy levels and even then the sound is very clean and authentic.

UTILIZATION

Very easy to use and very nice looking and is an A Class pre amp. I use it on vocals and overhead drum mics. That is the best uses for me personally. The set up is really easy and most beginners will love this compressor in that it is simple to use and the sound is not like a DBX sound or even like a real over compressed cheap compressor. The compression is not that noticeable and is very smooth for a unit costing only this much.

SOUND QUALITY

I use it on vocals and overhead drum mics. That is the best uses for me personally. Does not color the sound on vocals which is surprising for a pre amp at the 250.00 range. I got mine on EBAY. Great deal, Great Pre.

OVERALL OPINION

I like it and would recommend it for anyone that wants a compressor under $300 then this is the best one out there. I like the construction and the large VU meters and the sound. I tried a great deal of these out and this one by far has the best all around sound for the money. We use it on vocals and overhead mics and it really shines.

The ART Pro VLA (vactrol leveling amplifier) is a dual channel vactrol-tube based compressor/limiter. It's got both XLR and 1/4" TRS connections for inputs and outputs and is made up of analog parts. It is a rack mountable piece of gear and will take up two spaces in a traditional rack case.

UTILIZATION

The make up of the ART Pro VLA has a lot of control while still maintaining a good amount of user friendly. Each channel has knobs for threshold, ratio, and output, as well as buttons for attack and release (fast/slow), for bypass, and for setting the VU meter to show either your input or output level. There are also LED meters for monitoring gain reduction. As you can tell, there isn't all that much to know here, and those with experience with compressors will undoubtedly find that using this is a breeze. Even those without much knowledge of compressor/limiters should be able to use this without the assistance of a manual.

SOUND QUALITY

While the sound of the ART Pro VLA is no where near up with the best of them, for something in this price range it is a very impressive sounding piece of gear. It has a very thick and warm sound on account of the tubes, and this sound is suitable to apply to a good amount of differing applications. In fact I wouldn't hesitate to use it on just about anything if it was the only outboard compressor that I had in my rig. The Pro VLA definitely is the cleanest or most accurate sounding compressor that I've used, but it sounds very good considering how cheap you're getting two channels for.

OVERALL OPINION

Price is definitely going to be the main factor when it comes to the ART Pro VLA, as the main reason it is such an attractive option is because of this very low price. While it is incredibly cheap for a stereo compressor, don't let the price fool you as it could easily have been priced higher. I wouldn't recommend the ART Pro VLA to a professional, but for the home studio owner looking for a compressor to add some warmth to their sound with, without having to spend a boat load of money, absolutely consider the Pro VLA.