Dirty LA is a free compressor plugin that channels the LA-2A and other vintage limiting amps

The Bedroom Producers Blog is back on the free plugin trail with the release of BPB Dirty LA, a VST/AU compressor that’s based on vintage limiting amps such as - you guessed it - the LA-2A.

The premise is one we’ve heard before - musical-sounding compression, a streamlined workflow and a simple user interface - but that doesn’t make it any less appealing. There’s also a Dirt algorithm to provide saturation with gentle transient reduction.

By default, Dirty LA gives you a relatively fast attack tiem and moderate compression ratio, but if you engage the limiting mode you can get a faster attack time and a higher compression ratio. You can also use the plugin to provide ‘mix glue’ on the master bus.

When Dirt mode is engaged, Dirty LA uses 4X internal oversampling, but this is bypassed when Dirt is switched off to reduce CPU usage.

You can grab your free download of BPB Dirty LA now on the Bedroom Producers Blog website.

Ben Rogerson

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it. 

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