Puget Opto Compressor

Based on the Teletronix LA-2A leveling amplifier. Every major studio has a pair. The most revered optical compressor ever built — two tube gain stages, a passive interstage network, and the T4B electro-optical attenuator that gives it that unmistakable program-dependent character.

The T4B: why it sounds like nothing else

The T4B is a cadmium sulfide photoresistor driven by an electroluminescent panel. Its attack and release behavior is fundamentally nonlinear and program-dependent — loud transients hit harder and recover differently than sustained material.

We model the T4B as a physically-derived nonlinear WDF element, not a lookup table approximation. The difference matters on every source.

Gain reduction changes the harmonics

The tube stages (12AX7 + 12BH7) add harmonic warmth that changes with the gain reduction — more compression means more saturation, just like the hardware. This isn’t modeled as a separate “saturation” knob. It’s an emergent property of the circuit.

Use it on

Vocals. Bass. Anything that needs leveling without losing the life. The program-dependent release means it adapts to the material — fast enough for transients, slow enough to breathe on sustained notes.

$199 — Perpetual license. No iLok. No dongle.

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