CLA-76 Compressor / Limiter
Super-fast FET compression with legendary tone
CLA76TDM
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The Key to Hard-Hitting Dynamic Mixes
Unlike the smooth sound of optical control-based compressors, the CLA-76 models the ultra-fast response, and tube-like distortion, of FET control circuitry. This plugin models two CLA-76s, based on hand-picked hardware that represents the best of the many revisions that were produced.
Tight, aggressive, and with a big, bold character, the CLA-76 is a favorite of acclaimed mix engineer Chris Lord-Alge. We modeled his two most-prized hardware units, “Bluey” and “Blacky,” both perfectly maintained in his studio—so you can have their sound in your mixes.
Watch It in Action
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What Top Pros Are Saying
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It sounds and behaves so much like my own 1176 Bluestripe!","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":1},{"itemID":2264,"itemGUID":"d0665dd9-1134-4dc6-ac43-1be3b21f71d5","artistName":"Mick Guzauski","artistTitle":"Mixing Engineer","credits":"Daft Punk, Eric Clapton, Janelle Mon\u00E1e, Mariah Carey","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/mick-guzauski.png","quote":"CLA\u2019s 1176 has the best simulation of the \u2018all buttons down mode\u2019 of the hardware 1176 that I\u2019ve heard in a plugin.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":2},{"itemID":2829,"itemGUID":"7ef46782-7557-41c6-85f1-e1bd96221d98","artistName":"Stuart White","artistTitle":"Mixing Engineer","credits":"Beyonc\u00E9, Jay Z, FKA Twigs, Autolux","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/stu-white.png","quote":"I don\u2019t know what I\u2019d do without the CLA-76. It\u2019s one of the plugins that just works every single time and there is zero latency.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":3},{"itemID":2061,"itemGUID":"edf7c7c0-5ca5-4a41-a226-0176567be1fb","artistName":"Noah Passovoy","artistTitle":"Producer, Engineer, Mixer","credits":"Maroon 5, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/noah-passovoy.png","quote":"I can\u2019t live without this plugin on my sessions. The CLA-76 is all over everything I work on.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":4},{"itemID":1843,"itemGUID":"723a5cbd-cd9b-44c4-aa5a-c7d20448fe79","artistName":"Tom Lord-Alge","artistTitle":"Producer, Mixing Engineer","credits":"Blink-182, Weezer, Live, Dave Matthews Band","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/tom-lord-alge.png","quote":"No mix of mine would be complete without CLA-76. Whether on guitars or vocals, this plugin sounds exactly like the units I used to \u2018borrow\u2019 from my brother. I guess it\u2019s time to return them!","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":5},{"itemID":2015,"itemGUID":"c83a1c99-cdec-40ef-be0d-631113f5ee26","artistName":"Ethan Mates","artistTitle":"Recording \u0026 Mixing Engineer","credits":"Linkin Park, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black-Eyed Peas, Die Antwoord","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/ethan-mates.png","quote":"This is one plugin I use on every mix. I\u2019ve been a huge user of the original 1176s for 20 years, and CLA-76 is the closest thing to the real deal, period. The way it reacts to a signal is fantastic.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":6},{"itemID":1834,"itemGUID":"fa362e8e-5eea-4714-a736-453052864414","artistName":"Mark Ralph","artistTitle":"Producer, Songwriter, Mixing Engineer","credits":"Clean Bandit, Years \u0026 Years, Jax Jones, TIEKS","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/mark-ralph.png","quote":"I love CLA-76. I mainly use it on vocals. It very accurately emulates the original hardware versions.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":7},{"itemID":2688,"itemGUID":"0864e9c4-8caf-488b-8ed9-ddb2824760a4","artistName":"Andrew \u201CVoxGod\u201D Bolooki","artistTitle":"Vocal Producer, Producer and Mixer/Engineer","credits":"Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus, Fifth Harmony, Selena Gomez","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/andrew-bolooki.png","quote":"The CLA-76 is one of the most reliable compressor plugins available.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":8},{"itemID":2611,"itemGUID":"c96ad37f-8aad-4ba9-a290-7d8a6f245e54","artistName":"Sky van Hoff","artistTitle":"Music Producer, Mixer, Musician","credits":"Rammstein, Emigrate, The X-Factor","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/sky-van-hoff.png","quote":"If somebody would take the CLA-76 from me I\u2019d probably lose my mind\u2026or use one of those other great compressors Waves has.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":9},{"itemID":2087,"itemGUID":"3d2b40aa-2571-4cdd-9611-f1fb3c6d5e2a","artistName":"Carlos de la Garza","artistTitle":"Producer, Mixing \u0026 Recording Engineer","credits":"Paramore, Young the Giant, Wolf Alice, Ziggy Marley","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/avatar-male.png","quote":"The CLA-76 makes pretty much everything that runs through it sound better.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":10},{"itemID":2464,"itemGUID":"3bbab36e-711d-48f8-a518-0e02ec8837a0","artistName":"Chris Baseford","artistTitle":"Producer, Recording \u0026 Mixing Engineer","credits":"Nickelback, Shinedown, Avril Lavigne, Rob Zombie","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/chris-baseford.png","quote":"The default dynamics plugin in my Pro Tools preferences; that says a lot right there!","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":11},{"itemID":2333,"itemGUID":"f291beed-e99d-4b71-a10a-708f21a3ff3d","artistName":"Ian Hicks","artistTitle":"FOH Engineer","credits":"The Chainsmokers, The Glitch Mob, Bassnectar","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/ian-hicks.png","quote":"The CLA-76 makes the meanest parallel compression I\u0027ve ever heard.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":12},{"itemID":3215,"itemGUID":"0b904832-523b-43b0-b65e-4f0afa95dfea","artistName":"ANTISERUM","artistTitle":"DJ, Producer, Sound Designer, Mix \u0026 Mastering Engineer","credits":"12th planet, Excision, Caspa, Bro Safari","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/antiserum.png","quote":"Try using CLA-76 on a return bus (parallel compression) for Drums or Lead vocals! I love the squash mode to get gritty drum tones.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":13},{"itemID":2059,"itemGUID":"d667bba3-75d5-45eb-a9ec-5750d0446ebc","artistName":"SodTp","artistTitle":"Producer, Musician, Songwriter","credits":"William Singe, Che Pope","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/sodtp.png","quote":"My favorite compressor by far. I slap the CLA-76 on almost everything.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":15},{"itemID":2388,"itemGUID":"ab05f065-c380-4d1c-a088-fec301cdc728","artistName":"Kesha Lee","artistTitle":"Recording and Creative Production Engineer ","credits":"Childish Gambino, Lil Uzi Vert, Migos, Playboi Carti","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/kesha-lee.png","quote":"One of my go-to plugins. I love the character and punch it adds to vocals. ","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":16},{"itemID":2721,"itemGUID":"4dba29e3-a509-4091-9079-f53b9b0a55fc","artistName":"Cam Blackwood","artistTitle":"Record Producer and Songwriter","credits":"George Ezra, Jack Savoretti, Frank Carter \u0026 The Rattlesnakes, Tom Walker","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/cam-blackwood.png","quote":"The Bluey version is GREAT for vocals and high-end percussion: I use it on 95% of my vocal chains. Tip: Use the \u201Call in\u201D ratio setting as it really slams the compressor and makes the vocal jump out.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":17},{"itemID":2908,"itemGUID":"cd48d983-0bee-4fdf-92eb-0b3e32f89adc","artistName":"Koen Heldens","artistTitle":"Mixing Engineer","credits":"XXXTentacion, Kanye West, Trippie Redd, Lil Wayne","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/koen-heldens.png","quote":"For smooth controlled vocals I love to use Waves CLA-76 compressing 3dB with a 4:1 Ratio and Attack at 3 and Release at 7. If I\u2019m going for a more aggressive in-your-face vocals sound, I switch it to the Bluey with the same settings but knocking down 10dB.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":19},{"itemID":3558,"itemGUID":"ba77101f-6127-42cb-b2fb-880c34c45e64","artistName":"Courtney Gladney","artistTitle":"FOH/Monitor Engineer","credits":"Avery*Sunshine, Dave Hollister, Fantasia, Bell Biv Devoe","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/courtney-gladney.jpg","quote":"I use CLA-76 on my drums to give me the dynamics I want. It has nearly zero latency in my live mix. I also use it to help my vocals sit on top of my mix in challenging environments.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":9999}]
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Fast and Furious Compression
with Unparalleled Tone
Give Your Drums Muscle and Tightness
The CLA-76’s tight compression sound, based on program-dependent attack and release times, is a natural for drums. With the incendiary ALL ratio mode for extra explosiveness, CLA-76 lets you mix a muscular drum sound that erupts with power.
…And Not Just Drums
One reason the CLA-76 has stood the test of time is versatility. Ease back on the compression, and let the leveling-amp design give consistent, steady compression on vocals, bass, guitar, and keyboards.
Choose from Two ’76 Flavors
With models of two distinct hardware units from mix legend Chris Lord-Alge’s personal collection, you can choose the right tool for the right job. The models have different gain stages, time constants, and harmonic distortion.
Super-Fast Compression, Perfect for Transient-Heavy Sounds
Many compressors aren’t fast enough to handle transients, and generate clicks even with fast attack/release settings. But the CLA-76’s incredibly fast response keeps transients under control—and clicks out of your mix.
Presets Created by Chris Lord-Alge
Get great starting points for your mixes, with over 30 presets prepared by Chris Lord-Alge himself—plus presets by more Grammy-winning producers/mixers such as Greg Wells (Dua Lipa, John Legend).