Empirical Labs Releases Rev 3 Of AROUSOR

US Flagship compressor plug-in gets more Distressor-based tones 31/03/21

Empirical Labs Inc. (ELI) has announced availability of AROUSOR™ Rev 3, which they describe as the ultimate evolution of its flagship compressor plug-in, introducing more tones based on its Distressor hardware counterpart with the addition of two Opto (A and B) compression modes, as well as two additional (6:5:1 and 7:1) ratios for even more dynamic possibilities. Here's the story in their own words...

Being borne out of ELI founder Dave Derr's love of classic compressors like the 1176, LA-2A, and Gain Brain (amongst others), the Distressor incorporates his favourite sonic characteristics of outstanding outboard originally released way back when with other unique and interesting features that have made it a staple for audio engineers all over the world as one of the best-selling high-end compressors of all-time. It is inevitable that such a popular product would one day receive the plug-in treatment, taking the soul of the company's professional audio signal processing equipment hardware and applying it to the wonderful world of ITB (in the box) workflow within a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), albeit AROUSOR™ is the only native Distressor plug-in produced by ELI itself. As a new and improved (EL8-X) version of the Distressor increased its tonality with the addition of new features, so AROUSOR™ Rev 3 -- the ultimate evolution of ELI's flagship compressor plug-in -- introduces more tones based on its Distressor hardware counterpart.

Kicking off with two Opto (A and B) compression modes based on the time constants of a classic and a modern LA-2A compressor that many existing owners of AROUSOR™ have been waiting for -- it is, after all, a much-loved Distressor feature, noteworthy new additions to AROUSOR™ Rev 3 also include a SOFT CLIPPING expert (e) panel -- allows for introducing more second harmonic distortion and an ability to place the compressor input before or after the soft clipping circuit; a Listen mode -- to hear what frequencies are affecting the DETECTOR SIDECHAIN EQ's compression detector; additional 6:5:1 and 7:1 ratios (accessible by enabling ALT mode in the RATIO section) -- for even more dynamic possibilities; and an enlargeable GUI (Graphical User Interface) -- to double its original size for more comfortable onscreen editing.

ELI's classic knee compression with proprietary high-resolution detector modelling remains at the heart of everything AROUSOR™ Rev 3 does so well, with 12 unique compression ratios, including the famous brick wall -- RIVET mode in AROUSOR™-speak -- for maximum gain reduction. Remaining features well worth highlighting here are an adjustable broadband SOFT CLIPPING control -- for introducing warm saturation; a unique AtMod ATTACK MODIFICATION control -- to change the shape of the initial attack; an advanced high-pass/band-pass DETECTOR SIDECHAIN EQ -- for fine-tuning compression detector response; and Mix knob with (e panel-enabled) Dry Level Trim -- for parallel compression.

As the update existing owners have been waiting for, AROUSOR™ Rev 3 has brought the legendary tone of ELI's analogue hardware into the digital realm with even more possibilities as an ITB game-changer.

Pricing and Availability:

Update is available for free to existing owners of AROUSOR

AROUSOR™ Rev 3 is available for purchase as an AAX-, AU-, VST2-, and VST3-supporting 64-bit effect plug-in for macOS (10.7 or higher) and AAX-, VST2-, and VST3-supporting 64-bit effect plug-in for Windows (7 or higher) for a time-limited introductory promo price of $129.00 USD for the first 10 days -- rising thereafter to an MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) of $199.00 USD.

A fully-functional, 15-day trial of AROUSOR™ Rev 3 is available to download from here.

An iLok account is required for activating both the demo and full versions of AROUSOR™ Rev 3 via iLok Cloud or using an iLok 2 or iLok 3 USB dongle. (Please note that ELI's BIG FrEQ EQ plug-in -- partially extrapolated from its much-loved Lil FreQ hardware EQ -- is now also iLok Cloud compatible in its latest update.)

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