LAA Custom OP81 Compressor

he LAA Custom OP81 LEVELING AMPLIFIER OPTO LIMITER is a dynamic limiter built around a custom made optoisolator.

As a limiter it reacts only to the peak signal and let the player able to manage the full dynamic response up till the set threshold.

You can still play light, and clean your crunch with your guitar volume pot!

The OP81 is our pedal version of the historical LA-2A circuit, using a custom made a cadmium-sulfide light dependent resistor to provide gain reduction.

As make-up gain we use our True Coil technology: the hand wond output transformer driven by the Class AB driver gives an amazing texture to your signal giving strength and incisiveness to your overall tone.

Try the OP81 with the PEAK REDUCTION full CCW and feel how the True Coil circuit works, then find your threshold level and RATIO to gentle limits your signal.

Probably the OC81 will be always ON then!

The OP81 circuit is made by two separate sections: the signal chain where the opto limiting circuit act for reduce the peaks and the Sidechain that drives the electro-optical attenuator system that allows instantaneous gain reduction with no increase in harmonic distortion.

When you reach the intervention threshold setted by the PEAK REDUCTION knob, the OP81 gentle limits your peaks with three selectable RATIO levels.

Decay time set how long the OP81 reduction circuit will work after the fist activation and you are able to manage single notes (short decay) or strumming (long decay).

The small led under RATIO switch show you when the Reduction circuit is working and for how long it works.

The average attack time is 10 milliseconds, the release time can vary from 100 to 650mS according the Decay Time knob position.

Sidechain can be drived in two MODEs:

FEED FOWARD: the input signal is used to drive the sidechain that limits your peaks - more “in your face”, more dynanics, and funk.

FEEDBACK: the already processed signal is used to drive the sidechain what makes a more “stable” limiting effect - perfect for solo or hard rock rhythmic.