VLA-FET: Vintage FET Leveling Amplifier Compressor Plugin

Black Rooster Audio says the VLA-FET uses real-time, component-based circuit simulation to capture the sound and feel of the analog unit as closely as possible. The emulation is based on the LN Rev F, with Lundahl transformers and an op-amp input stage similar to the LA-4A. According to the developer, the input and output transformers, an additional sidechain, and the audio path networks and filters have all been modeled.

The result is aimed at a vintage character. The super-fast attack and release times shape the signal precisely, which makes the plugin useful when you want firm, forceful control on individual sources.

Aliasing is reduced with a low-latency, linear-phase Dolph-Chebyshev polyphase oversampling design. The oversampling rate adjusts automatically to the sample rate of your session, which keeps CPU use lower while aiming for transparent results.

The DSP runs on the SSE2 instruction set, which the developer notes helps maintain performance despite the complexity of the calculations. The interface also supports high pixel density on Windows and macOS. On Windows, check your DAW's documentation to confirm it is HighDPI capable.