Empirical Labs, an Analog Leader, Moves “Furiously” into Digital

Dave Derr, designer of the instant-classic analog Distressor, says his high-end audio company is ready to move “furiously” and “excitedly” into the digital domain.

Dave Derr of Empirical Labs got his start in audio as an analog man at a digital company, testing circuit components for Eventide Electronics’ breakthrough hit, the H3000 UltraHarmonizer.

When he invented the instant-classic Distressor compression unit, he remained an analog man in what was an increasingly digital world. It was the late 1990s, and in a time before widespread clones of the iconic LA-2A and 1176 compressors, Dave Derr used analog FET circuits to emulate them, squeezing their charms into a brutal swiss army box dubbed the EL-8.

It went on to become, arguably, the most popular boutique analog compressor of all time. To walk into a well-appointed modern studio is to see a Distressor somewhere in the racks.

When I asked Derr about what was to come next for his company, I teased him slightly, playing devil’s advocate as I am obliged to do, in the hopes of prompting a poetic wax about his die-hard love of analog magic:

“Dave – I love the Distressor,” I said, “But tell me: Why should I care about an analog compressor now? And why should I care about one in ten years? Why stay so committed to analog?”

“Actually, its funny you say that,” Derr responded without so much as a pause. “We’re pretty much in the process of going all digital right now.”

“I worked in an digital company – Eventide – for years, and I love digital. For one thing, there’s the consistency and the repeatability. And then, you can do things in digital that you could never do in analog. That’s very appealing.”

Analog Heritage

This is not to say that Empirical Labs has plans to pull the plug on the manufacture of their Distressors and Fatsos and Lil Freq EQs. They are all still shipping now, and selling at a steady clip. Derr, a self-professed “pain-in-the-ass” spent as much as twoyears designing each of them to be hardware that would stay relevant in perpetuity.

With over 22,000 units sold, Empirical Labs’ Distressor is one of the best-selling compressors of all time.

“The goal for us is a few great products,” he says. “Not to throw out a whole bunch of products to see what sticks. So we always test the heck out of stuff, sometimes beta testing for over a year. The hardest product was probably our EQ. The goal was to make an extremely powerful EQ with a ton of features, that would last forever.”

“But I also designed 3 or 4 other products where, after up to a year of testing, we decided “Nah, this is not up to the standard of what we do.’

“People probably would have liked some of them,” he says, mentioning a DI and a handful of compressor designs that didn’t make the grade. “And we do have some test units out there that people won’t give back.”  But ultimately, for Derr to release a design, it has to be among the best in its class, it has to come in at an inspiring price point, it has to be repeatable and reliable, and it has to be stuffed to capacity with both character and features.

That last bit is probably Derr’s defining genius if he has one – Every Empirical Labs unit is crammed with control and does something, or some combination of things, that no other box really can.

The EL8 Distressor can blow up audio, compressing and distorting at the same time, or cleanly and authoritatively tame peaks, adding just a bit of character and girth. It can give the impression of an LA-2A or an 1176 or a vintage dbx160, or do things none of those boxes could ever hope to do.

The Fatso Jr saturates and “warms”, sending signal through transformers and multiple non-linear circuits, while the Lil Freq packs in more features than almost any EQ this side of a computer screen, every square inch of its faceplate crammed with control.

Then there’s the Mike-e preamp, which starts with an input stage that’s flat from 3hz to 200,000hz and ends with a “CompSat” section capable of adding a little vibe or tearing it all apart.

That last one that drives home Derr’s design philosophy: As much as he loves the idea of saturation and pleasant degradation, he also wants his tools to be as hi-fi and as consistent as he can make them. He never officially released the opto-compressors he designed over the years, citing lack of consistency.

“I think the problem there is the opto-couplers themselves,” he says.  “They’re like snowflakes. No two are alike.”

“There are companies that make renowned opto compressors that they’ve sold thousands of, and I can tell, they’re not within a dB or two of each other – And they have to spend hours testing parts to even get them that close.”

Engineers in the field reportedly loved some of Derr’s discarded prototype test units, but they did not pass one of his main criteria: undeviating audio fidelity. And to him, that’s one of the most exciting prospects of digital.

Adapting to Digital

“I’m friends with 10 different developers,” says Derr. “Right now we’re just trying to narrow things down.”

A few years ago, Empirical Labs put a big toe into the digital market with the release of the EL7 Fatso Jr./Sr. for Universal Audio’s UAD platform. Derr’s guess was that it would be one of the hardest pieces to emulate, because it is so non-linear. If they had some success there, he could be convinced.

“Everything in [the Fatso] is non-linear,” he says. “At first I asked Dave Berners [of UAD] if he’d even be interested in doing it, because trying to recreate that thing is like trying to model 8 Distressors.”

UAD FATSO Jr./Sr. Tape Sim. & Compressor Plug-In

Their results with the plugin version of the Fatso proved two things for Empirical Labs: First, that it was possible for a plugin to live up to Derr’s exacting standards and to accurately emulate its analog counterpart.

“Right off the bat, [Berners] got the soft clipping sounding really good. I compared the soft clipping to the soft clipping of the fatso under a microscope and it was just incredibly close. As soon as I saw that I said ‘yeah, he’s going to be able to do it’.

The two went back-and-forth for about a year, perfecting the response of the plugin. Derr glows as he talks about Berners’ work, citing the man’s patience, and persistence and hunger for detailed feedback that he could put to work in the emulation.

In the end, Derr says that UAD was able to get the software to behave in a way that was stunningly faithful to the original, even as they worked together to add in bucketloads of new features. “You get the total Fatso vibe with that plugin. Even here at the studio, I’m more likely to just use the plugin unless I’m doing something really crazy. It captures not only the soft clipping, but the warmth, the saturation, the compression.”

The experience taught a second lesson as well: That a successful plugin doesn’t spell doom for hardware sales. If anything, they discovered first hand, it seems that the success of one may go hand-in-hand with success for the other.

The original analog Fatso is easily one of Derr’s most popular rack units, despite the $2,500 list price. But not long after the software version came out, software sales swiftly outpaced them, although Derr says both markets continued to grow.

“Anyone who has done this will tell you that software plugins will not adversely affect hardware sales,” he remarks. “And we have found that to be true. The Fatso plugin and hardware have not directly competed with each other. I doubted it at first, very seriously. But now, two and a half years later, I just don’t doubt it any more.”

In an industry where hardware manufacturers might be lucky to keep 10-20% of their list price as honest revenue, software, which can have far lower per-unit costs, means a company can keep profits going, even while charging less and serving more customers who they were never able to reach before.

It’s a good thing, because for Derr, new profits mean new designs.

Next Steps

Derr expects Empirical Labs to have a new plugin out sometime in 2013. But just as with his analog designs, Derr approaches design with performance in mind, not deadlines, so a solid date is not forthcoming.

Still, “We are definitely moving that way,” he says, “and we will definitely be selling plugins on our site.” He even says that they’re “winding down” as far as analog development is concerned. There might “be a couple more” new analog units in the works, but after that, Empirical Labs has its eye squarely on where the market is headed.

“We’re moving furiously into digital,” says Derr. “I’m looking really excitedly at it.”

The company has a few tools that would be an obvious fit for emulation. But the next new plugin EL that releases will not be based on a pre-existing analog device.

“It may have some similarities. It may do some of the things other products do. But very few parts of the circuit will come from hardware.”

Obstacles

Derr cites several benefits when he talks about designing directly for DSP. There’s the flexibility of interface, clearly a playground for him, and the near-limitless power to shape every aspect of a non-linear curve.

But another reason he’s not aiming to release a direct emulation of Empirical Labs hardware immediately is for the sake of protection.

If it wasn’t for cracks, Dave Derr says, “A Distressor plugin would have been out 10 years ago.”

Derr says he has received near-constant requests for a plugin version of his flagship design. And that’s precisely why he has not released one.

All that demand indicates that a Distressor plugin is especially likely to be targeted for cracking by disreputable coders with too much time and not enough scruples on their hands.

“The Distressor is a flagship product. If we’re going to do it, we’re going to put our heart and soul into it. But to go through all that, only to have it cracked within a year? I’m just not willing to do that.”

Those of us who work in the music industry are acutely aware of how a lack of control over intellectual property can sap creativity and focused effort from the world – not to mention economic activity and jobs. Let’s hope that the prospects of a Distressor plugin – sure to be a hit if it were developed and released – are not another casualty.

In the meantime, Derr and Empirical Labs are prepared to test the waters with a new plugin next year in the hopes of discovering that copy protection has improved to a point where they can continue to invest in developing new tools for the frontier where so many engineers have and are continuing to move.

I, for one, have got my fingers crossed. If a software version of the Distressor ever does come out, I’ll be among the first on line to buy it. In the meantime, Empirical Labs remains one of the most respected and accessible high-end hardware companies around. Whatever the future holds, that doesn’t seem likely to change anytime soon.

Justin Colletti is a Brooklyn recording engineer and studio journalist. He is a regular contributor to SonicScoop and edits the music blog Trust Me, I’m A Scientist.

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