Review: Opal from UVI

In this article, we’ll take a good look at Opal from UVI.

The LA-2A! An absolute classic that’s been loved by so many people over the years. Nice thick, gooey audio with all the words that you would use to describe an analog unit and a nice chocolate mousse – Creamy, smooth, silky etc etc…

Personally I’ve tried to love the LA-2A and there are certain scenarios where I’ve found it to be perfect, where I use it to just round things off, but I’m yet to find an emulation or version of it that I reach for as a go-to. It’s always felt a little too slow for most things and I like a little more snap, a little more control. There was always something that just didn’t sit right with the control freak in me. The UVI Opal seems like it could be just the emulation to change my opinion.

But will it? Let’s find out!

Embark on a sonic journey with Opal, a groundbreaking emulation of the iconic optical compressor. Opal unveils the true essence of the T4 optical cell, faithfully reproducing the program-dependent dynamics and nonlinearities that shaped countless recordings, and carries the design forward with a modern feature set. With 7 handpicked hardware units sourced from high-end studios around the world, Opal delivers an impressive range of unique sonic signatures, all with unrivalled accuracy.

A 1969 Corvette Stingray with an Electric Motor?!! 

The UI of the UVI Opal makes me constantly remind myself that this is an LA-2A emulation. While the layout of the controls is classic, very little about it is meant to make you feel nostalgic. It feels like a modern plugin in every sense and it’s great! I think it’s quite refreshing to see them ditch the clunkiness that some of these emulations have by having to cling to the nostalgia factor. It’s slick and almost futuristic. 

To start with at the top, we have the Menu Toggle. This brings up a small drop down menu for you to save, load and create new presets. This is followed by the Preset Menu and the A/B Snapshot button that lets you audition two different settings. Next to this we have the all important External Side-chain toggle which I normally wouldn’t care for much in an LA-2A but lets talk about why this one is particularly useful in the UVI Opal very soon. The last button in this row is the toggle switch for the GR Graph that’s displayed below showing real time gain reduction. 

Moving onto the important bits of the compressor, let’s start with everything to the left of the big VU Meter in the middle. We start with the self-explanatory Input Gain and move onto the little knob below it named Responsiveness. This is quite interesting and lets you change the attack and release characteristics of the compressor, in an LA-2A!! Next, we have the usual LA-2A suspects, the Peak Reduction on the left of the VU and on the right – the Make-up Gain. Further right, there is a MIX knob below which you have a quietly tucked away DRIVE control. This has its own toggle switch as well – TUBE EMULATION.

There is a little TREBLE toggle that just instantly rolls off the high end to give you a very vintage-sounding result. Apart from another old fixture, the Link Mode and Mid presence. The link mode has a few different options for you to affect the sidechain. With stereo signals, the control signal will feed the sidechain for operation. Click to show the drop-down menu to set the stereo link mode based on Left, Right, Mono (LR sum), Max ch (louder between L or R ch) or Unlinked (link off). The Mid presence also affect the side chain by changing filtering of the mid range.  

The most interesting part of this interface has to be the different models that you can choose. There are 7 different models to choose from, each modelled off a real unit in a real studio somewhere in the world. That’s as analog as it gets!! The neat graphic shows you the different characteristics as a collection of curves. They do a great job in giving you a sense of what is different. 

The last UI element to talk about is the neat little GR Graph that they have provided at the bottom. It is really helpful to visually see the responsiveness and the effect of the different modes change. If you don’t like it, the toggle neatly tucks it away. I would keep it on for a while just till you can understand how the plugin changes character. 

Lightyears ahead!

The headline, apart from the cheeky optical compressor pun, really holds true when you compare the UVI Opal to any other LA-2A emulation out there. It’s so far ahead, that I’m sure that very few people would go back to their old emulations after this one. Let me explain why. 

Firstly, this plugin addresses and fixes all the reasons why you can’t really throw an LA-2A on everything. The responsiveness of the optical compression circuit is more condusive to being a leveller and it’s great at that job. But when you are used to modern compressors and have the control over the attack, release and even in some cases, extreme control over knee, release curves etc etc… you do miss these things. I feel like those who have adopted the LA-2A into their workflow early or have worked with actual hardware units are the ones who still stick to using them today. I personally have never gotten them to work the way I’ve wanted them to. The UVI Opal completely changes that. 

Let’s take a scenario where you have a vocal and you throw the UVI Opal on the vocal. Once you get the basics going, you feel it’s just a bit too slow. Now, you have the different models to pick from. The different models make a surprising impact on whether the compressor is right for the source or not. You can try the different curves and find one that is just a bit more alive for the particular vocal. Now you are closer but not quite there. That’s where is wonderful Responsiveness knob comes in!

Just push it further clockwise and hear the thing move faster and faster. The best part is, yes the attack and release get faster in tandem but since the release is still material-dependent, it almost always feels right. Once you’ve got the Responsiveness to where you want, you can move on to the Mid Presence control. This really takes away that usual claustrophobia that the LA-2A induces in the mid-range and lets it breathe. You still get the squeeze but you also get the mid-range character to shine through.

The Treble switch stays on by default, and for good reason. When you turn it off, it is supposed to take away the added sheen that the LA-2A usually adds but it does take away quite a lot and it feels like you just added a low pass filter on your track. It does sound nice when you want to smooth something out like a rogue acoustic guitar, but in most cases it’s best to leave it be.

Last but not least, we have the Drive control. I really appreciate the fact that you have both a toggle and an amount control. It definitely helps in the decision-making process. The drive sounds fantastic! The mid-range magic that you get from tubes really shines through and it never sounds bad. I’ve pushed it quite hard and I have very rarely found a scenario where it was harsh or unpleasant. It’s extremely musical and tasteful.

Personal Thoughts

The UVI Opal has really made me appreciate the humble LA-2A. The ability to tailor it just enough to enjoy the magnificence makes a massive difference. It sounds fantastic on most vocals. I found that I seem to get very technical compression that still stays quite musical. The ability to tailor the drive and colour is great and really makes it quite versatile. A lot of times, I found myself just using a very tiny amount of compression but a lot of drive to just help sources pop a little. Apart from vocals, it sounds great on bass guitars and acoustic guitars that are really spiky. Its ability to go from a humble leveller to an all-in-one compressor is quite impressive. 

Find out more about Opal from UVI