The product that started it all for Empirical Labs. Born of founder Dave Derr’s love of classic compressors like the 1176, LA-2A and Gain Brain (among others), the Distressor incorporates his favorite sonic characteristics of these, along with other unique and interesting features that have made it a staple for audio engineers all over the world. With over 28,000 units in the field, it’s safe to say that the Distressor is one of the best selling high end compressors of all time… if not THE best selling. A prominent recording engineer recently wagered that there probably was not a top 40 record made in the last five years that didn’t have at least one Distressor on it.

The product that started it all for Empirical Labs. Born of founder Dave Derr’s love of classic compressors like the 1176, LA-2A and Gain Brain (among others), the Distressor incorporates his favorite sonic characteristics of these, along with other unique and interesting features that have made it a staple for audio engineers all over the world. With over 28,000 units in the field, it’s safe to say that the Distressor is one of the best selling high end compressors of all time… if not THE best selling. A prominent recording engineer recently wagered that there probably was not a top 40 record made in the last five years that didn’t have at least one Distressor on it.

Arguably the coolest and most unique device in the Empirical Labs arsenal, the FATSO (Full Analog Tape Simulator and Optimizer) is a digitally controlled analog device that gives musicians and engineers easy access to many of the desirable characteristics exhibited by older tube and Class A electronics and magnetic tape mediums. This two channel audio processor musically integrates frequencies and transients, increasing the apparent volume while keeping tight control over peak levels.

In today’s modern age of digital recorders, DAWs and software plug-ins, Mike-E is the ultimate solution for getting a clean and strong, yet warm and musical signal into the box…and it couldn’t be easier to work – its front panel layout is so straight ahead that even inexperienced engineers will have no problem moving around on it right away.

As with ELI’s other signal processors, the Lil FrEQ Equalizer takes a somewhat unique approach to its job. Instead of daisy chaining several equalizers and frequency processors, we combined most of the sound sculpting tools an engineer needs into a compact single rack space box, while still offering the highest performance of any design in its class.

Welcome to Aurora, a spectral reverb capable of a wide palette of sounds: from lush caverns and whale songs, to alien textures you've never created before. And likely, will invoke a hunger for exploration you felt when you first touched a modular synth.

At its core is a powerful 32 step sequencer with two independent channels and an intuitive interface. What makes the Bloom come alive are its fractal algorithms which can transform existing sequences into powerful melodies, or even generate new patterns altogether.

Data Bender is a circuit bent digital audio buffer. It is inspired by the ways in which audio equipment can fail. The sounds of skipping CDs, software bugs, and defective tape machine playback are all accessible. The 96kHz, 24-bit audio buffer can hold over a minute of stereo audio, providing a sonic canvas capable of infinite surprises and discovery.

Mojave is a granular sandstorm. Drawing its inspiration from vast swaths of desert in the American Southwest, Mojave is a live granular processor that uses microscopic bits of audio to create beautifully crafted sonic landscapes.

Nautilus is a complex delay network inspired by sub-nautical communications and their interaction with the environment. In essence, Nautilus is a stereo delay consisting of 8 unique delay lines which can be connected and synced in interesting ways.