How to emulate a Distressor EL8 compressor distortion

haloll

Member
Link to real compressor: https://www.empiricallabs.com/distressor/

I know that we have the optical compressor already built into the Axe FX, and I believe the EL Foil mode of the optical compressor is pretty close to a distressor compressor (I could be wrong here). On the real distressor, it has modes to add second and/or third order harmonics to the wet signal. Does anyone know if any distortion is modeled in the EL Foil mode of the optical compressor or is it clean by default? And either using the compressor block or another block type in the Axe FX III, is it possible to add second or third order harmonic distortion in the same style of that in the distressor?
 
The EL foil mode does not add the harmonics (to my knowledge). The cab block has saturation (preamp) modes that you can use to similate the saturation added by the distressor.
 
The EL foil mode does not add the harmonics (to my knowledge). The cab block has saturation (preamp) modes that you can use to similate the saturation added by the distressor.

Would I want to push the VU meter on the cab block preamp above zero? Or get it to where its hitting right around -3 to zero on my loudest notes?
 
Would I want to push the VU meter on the cab block preamp above zero? Or get it to where its hitting right around -3 to zero on my loudest notes?
It starts clipping above zero. So that VU lets the user know about the headroom.
 
Do any of the compressors in the Axe add harmonics or are they all pure dynamics manipulation?

Obviously a hard limiter adds clipping . . . but do any of the compressors add "color"?
 
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