Two bus heaven it's really not more I can say except get it now before the price increase Yes! this plugin is just that good

I record hip hop vocals and a couple artists I work with have a low mids frequency issue. Although there's many ways to tame that problem nothing sounds as good as this not only did it take the problem away but it added some positive shine to the sound of their vocals

Get it, you won't regret it. I haven't had Arouser very long, but I find myself wanting to put it on every track and tweaking controls all night long!

I'm a believer after using this software for the last few days/nights in the recording studio. I have at my disposal an actual hardware version EL8-X Distressor and although Eli state "The Arousor is built around the Distressor" they have a wonderful similarity in sound, and the Arousor 3.0 is so smooth and in my situation works "Amazingly" with Guitar, Bass, Drums, Vocal and most other studio instruments.

I've been working for the last decade more "In-the-Box" and I was looking for a "Special Compressor" like most engineers I have a number of great software based compressors: FabFilter, Waves, MJUC, SSL, Melda, iZotope etc. The ease of operation with the Arousor, the low-CPU usages is another plus, though I do have an highly-efficient Processors and so on.

Sweetwater as always are "Top Notch" Professionals and Mark M. is one of the best!

I use my UAD Distressor a lot, so I wasn't going to get this, but I heard good things. I got it and man, I love it! It has finer tuning than the Distressor, so I was able use it tracking vocals and the tweaking eliminated the need for any other de-essing. This was on three different singers and a rapper. Sure, your experience may vary, but color me impressed. I actually like it better on vocals and bass than the UAD Distressor plugin. Give it a try!

I'm not kidding, try it on your drum bus and be amazed!

Let's get this out of the way first: The hardware version sounds better. Depending on the program source, a little to a little more, but I'd say you get 95%-99% with the software version, and as many as your hardware will support. Not only does it sound amazing, but you can have a ridiculous number of instances running at the same time.

It is a compressor, but...the character it can add, the way it can modify the attack, it's really much more than a compressor. The side chain and blend further extend what you can do with it.


I was under the impression this was great on drums and that was it. I was wrong! With so many options, it takes a while to get your head around what it can do, so take the time to learn it. It can be the Magic Button. But most times you need something more subtle. The Arousor does both. You can make a snare scream, or a whispered vocal clearer.

I've used it on vocals, guitars, bass, drums, organs, synths, and some foley (working on a steam train right now).

And with Sweetwater, it's simple. They have taken care of me every time.

Also want to give Bart 5 starts too. Great insight, shares what he knows (which is considerable) and honest about what he doesn't! The best.

The "Arousor" is not perfectly simple, nor is it overly complex... it's just right.

It can do more than one might imagine, at first. Spend some time with it and move the controls around for a few hours. The versatility of this plugin will become apparent.

Specifically as a dynamics processor, Arousor can control/compress things in some of the most musical ways that I have ever heard. You can make excellent changes to the electronic signal, while finding great compromises for preserving the music in that signal.

The set of controls provided are straightforward and effective, so often in the most pleasing and interesting ways.

Incredible plugin. Does exactly what I want a compressor to do... compresses the peaks without losing any musicality. Perfect. The clipping is fun, too. This plugin sounds great. There's really not a lot more to say.

This is by far one of the absolute best plugins that I"ve ever purchased. Best compressor plugin by far in my opinion. I downloaded it today and used it on some vocal tracks and a piano track and it immediately gave them so much more life in the mix. Definitely recommend this to anyone on a budget that may not be able to afford the outboard version. Absolutely worth the price. Thank you Empirical Labs and Sweetwater!!

The answer is yes. I've done an A/B comparison between the Arousor and the Distressor on bass, vocals, and drums. In conclusion my fellow audio engineers and I found there to be no difference at all. You can achieve bringing out the same harmonic content and get the same sound all for a $1,000 difference. You don't need to be a pro audio engineer to know which of these is the better choice - Unless you crave touching physical knobs and buttons.

I am astounded at the sounds I can get from this plug in. When I first put it on my vocal channel without even touching a knob it made my vocals come alive. The Arousor is great on everything I put it on from Bass to keys. Really worth it considering you pretty much getting the sound of a Distressor on as many channels as you want.Thanks Empirical Labs!!

I dont have to wait steven slate promise to emulate distressor. This is the real thing.