Slate's Long-awaited Distressor Emulation
After years of testing and teasing, the Slate Digital FG-Stress is finally here. This plug-in succeeds in bringing the legendary Empirical Labs EL8-X compressor to your digital workflow. FG-Stress is a licensed (as in, endorsed by creator Dave Derr), 1:1 digitization of this incredible piece of studio hardware, pieced together from characteristics of several Distressors out in the wild. Squash room mics into pulp. Smooth and excite vocal performances. Infuse guitars with tubelike distortion. Even if you already own and love a hardware EL8-X, the Slate FG-Stress gives you unlimited channels of that distinct Distressor character and allows you to stay completely in the box as you track and mix.
Related Videos: FG-Stress Compressor Plug-in
The Last Word in Rock/Pop Compression
1,001 mix uses
From smashing drums to smoothing vocals and fattening bass guitar, the Empirical Labs Distressor EL8-X has earned a place among classic studio-standby compressors. Eight compression curves and a wide selection of tubelike harmonic enhancement empower this unit to be the only compressor you need to shape a rock or pop mix.
User tested and spec'd
FG-Stress isn't based on a single Distressor sitting in a lab. It's been carefully modeled using calibrated customer Distressors — including units from producers Andy Sneap and Rob Ruccia —to tap into the Platonic ideal of this incredible piece of hardware.
Hardware Distressor shown here
Faithful Compression and Distortion Curves
Eight compressors in one
The Empirical Labs Distressor EL8-X has proven notoriously difficult to model. From the 1:1 warming mode to the all-buttons Nuke setting, each of the EL8-X's ratios, curves, and characters are distinct. Steven Slate and his team carefully analyzed each setting and built it into FG-Stress — effectively giving you eight different compressors in a single plug-in.
Smooth harmonic distortion
The Slate FG-Stress faithfully injects the EL8-X's distortion generators and detection filters into each curve. Users can now implement their favorite Distressor tricks into their digital workflow: like high-passing a bass into the 10:1 circuit with a fast release time for a thick bottom end.
Packed with pro presets
Despite its complexity under the hood, FG-Stress is remarkably simple to use. Even if you're new to compression as a concept, you can start with one of several presets created by top industry mixers and use your ears to tweak to taste. This fast, efficient workflow is one of the reasons why mix engineers at Sweetwater stand behind plug-ins like FG-Stress.
Slate Digital FG-Stress Compression Plug-in Features:
- A licensed 1:1 emulation of the EL8-X Distressor
- Packs eight unique compression curves — VCA, opto, and tube — into one plug-in
- Smash drums, smooth vocals, fatten bass, and more
- Faithful detection filters and distortion generators unlock tried-and-true tricks from each compressor
- Based on hardware Distressors from Andy Sneap (Megadeth) and Rob Ruccia (Arista Records)
- Pro presets are a convenient starting point for novices to power users
- Formats: VST, AAX, AU
- Compatibility: Mac OS X 10.7–10.12; Windows 7–10
- Minimum requirements: Intel Quad Core i5, 4GB of RAM
- iLok 2 or higher required; not included