: Because it relies on light and sensors, its reaction is inherently slow and "musical," making it a staple for smoothing out vocals, bass, and guitars.
"Cranking" or driving the CLA-2A hot refers to pushing the input signal or the Peak Reduction knob to extremes to achieve specific sonic results: waves cla2a compressor crack hot
In the analog world, "cracking" a unit open or running it hot often meant finding the sweet spot where the tubes started to glow and distort just enough to sound "expensive". CLA-2A Compressor Limiter Plugin - Waves Audio : Because it relies on light and sensors,