Goodhertz has released LA-210, a brand-new free compressor & saturator plugin (currently in Beta). It distills carefully selected functions from three paid Goodhertz plugins — Tupe, Tupe Wow and VCME — into a single, focused tool.
This article covers what LA-210 is, its key features, and how to download and install it.
1. What is Goodhertz “LA-210”?
LA-210 is a compressor & saturator plugin that bundles selected processing blocks from three paid Goodhertz plugins — Tupe, Tupe Wow, and VCME — into a single unit. Inside you get the Tupe-derived opto compressor, the “Chino” tube soft-clip saturation mode from VCME, the FE90 cassette tape model and tape-speed control from Tupe Wow, and the brick-wall limiter from VCME. That spread covers everything from clean opto compression and gentle saturation through to aggressively destructive lo-fi treatments.
The interface is built around a stylised map of Southern California’s I-210 freeway, giving the plugin a unique visual identity. It works well on drums, vocals, bass, guitars and synths. It is currently shipping as Beta 1, but Goodhertz has confirmed that LA-210 will remain a permanently free plugin even after the beta period ends.
Main features
- Tupe-derived opto compressor on board
- VCME’s “Chino” soft-clip saturation mode (hi-fi classic tube character)
- Tupe Wow’s FE90 cassette tape model with tape-speed control
- VCME’s brick-wall limiter
- Six main controls: Input / Comp / Clip / Tape / Tone / Output
- VU meter switchable between three modes — DRIVE, GR (gain reduction) and OUT
- Speed Limit control to dial in the overall amount of processing / drive
- Advanced Controls let you reorder the comp, clip and tape stages
- 30 presets evoking classic studio sounds (Default, Hybrid Workflow, Chess Studios 1959, Stax 1967, Sunset Sound 1966, Village Recorder 1972, The Record Plant 1977, and more)
- Part of the Goodhertz Free Series — permanently free
2. How to download and install LA-210
You can download the Mac and Windows installers from the official Goodhertz LA-210 page. After launching the plugin you will need to sign in with a Goodhertz account.