SKU: 28106911935

Union Tube & Transistor Lab Compressor

Sale price$135.00 Regular price$150.00
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Description

Union Tube & Transistor Lab CompressorMaker: Union Tube & Transistor Model: Lab Compressor Condition: New Description: The LAB is an optical compressor. It uses custom optocouplers to achieve up to 30dB of musical sounding compression. We loved how in the recording studio even with tons of compression the old optical compressors such as the LA 2A, the LA 3, the LA 4 sounded smooth and natural. The essence of the LAB's sound comes from the fast attack and slow release times of the custom

Maker: Union Tube & Transistor

Model: Lab Compressor

Condition: New 

 

Description:  

The LAB is an optical compressor. It uses custom optocouplers to achieve up to 30dB of musical-sounding compression.

We loved how in the recording studio even with tons of compression the old optical compressors such as the LA-2A, the LA-3, the LA-4 sounded smooth and natural.

The essence of the LAB's sound comes from the fast attack and slow release times of the custom optocoupler. The optocoupler's behaviour is quite complex, and program-dependent. It can't be modelled with simple resistor-capacitor networks. We wanted the pure response of the optocoupler to define the LAB's dynamics, and not supplement that with RC filtering.

To that end, we tried out just about every off-the-shelf optocoupler on the market, but ended up designing and manufacturing our own custom units. There's an interplay between dynamics, noise floor, distortion, and available compression on the one hand, and the opto's electrical parameters on the other. Since nothing commercially available fit the bill, we built our own.

With just two controls – compression and gain make-up – the LAB is fast and simple to use. It sounds great on bass and electric guitar, and the noise floor is impressive – quiet enough for studio use. It really shines on acoustic guitar, vocals and drums.

LAB Optical Compressor Specifications

Power Requirements +9VDC @40mA

Input Impedance 1MΩ

Output Impedance 100Ω

Frequency Response 20Hz–20KHz ±0.1dB

Maximum Input Level +7.5dBu

Maximum Output Level +10.0dBu

Compression/Gain-makeup 30dB

Noise Figure (Rs=10K) 3dB

For studio use you will need to attenuate going in and boost coming out of the LAB.

 

"the best compressor pedal I've ever heard." - Bob Rock

 

Shipping Notes
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Exchange/Return Notes
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  • Final sale items are not eligible for returns or exchanges.
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SKU: 28106911935

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4.2 ★★★★★
Based on 7 reviews
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Verified Purchase
Lemon Twist
Fort Morgan, US
★★★★★ 4
Love them as a cheap, effective warmer.
Color: Lavender
These really work well and are inexpensive ($20). I bought one for myself and my wife. Up front they tell you what kind of mugs/cups not to use, so read the information areas. We tried insulated mugs and the heat doesn't get passed the insulation barrier and the outsides get pretty hot to touch. We now use ceramic mugs and they work very well on these warmers. There are a number of temperature settings and we found the higher settings to be too hot. You will have to experiment with your own mugs to see what works. The sensor works well letting the warmer know if a mug is in place and it will shut down after 5 minutes without a mug. Unless your cat comes along early it won't get its feet scorched accidentally. The automatic timer works as advertised as well. Four stars because I found that trying to figure out how to actually turn the warmer off was a bit difficult and not so intuitive. Would definitely recommend these warmers. Hope this review helped.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2025
C
Verified Purchase
Clifford Baker
Battle Creek, US
★★★★★ 5
A very good present for someone special
Color: Black
I got this from a girl you can go ahead and melt scented candles. Just stick the holder down on. It puts out a nice scent cause you 12 hours of warmth to maintain your cup of drink or sent up the room a bit works well.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2026
S
Verified Purchase
SANDY & CLAUDE
Omaha, US
★★★★★ 5
GREAT AT KEEPING MY COFFEE HOT!!! when i said HOT, I mean HOT!!! *****
Color: Black
So far it's GREAT!!!. That warmer works great so far I plugged it, set it at the maximum (185f), put my ceramic cup of hot coffee on it and let it for 5 hours. when I checked it it was as hotter than when I put it on and the cup was really hot to the touch. The glass top is very hot so be careful, I touched the marble counter under where the warmer was and it was not even hot (now I'll try with a wooden top desk to see if it will be the same). So I don't think that you need to set it at the maximum to keep your coffee hot , probably (149f) will be good enough So far it does exceed my expectation , very easy to use and the price is right. I'll update if something happens but for now 5 STARS *****
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Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2026
D
Verified Purchase
Denise Blanchard
Omaha, US
★★★★★ 5
It works great
Color: Black
It's a great find so many different heat settings and timer settings I love mine
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Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2026
S
Verified Purchase
S Dee
Houston, US
★★★★★ 1
KEEP LOOKING
Color: Black
I have used a coffee mug warmer all of my long adult life. This one is the worst. I had to get a new one because my new coffee mugs were too big to fit on the old warmer. Yes this is large and will fit most cups I would think. But the amount of attention this thing requires is ridiculous. No simple on/off switch and leave it and forget it. You have to keep touching points in order to find the on and off area, and then you have to keep tapping it to get the temperature you want, but if you take your cup off and put it back, the temperature goes back to the lowest and starts blinking until you tap it to make it solid at the temperature you want. I got it yesterday and it’s going back today. Trust me on this you won’t like the attention it requires.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2026

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