Ok this was asked/referred to in the MEA-2 thread, but we'll move it here to keep everything cleaner...
The answer is mostly "yes" with a "why would you?"
Thanks to some clever hardware engineering by Leif Mases, the MLA-4's crossover points won't color your sound like many other multiband compressors do.
He developed a special filter network for the hardware that achieves a flat frequency and phase response at unity gain.
Frequency Response
Phase Response
While you can use the MLA-4 like a wideband compressor, that's not where this unit's magic lies.
Here's what's happening: with linked sidechains, while all bands share the same amount of gain reduction, the timing and amount are dictated by the "winning" band - whichever band is triggering the most compression.
This differs from a true wideband compressor, which has just one timing circuit that processes the complete waveform.
Just link the sidechain, and then there are a few ways you can go from here:
- You can set all three bands to the same settings (there's a handy shift-key shortcut for this - hold shift while moving any parameter, and they'll all move together). This gets you very close to wideband behavior, though remember that the "winning" band's timing will still determine the overall envelope.
- You can set the crossover to 100Hz and 12kHz and use the mid-band controls - keeping all the others to 1:1 so that only the mid-band affects the envelope. This is like having a low cut on your sidechain but with the added flexibility of the MLA-4's architecture.
- You can set your crossovers to taste and dial in different thresholds per band. This way, only the dominant band can trigger the GR at any time, and you can get creative with the attacks and releases. Any GR from any band will affect the overall compression based on whether it's the dominant band, combining its settings with the globally linked behavior.
The whole signal path stays pristine thanks to the unique filter network.
Unity gain is completely flat in frequency and phase response. When you link all bands, the compression/expansion moves that unity gain line up and down. Think of it like having a three-band EQ in your sidechain filter section but with the MLA-4's special handling of band interaction.
The VCA architecture minimizes harmonic distortion during compression and expansion, making it one of those rare pieces where the multiband functionality doesn't compromise the signal quality.
Instead of using it as a pure wideband compressor, I'd encourage you to explore what makes the MLA-4 special by experimenting with its unique multiband architecture and creative possibilities.