Thomas Juth breaks down a mindset he picked up from working with analog hardware: every compressor has its own emotional footprint, and your job is figuring out what each one does best.
Units like the Chandler Zener limiter, TG1, and DBX 160 are what he calls urgency compressors. They add explosive intensity and make a vocal jump out of the speakers, so save them for moments that need to grab attention.
Something like an LA-2A works the opposite way. It's smooth and gentle, built for control that stays soft rather than aggressive.
The core idea: don't force a unit outside its character. Pushing an LA-2A for explosive urgency, or an urgency compressor for gentle smoothing, wastes what makes each one special.