1176 Compressor
From WikiRecording
The 1176 Compressor
The Universal Audio or UREI 1176 is a FET (Field Effect Transistor) Compressor. It was developed in 1966 by Bill Putnam, and was originally rooted in the 1108 Preamplifier.
It has become most renowned and common compressors along with the LA-2A in top of the line studios and recordings today.
The 1176 is a Class A line level limiting amplifier.
It does have a relatively high noise level for high end audio gear, and subsequent revisions have attempted to remove some of the noise, some of these are marked by the an LN following it (1176LN).
Making Sense of the Controls
Ratios
The 1176 has ratios of 4,8,12,and 20 as well as an unconventional "nuke" option when all 4 are pushed in. It also has input and ouput gain adjustment, (the input essentially acting as your threshold, and the output as makeup gain.) The VU meter has options to show Gain reduction as well as show audio level or to switch the unit off.
Attack
The Attack control varies from 20-800 microseconds. The fastest(shortest) attack time is when the control is in its fully clockwise position.
Release
The Release control varies from 50-1100 milliseconds. Again the fastest release is when the control is in its fully clockwise position.
Common Uses and Lore
1176 compressors have been rumored to bring out the brightness and crispness of a vocal while its compression works to smooth it out.
Of the many revisions of the model, the D and E revisions of the units are said to sound the most authentic.
Tips and Tricks
It can be useful to patch an 1176 to an LA-2A when trying to achieve your desired compression on a vocal or other instrument.
Simulation
Currently Bombfactory has a digital plugin called Bomb Factory BF76 that attempts to imitate the 1176 hardware as an RTAS plugin in ProTools. It is free to users of ProTools, but requires an iLok to be attached in order to run the plugin.
External Resources
A good overview on history as well as DIY building info
