Tubes have become all the rage due to the inadequacy of digital storage devices. There are numerous solid-state units that will sound better in many applications than tube units. One of the unfortunate by-products of tube units is the fact that their attack times can be measured with a calendar. Many solid-state units, especially those employing opto-attenuators, will have a similar response. Some will not.

Bill Putnam, Sr.

I believe it was during the late '60s that Teletronix was purchased by Universal Audio (all hail Bill Putnam!) and the LA-3A was born. The LA-3A is for many applications a solid-state LA-2A. It does have a different tone. While the LA-2A has an airy quality to its distortion artifacts, the LA-3A has a more solid midrange. It is a tougher-sounding unit, fat as you could ever want, and it has the ability to take a sound and move it right to the front of the speakers.

Universal Audio grew to become UREI, and the LA-3A was improved to become the LA-4. The LA-4 has much clearer audio than the LA-3A, and greater function control. Now instead of having input-dependent ratios, we could select between 2:1, 4:1, 8:1, 10:1 or 20:1. We were also trusted with input and output level controls, instead of the threshold and gain make-up controls given to us on the LA-2As and 3As.

This gave us the ability to tailor our compression needs, rather than being at the mercy of the designer's idea of what we needed. Unfortunately, the designer seemed to know a helluva lot more than many of the unit's users, so this was not necessarily a good thing. This was the beginning for the potential misuse of compression.

Universal Audio also built a tube compressor known as the UA 175 (175b), which with added control became the UA 176. UREI came out with a solid-state version of these and called it the 1176. The earliest models were silver-faced with a blue stripe around the meter.

They featured push-button ratio selection 4:1, 8:1, 10:1, 20:1, as well as attack and release controls. These blue-stripe ones are still in favor with many well-respected engineers. Perhaps the best use I have heard lately of these units is by Ray Kennedy (Room and Board, Nashville), who recorded the Steve Earle & The Dukes' "I Feel Alright album." I ran into Steve when he was playing in Boston, and he joked that they almost called the album 1176.

The original blue stripes were replaced by the black-face 1176 LN. LN allegedly stands for low noise; I think it stands for less noise. This unit has quadrupled in price in the past two years. It's a great box with a unique, very present character to the sound. It's very easy to use, and it's a no-brainer to see why the unit has soared in popularity.

Universal Audio 1176

Like its predecessor, it has four ratio buttons. Mixer Michael Brauer (I'm sure he's going to put a contract out on me for sharing this information) told me about pushing in all four buttons simultaneously. Wow! It's the most aggressive sound I have ever heard from any piece, any time, anywhere. It's so cool, you easily want to overuse use the effect, though I strongly caution against it.

If you are brave enough to try the four-button trick, do not look at the meter without a healthy dose of Dramamine. It ain't a pretty sight. There were about four incarnations of the black face, but I'm not clear on the differences. I have found that the lower serial number models seem thicker in tone, while later serial numbers are a bit brighter and faster-sounding.

The 1178 is a stereo/dual mono version of the 1176 with single controls. It is a very useful item and has its own distinct character. I'm told that there was a black-faced version, but I have never seen one.

On the 1176 LN silver face, the bean counters made them take out the input transformer (my conjecture), and the unit never had the same rich tone. The four-button trick doesn't work as well, either. It's still better than most new limiters on the market today, but not as cool as the black face.

UREI made a similar error in judgment with the LA-4, although I don't find the silver LA-4 to be as bad as the silver 1176 LN. When it comes to UREI compressor/limiters, black is beautiful!

About the same time all that was happening, a small Mass. firm called dbx was making a comp/limiter called the 160. Like the LA-3As and LA-4s, it was two rack units (RU) high, and half of the standard 19-inch rack width wide, allowing for two units to be strapped together and rack-mounted.

This is one of my favorite limiters for percussive instruments. We've all had to suffer through the drummer who gets excited at the beginning of each new section of the song--you know, the genius who hits the kick drum 2 dB harder at the head of each chorus. This is my favorite box for controlling that excitement.

The dbx 160 has a tremendous amount of "grab," and when used sparingly, it can erase the dynamic range from almost anything. You have to be careful not to overuse it, but if used well, it will fix a lot of problems. The 161 is an unbalanced version of the 160, and it works equally well.

It can be balanced with a transformer; doing that will net you a slightly fatter tone than the differential balancing circuit in the 160. Use a good transformer! For best results, consult a tech who really knows analog circuits.

dbx 160 and 162

The 162 is a stereo version of the 160, operating on one set of controls. I have found its best use is across a stereo drum bus. It's not a favorite for the 2-channel mix bus, but your results may vary.

Units that are considered vintage, or are at least rarer in the world of solid-state, are Neve compressor/limiters. The original units were approximately 5.25 inches square and were delivered in the consoles, typically the meter bridge. They were not intended to be rack-mounted, or moved for that matter. The most commonly found are the 2254/A, and 2254/E.

The 2254/A and 2254/E are almost identical, the difference being in the limiter function. The 2254/A has a fixed attack time, and the 2254/E has a selection between slow and fast attack. It you are at all handy and can read a schematic, it is not difficult to alter the attack time of the 2254/A to the slow attack time of the 2254/E (or so Burt Price in our technical department tells me).

I find the slower attack time more musical. A variety of compression ratios are available on both units. The 3:1 ratio is my favorite, but experimentation may lead you to a different conclusion.

The 2254s were found in the older (dark gray) 80 Series Neve consoles. When they changed the color of the desks to a lighter gray and began to employ black plastic knobs with various shades of blue in the knob insert caps, they added an extra "3" at the beginning of the model number. So a 32254/E is the same as a 2254/E except for the paint job.

The next model in the progression was the 2264/A, most commonly found as the 32264/A. Whereas the 2254s are nearly square, the 32264/A is 1.75 inches wide by about 8 inches tall. The functional differences between them have as much to do with tonal differences as anything else.

The fastest release time on the 2254 is 400 ms on the compressor and 100 ms on the limiter. On the 32264/A, the fastest release times are 100 ms on the compressor and 50 ms on the limiter. This gives you a whole new world of possibilities. Also, the stereo link facilities are right on the module instead of being an outboard afterthought as on the 2254s. The "A" or "B" link buses accommodate tying multiple units in a console.

Next Up: Fletcher talks equalizers!