Antelope Audio has announced the addition of four new vintage compressors (BA-6A, FET-A78, SMT-100A, and Grove Hill LIVERPOOL) to its library of FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) vintage hardware-based effects, enabling owners of its Thunderbolt and HDX audio interfaces to access unique hardware models of vintage effects with real-time performance without relying on DSP for native processing.
Specifically, Antelope Audio’s Thunderbolt and HDX interfaces — including Orion Studio HD, Goliath HD, Orion Studio Rev. 2017, Orion32 HD, Zen Studio+, Orion Studio, Goliath, Orion32+, and Zen Tour — offer this new breed of hardware-based audio effects.
The new BA-6A follows in the footsteps of a 1950s-vintage limiting amplifier’s design. The hardware unit was originally created for television and radio broadcasting purposes and it also became a favorite with recording engineers. Generating three-stage amplification with a moderate drive, hard knee compression, fast attack, and medium release, BA-6A brings a balanced, vintage sound to the present-day production table.
The new FET-A78 provides punchy, classic-style compression with flexibility, able to be used with drums, guitars, or vocals. Further versatility continues when also applied to tracked groups such as backing vocals, overheads, and stacked synths, as well as sound design duties.
The new SMT-100A, a 1980s classic, delivers compressor effects. Its fast attack times work particularly well with vocals, drums, and punchy bass.
The new Grove Hill LIVERPOOL is a contemporary fusion of American and British compression technologies with origins tracing back to the 1960s. It includes rotary knobs for controlling Input Gain, Threshold, Attack Time, Recovery Time, and Output Attenuator (dB) for tube compression sounds that are rich, wide, and thick.
