Ivor Drawmer, maker of analog—and now digital—signal processing equipment, drew on his 30-plus years behind the soldering iron to create the Drawmer 1973, a new 3-band FET stereo compressor. It is being distributed in the U.S. by TransAudio Group, available now at a price of $1,825.
The Drawmer 1973 includes three independent compressor sections with two variable-frequency 6 dB/octave crossovers to separate them into low, middle, and high frequency compression sections.
Each section contains familiar threshold, gain, attack, and release controls, along with gain-reduction metering. Moreover, each section can be independently muted or bypassed for confusion-free setup and monitoring.
The low section possesses a “Big” switch for enhanced low-end, whereas the high section possesses an “Air” switch for enhanced high-end.
The three sections are recombined to form the “wet” signal, which can be mixed to variable degree with the dry signal for easy parallel compression. Illuminated VU meters make monitoring compression and output intuitive and, yes, fun.
“Certainly, the Drawmer 1973 owes some of its sound and functionality to Ivor’s experience designing the classic Drawmer 1960 and 1968 compressors, as well as to the Drawmer S3 signature series multiband tube compressor,” says Brad Lunde, president of TransAudio Group. “But it also has a sound and operation all its own. It’s capable of solving problems single-band compressors simply cannot, such as compressing only the low end, raising its average level relative to everything else, and giving your mix a bit more bass without changing the overall level.
“It has a sound quality that cannot be matched by other analog processors, never mind plug-ins,” he continues. “It will be popular among mixers and EDM mixers alike. The 1973’s layout is impressive. Unlike most other multiband compressors, the 1973’s controls are easy to understand at a glance and work to inspire creative use.
“The real news here may be the 1973’s affordable price. Those in need of stereo multiband compression with Drawmer’s quality can have it for the cost of Drawmer’s famous single-band stereo tube compressor, the 1968.”
