Compressors

We put this versatile homage to the classic British bus compressor through its paces.

Buzz update a characterful concept to create a compressor that's capable of both vintage and modern sounds.

We put BLA’s feature-rich and keenly priced 1176-style compressor to the test.

More than a mere makeover, this 10th anniversary limited edition processor adds some useful functionality to the original BC1 design.

Retro set their sights on modernising a classic design from the golden age of recording — did they hit their target?

We check out API’s 500-series version of the 2500 bus compressor.

This combination of Pultec-inspired stereo mastering EQ and VCA bus compressor could earn its keep in a wide range of situations.

The latest vintage-styled plug-in from Sonimus is a neat compressor with a vari-mu flavour.

These modules can be mixed and matched to create a versatile, high-quality, Neve-esque channel strip for an impressive price.

You’d be forgiven for thinking the world doesn’t need another expensive vari-mu compressor. But you might just be wrong...

Golden Age Project’s quest to bring classic designs within reach of the masses continues, with this affordable take on the LA-2A.

With dual compressor stages and dual-band, boost-only EQ, the novel Magnum-K shows that high-end outboard needn’t be retro.

Combining aspects of two classics from the golden age of hardware design, this compressor is really rather special.

The CP-1X is no typical guitar compressor pedal. It employs Boss’s proprietary Multi-Dimensional Processing (MDP) technology, which analyses various aspects of the incoming signal in real time and then responds by optimising the digital processing for the source.

This stylish module brings the ‘blue stripe’ revision of the UREI 1176 to the 500 series.

I thought I had a handle on this, but seem to have a hard time understanding the difference between a compressor’s ‘Hold’ and its ‘Release’. Can you help explain?

Could this modern take on a classic compressor design be fab for your studio?

iZotope say that Neutron not only has the processing power to address all sorts of mixing issues, but the intelligence to help you identify them.

The Gates Sta-Level broadcast compressor is a classic — but it isn’t cheap. Can Wes Audio give you the same sound for less?

Ted Fletcher's new processor packs four different well-known compression types into a single box.

Could you explain (slowly!) the basic principles of how a compressor works, and what each control does, the ratio control in particular?