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The 1176 is a FET (Field Effect Transistor) compressor, which means that it uses FETs instead of vacuum tubes for its gain reduction circuit. This gives it a unique character that's different from other compressors on the market. It also has a fixed-ratio design with four selectable ratios: 4:1, 8:1, 12:1, and 20:1.
- History
- Circuit Design
- The Nitty Gritty - Input, Output, Attack, Release and Ratios
- Revisions, Revisions, Revisions
- Plugin Versions
- Wrapping Up
We love 1176 compressors here at Blackbird. In this blog I’m going to take you on a deep dive into this iconic solid-state compressor – Universal Audio’s 1176. Since its debut 1967, the 1176 has become a “desert island” compressor that has been a standard in the audio engineering field and been used on more records that any other compressor. Most p...
For those of you who are not technically inclined or have limited exposure to electronic circuit design, here’s a brief “user friendly” explanation of how the compressor works: The 1176 is a “feedback” compressor. The signal goes through the input stage via the line input transformer. From there the signal is routed to the top of a FET (used as a v...
Input The large Input knob combines 2 of the 5 parameters for compression – Threshold and Knee. Rotating the knob clockwise increases the amount of compression. It is certainly worth mentioning that on all 1176s the Input and Output knobs have arbitrary values that do not correlate to actual dB levels. Values range from 0 and increase in 6 degree i...
The 1176 has gone through many revisions since its debut. What follows is a brief chronology of most of them. Visually there are three easily identifiable revisions: blue stripe, blackface, and silver-face units. Each of these have multiple revisionswithin them. Bluestripe rev A (first produced on June 20, 1967, serial numbers 101-125) rev AB (Nov....
Universal Audio also offers a plugin version of three classic 1176 models: the blue stripe, blackface, and AE edition. They’ve also packed in some modern features not possible on the original analog versions: Headroom (HR) Headroom allows the user to adjust the internal operating reference level for the plug-in so that there is more choice of when ...
I hope you were able to gain some valuable knowledge and insight into arguably the most famous compressor ever made – the 1176. To learn more about compressors I invite you to watch our insideblackbird.comseries on compressors. Until next time be safe and be well. – Bryan Clark
Dec 26, 2017 · From there, the 1176 went through a series of slight modifications until the “Silverface" Revision H model was issued in the mid-‘70s. Universal Audio currently sells a 1176LN model based off of the circuit designs found in Revisions C, D, and E. Operating the 1176 Controls. The 1176 is unique in many ways, including the way the controls ...
The "All-Button Mode" on the 1176 compressor, colloquially referred to as the "British Mode," is a beloved "secret weapon" feature among audio engineers and producers. It is achieved by pressing all the ratio buttons (4:1, 8:1, 12:1, and 20:1) simultaneously, resulting in a unique and aggressive compression character.
The way the 1176 sounds, and specifically, the way all-button mode sounds, is partially due to its being a program dependent compressor. The attack and release are program dependent, as is the ratio. The 1176 will faithfully compress or limit at the selected ratio for transients, but the ratio will always increase a bit after the transient.
The 1176 is a “feedback” compressor. The signal goes through the input stage, via the line input transformer, which has a big impact on the sound. From there, the signal is routed to the top of a FET, which is being used as a variable voltage resistor. Depending on the revision of the unit, the FET is either used to shunt some of the input ...
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Nov 15, 2021 · An 1176 Timeline. In 1966 Bill Putnam’s Universal Audio featured tube compressor models 175 and 176, but in the lab plans to build a solid state compressor utilizing a circuitry based around a FET (Field Emitting Transistor) in the sensor circuitry of the unit were moving along. In 1967 the 1176 Rev A was introduced to the market.
