PULSAR DIGITAL 1178
An emulation of a classic compressor with added extras always gets our attention, but will this new 1178 get your pulse racing?
Emulations of Urei’s iconic 1176 compressor/ limiters are plentiful, but versions of the less common 1178 are harder to find. Pulsar Digital’s latest plugin is 1178 (VST, VST3, AU, AAX), an emulation-plus-extras version of this classic stereo FET compressor.
Similar in style to the 1176, the 1178 has most in common with the later transformerless 1176, and operationally the design should be familiar to many people. The Input knob is used to raise the level to a fixed threshold, and gain make up (Output) is manual. There are four ratio options (4, 8, 12 and 20:1), and Attack and Release can be adjusted smoothly between slow and fast (0 is the slowest, 7 the fastest). Note the plugin has channel specific rather than shared Attack and Release controls and an additional ‘All’ ratio setting to emulate selecting all buttons on the hardware. For convenience a simpler mono instance is also included.
Value Added
1178’s software enhancements are many and varied. First up, stereo instances of the plugin work in both stereo and M/S modes with individual Channel Solo and also Link controls (linking retains relative positions). The stereo sidechain (internal or external) can also be linked, inverse linked or unlinked. This provides plenty of flexibility for stereo material and we particularly like the option to unlink the sidechain when using the M/S mode. Next up, to the right of the VU meters you have four Saturation Settings. These deliver various types of harmonic distortion and the amount can be tweaked using the accompanying Calibration. Finally, to the right you have a Mix Blend for parallel compression.
So far so good, but 1178 has a fold-up panel of further extras. On the left you’ll find Sidechain Settings including a very flexible and powerful (+/- 24dB gain) 4-band parametric sidechain EQ with individual Band Enable and Solo. There’s also adjustment of the external sidechain level if used (+/-20dB) and Sidechain Listen. With such flexibility we easily tailored the response for submix and mixbus uses, and also created a powerful de-esser.
On the plugin’s right is some very handy metering including Gain Reduction and Peak/ RMS Input and Output meters. There’s also a scrolling display with Gain Reduction (red or green) and Input Level Envelope (grey). We found this very useful when observing the effects of the lookahead/behind settings (see below). Further options include oversampling (up to x8), a resizable window, undo/redo, input/ output inverted level linking, over 50 presets and informative cursor-sensitive help balloons.
So how does it sound? Pretty good. 1178 excellently captures the Urei FET compressor’s swift attack and signature release shape, adding presence to vocals, bass, kicks, snares and beyond. And if further grit is needed, the All Ratio setting or Saturation section will oblige. Used for stereo duties such as drum overheads or room mics it delivers sheen, pumping chaos and everything in between and the added extras mean you can tailor this in multiple ways. Finally as a submix and mix-buss processor the sidechain and M/S options are invaluable.
All told, Pulsar’s 1178 perfectly captures the 1178 sound and then packs it full of handy features you’ll wish all your classic compressors had. In a word, brilliant.