It’s what’s inside that counts
Vintage technology has endured due to its sound; it’s that simple. But to understand why particular tools work so well in particular circumstances, it pays dividends to know how certain hardware is designed and why its architecture makes it right for particular scenarios. After all, you may know that an SSL G Series Bus Compressor can sound great, but find yourself disappointed if you want it to ‘spank’ your snare drum sample.
Compressors are a great example of why understanding music tech’s rich history can improve your mixes, as there are several competing compression approaches, all involving different components or designs, which make them great for some things and less good at others. So, if you want a compressor which responds quickly to transients, solid state, VCA-based compression are a great choice. The dbx160 is a classic VCA-based compressor and whenever you want hyper-responsive dynamics control on percussive material, both it and other VCA-based designs are a great place to start.
An extension of the VCA approach can be found in FET compressors, which share the solid state design but use a ‘field-effect transistor’ to bring a flavour of tube circuitry. The Urei 1176 is perhaps the best known compressor of this kind and it (like other FET compressors) features a response time which exceeds traditional VCA compressors. FET models often pare back the feature set you might expect to offer attack and release dials, plus input and output controls in partnership with ratio, the balance between these options controlling how much compression you’ll hear (rather than a traditional threshold dial).
Optical compressors are different again. They use a light source which glows brighter as you increase input level and a resistor to decrease level in response to that growing brightness (to determine compression amount). Some optical (or opto) compressors feature tubes (such as Tube-Tech’s CL 1B) and this compression type is famous for smoother, less transient-responsive behaviour, which makes them a natural choice for vocals or strings, for example. Indeed, the Manley Vari-Mu, which remains one of the most popular bus compressors for track elements, mix busses and as part of mastering chains the world over, uses this architecture. As does Fairchild’s legendary 670.
Here we get to the nub of the issue. Even if your understanding of how each classic compressor has been built requires work, you can probably already gather that each device is made to an exacting standard, using carefully researched and sourced materials. And in turn, this means that the relationships between those components are a wonderful combo of classic and unpredictable, where unique sounds can be created through even tiny variations in the balance between settings. And so far, we’ve only discussed compressors. The same goes for classic mics, preamps, guitar amplifiers, spring reverbs and – as we know only too well in these pages – analogue synths.
It’s no surprise that the pioneering companies whose products have stood the test of time make technology which offers more sonic richness than your DAW’s native plugins. Of course, the price means that many of us have to face the realisation that they might be beyond our possession forever. However, Plugin Alliance, Waves and UAD are among those offering ever-more-accurate emulations of these classic pieces of hardware. And both as a means to familiarise yourself with their capabilities (if you book studio time in rooms with them) and because the plugins sound great, they’re a history lesson, a vital part of the present and unmistakably the sound of the future too.