The signal used for gain control is sensed after the gain reduction (feedback style compression) and it is fed to the gate of the FET. The signal attenuation helps not to overdrive the FET in the gain reduction stage.Ĭompression is achieved by a Field Effect Transistor (FET), used as a variable resistor.

The input section has a potentiometer to control the amount of attenuation, followed by the transformer. And maybe nice to know: The output transformer is a custom Bill Putnam Sr. The design features 3 stages: transformer input stage, gain reduction and a Class A (1108 style) output stage. But for now, we’ll focus on the current 1176 reissue. We will go through all different revisions of the 1176 below and we’ll talk more about different components used throughout the years. A major breakthrough in limiter technology. redesigned his successful 175 & 176 using FET’s, and so the 1176 was born. While designing his own consoles and equipment in the 1950s, he decided to found his own design and manufacturing company, Universal Audio.įrom building pre-amps and compressors inside recording consoles, he decided to create an outboard tube-based compressor, the 175 & 176. He was the first engineer to use artificial reverberation using echo chambers for commercial recordings. At the bottom of this page, you’ll find a cool interactive unit that you can play around with while listening to music.īill Putnam Sr., a well known producer and engineer, started recording in the early 1930s.

It’s time for our second article! And for this one we decided to have an in-depth look into one of the most iconic compressors/limiters used in music production, the 1176.

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