COMPRESSOR ONE by Total Audio Control

[sahib]

After a period of silence here is another Langley special.  Straight from the master's hands.

An outstanding VCA compressor with multi-channel operation capability and user configurable sidechain filters.

As usual mega thanks go to my good friend Udo for his beta testing and recommendations throughout the development. I'll leave the mic to him to explain the details. (Although he is unknown in this forum big thanks also go to Mr Calum Malcolm for his through subjective testing.)

With COMPRESSOR ONE all of our products are now also available in classic grey look as well as in black and metallic finish.

Further information with assembly manual and bill of materials can be downloaded from;
http://www.totalaudiocontrol.com/pr/show/18

It is available through both our WM listing and web site.

 

[kante1603]

Hello everybody,

it was an honour again to test-build this new baby.
A long time of talking about it,the corresponding discussions and finally start building took very long this time,but believe me,it was worth the wait.
Mr. Langley and Cemal did a fantastic job on this little monster called COMPRESSOR ONE.
It is all about a VCA-based compressor with tons of possibilities in use as well as in altering internal settings.

In use:
It has everything you would expect from a good compressor,but also some extras.
There´s a dual row led meter showing GR on the left side.The right meter´s source can be selected on the front panel from input,output or -great feature-from the side chain.
The internal side chain can be one of three positions,"classic" no filters,a hpf filter and -hooray- a bandpass filter!
This is great for me as I most of times record vocals,and it really works in the best way right from start.
For all filters you have options to alter slope and frequency (in a given range) via internal jumpers.
What makes the side chain even more versatile is that you can have it external,whether unbalanced or in my case fully balanced with an optional BALANCING CARD.This can be inserted in TAC racks but also in a small module called INSERT ONE for non-TAC users (fits in every 500 series rack).See a description of INSERT ONE here:
https://groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=65067.msg824491#msg824491
There are options for the recovery time,one is as stated on the front panel writing,but then there are A1 and A2.These timing settings are derived from a well-known compressor in the "upper class range" and are an excellent start when treating more complex material like a mix etc.
The soft button alters the knee as expected.
Then there is another massive feature:
You can switch from feed forward to feed back!This indeed converts the device into a totally different compressor!
So COMPRESSOR ONE can be nearly anything from subtle/gentle behaviour to extraordinary brutal for e.g. smashing drums.
I own a lot of compressors,but this is the most versatile by far.
Expept of the IN switch explaining itself there is a switch called "L".This switch function can be set by internal jumpers from being a Link switch (for stereo or  multichannel modes) to Listen,I love it.I have missed this feature for a long long time.Listen to what the compressor listens to.Switches the sidechain signal to the compressor output.Great!
The small led named "M" identifies the master device in a stereo- or multichannel arrangement.
Also we have the very valuable DRY/WET mix knob.
There are some options or better said add-ons you can have too:
An extra VCA-card with THAT 2181A if this "vibe" is preferred and a Hard Bypass relays card sitting directly next to the gold fingers if wanted.
The basic kit contains a THAT 4301 as VCA.It has a bigger footprint than a THAT 2181A VCA because it also contains the RMS detector which is kept when using a 2181A card.
There are really tons of jumper settings possible internally and I can´t cover each and everything here.It is best to read the superb build manual from TAC (should be available on their homepage now) in case of interest.It clearly shows how to build,how to test and how to set up the compressor in various scenarios.
From a building skills view I´d say normally skilled people (like me) can do it easily.It is definitely not a beginner´s project,same as COMPRESSOR ONE (seen as an audio tool) is definitely not a newbies first but a "grown-up" compressor.
Personally I have built three of them meanwhile and have ordered another three for our company.All have the BALANCING CARDS for external side chain .
I hope this states how convinced I am,as said I do have a lot of others incl. the usual suspects.

This was to show some of the features here,I´m almost sure I forgot something,hahaha.But as said the most versatile compressor(s) I have.
Did I mention that they have balls if needed?

Now have fun,

best regards,

Udo.


P.S.:Will add some pictures.

 

[kante1603]

Here a side view of a basic unit:

 

[kante1603]

….and one mounted inside a TAC rack,you can see the BALANCING CARDs and a Hard- Bypass-Card:

 

[kante1603]

my first 3 COMPRESSOR ONEs:

 

[helterbelter]

Very, very nice....

I should take 2 immediately to complete my stereo Total Audio Control rack, but unfortunately the finances won't allow it...

But very nice indeed !!!!!

 

[Blackdawg]

Awesome! Great to see the line up expanding!

 

[alexc]

Fantastic work 

 

[mjproc]

Anyone seen a video of compressor One?  Very interesting to read but no videos....

 

[Ricardus]

This is definitely in my short list to build.