VINTAGE
KING'S
Experts At Your Service
Have a question? Our Audio Consultants and Technicians have years of real-world experience and are ready to help.
Rare tube compressor/limiter that adds a thick texture and euphoric halo around any signal passing through it. These are labor intensive units to restore, but our tech staff performs this work beautifully.
The Bauer model 920 is simply a Universal Audio 175b with a different faceplate. Bill Putnam built these to compete against his own company in competitive bidding contracts that were common at the time. This doubled his chances of getting the gig!
The 175 is similar to its cousin the 1176; the Input control sets the threshold while Output sets the output gain. The compression is at a fixed ratio of 12:1. The meter can be switched to view Input, Output, or Gain Reduction (GR). Both Input and Output gain controls are stepped at intervals of 2dB, but finer controls within these increments are obtained by using the Vernier controls.
The front panel is hinged, and drops down to access calibration pots for Gain Reduction Zero, Plate Balance and Cathode Balance, as well as a three-position test switch.
Adjustable attack time from 100 to 1000 ms; adjustable release from 27 to 527 ms. Similar to the 1176, both switches are set at their fastest in the clockwise position, and the compression circuit can be clicked off using the attack knob.
One reason the 175 has a unique sound is the way the compressor responds. With signal at the threshold level, the compression ratio is 12:1, but the ratio increases as the signal goes higher above the threshold. It will subtly tame the peaks if it's hit softly, but behave like a brick wall limiter if it's hit harder.
The Bauer model 920 is simply a Universal Audio 175b with a different faceplate. Bill Putnam built these to compete against his own company in competitive bidding contracts that were common at the time. This doubled his chances of getting the gig!
The 175 is similar to its cousin the 1176; the Input control sets the threshold while Output sets the output gain. The compression is at a fixed ratio of 12:1. The meter can be switched to view Input, Output, or Gain Reduction (GR). Both Input and Output gain controls are stepped at intervals of 2dB, but finer controls within these increments are obtained by using the Vernier controls.
The front panel is hinged, and drops down to access calibration pots for Gain Reduction Zero, Plate Balance and Cathode Balance, as well as a three-position test switch.
Adjustable attack time from 100 to 1000 ms; adjustable release from 27 to 527 ms. Similar to the 1176, both switches are set at their fastest in the clockwise position, and the compression circuit can be clicked off using the attack knob.
One reason the 175 has a unique sound is the way the compressor responds. With signal at the threshold level, the compression ratio is 12:1, but the ratio increases as the signal goes higher above the threshold. It will subtly tame the peaks if it's hit softly, but behave like a brick wall limiter if it's hit harder.