Universal Audio 2-1176 Dual 1176LN - Manual (Page 18)

Insider’s Secrets
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mode. Adding a bit of slam-compressed audio to the mix produced a brighter mix without high-
frequency overload. It also really helped both drums and guitars maintain a strong place in the mix
without overwhelming vocals and bass. For even more control, I also hooked up the 2-1176 as an aux
send ‘effect,’ again in All Button mode. This worked even better, since I was able to control the relative
mix of instruments sent to the compressor, and (with a little tuning of the 1176’s gain stages) get an
even more balanced, brighter and punchier mix. These are techniques that are often overlooked by
project studio users, but are great ways to improve troublesome mixes. The 2-1176 shone in this
application.”
Grosse also experimented with the use of the 2-1176 as a mastering tool. “I took a recently mastered
recording of a solo guitarist and gave it the 1176 treatment,” he wrote. “Immediately, I noticed that
the various tracks seemed to coalesce into a whole, with the sound of the 1176 limiters helping pull
the various tracks (which had been recorded in several different locations) together. I recorded the
result through a nice set of converters, re-marked the tracks and passed it on to the artist. A big
thumbs-up was the result.”
Even if you don’t opt to compress or limit the final mix, it’s often worth trying routing the signal
through a 2-1176 in BYPASS mode (equivalent to selecting Ratios of 1 [1:1] for both channels). Even
though the gain reduction circuitry is disconnected in Bypass mode, the signal continues to pass
through the 2-1176 transformers, thus picking up their signature sound.
Ducking Applications
When the 2-1176 is placed in stereo Link mode, the Input knobs in each channel serve to mix the two
incoming signals to the side-chain circuit of both channels. In most musical applications, you will
want the left and right signals to affect the compressor equally, so that a transient occurring in one
channel will serve to increase compression or limiting in both channels the same way. Thus, for normal
operation in most musical and recording applications, it is important that the Input and Output knobs
for both channels be set to the same value.
However, one byproduct of this circuit design is that it allows you to make the gain reduction circuitry
more sensitive to one channel than the other. If you therefore increase the amount of Input in one
channel relative to the other, the compressor will be more sensitive to transients occurring in the that
channel. This can sometimes be useful in broadcast applications, where you might want to “duck” a
musical bed, for example, whenever an announcer is speaking. It can also serve as a creative tool in
musical applications: for example, you might want to have one instrument automatically lowered in
level whenever another instrument comes in, and then return to its original level when the second
instrument stops playing. Or you can create dramatic ambience effects by using a transient (say, a
snare or kick drum hit) fed into one channel of the 2-1176 to raise and lower the level of a room mic
track fed into the other channel. Your only limit (pardon the pun) is your imagination!