Universal Audio UAD Plug-Ins ver.7.5 - Manual (Page 156)

UAD Powered Plug-Ins Manual - 156 - Chapter 14: Fairchild Tube Limiter Collection
CHAPTER 14
Fairchild Tube Limiter Collection
The Gold Standard in Vintage Tube Limiters
In the annals of compressor history, the products produced by Fairchild are
some of the best built and most highly prized on the vintage market. The most
famous Fairchild products produced were the 660 and 670 limiters, which
are famous for their fantastic sound quality. The stereo Fairchild 670 is prob-
ably the “Holy Grail” of limiters in studio gear esoterica, not only because of
its price, but also its extreme rareness and the difficulties in maintaining such
a unit. With its 14 transformers, 20 vacuum tubes (including 8 of the vener-
ated 6383 gain reduction tubes) and weighing 65 pounds, the Fairchild 670
is truly the heavyweight champion of compression.
Originating from the late 1950’s, the design of the 670 uses a single
push/pull stage of amplification with an exceptionally high control voltage.
Tube limiters are unique in that they use tubes for gain reduction and not just
as amplifiers. The audio path is quite simple, and compression happens di-
rectly in the audio path, rather than sending out to a separate compression
circuit. The unit can be used as a limiter or compressor, depending upon per-
sonal taste and program material. It can go from a 2:1 ratio as a compressor
to a peak limiter with a 30:1 ratio. The unit can also be adjusted to operate
anywhere between these two extremes using the Threshold and DC Threshold
controls.
The Fairchild Tube Limiter Collection was created by meticulously modeling
(down to the component level) carefully selected hardware. Our “golden ref-
erence” channels were modeled from engineer/producer Allen Sides’ collec-
tion from Ocean Way Recording. The Fairchild plug-ins incorporate all of the
features from the original units. Several new UAD-only features round out this
offering, giving the UAD Fairchild 670 added flexibility for modern audio
production. With a broad range of functionality in the analog world, the Fair-
child Tube Limiter Collection’s feature set allows for critical master fader uses,
and individual sources or subgroups under extreme gain reduction. And you
don’t have to let it warm up for 30 minutes before use.