- WA76 Single Channel Discrete Compressor, Black

I bought the Warm Audio WA76 for my home studio setup, and I’m very happy with it. I have it connected to my WA EQ in my signal chain, and it adds a really nice warmth and character to my recordings. Nothing beats analog. For anyone who isn't familiar with it, the WA76 is a single-channel, discrete FET compressor modeled after the classic 1176-style compressors. It uses CINEMAG input and output transformers, has a Class-A line-level output amplifier, and gives you the classic 4:1, 8:1, 12:1, and 20:1 compression ratios, including the famous "all-buttons-in" setting. It also has extremely fast attack and release controls, which gives you a lot of flexibility when shaping vocals, drums, guitars, and other sources. But honestly, for me, the biggest thing is the sound. I like having actual analog hardware in my chain, and the WA76 gives my recordings that extra warmth, punch, and analog character that I just don't get the same way from plugins. If you're building a home studio and want to add some real analog hardware to your signal chain, I definitely recommend the WA76. I'm very happy with my purchase.

I've not used an original 1176urie in some time. I have e UAD version of this to compare. Using a UAD LA610 and a Summit TLA-50 (awesome) as the front end when not looped thru DAW. It is a little bigger sounding than the plugin. The controls seem to feel tighter in response to the movement of sound. The pots and switches feel great, hopefully leading to lasting long. Blind comparisons were trickier but in music feel is everything. (Less and less with more technology) Great piece. Which I had more. Makes me want to mix out of the box again even more.

It's work just as good and any compressor out there. It's really a great product that I mainly use on my bass. It also can be utilized in many different studio/recording applications.

This is a great compressor for many applications. Construction is solid. Sounds great for lead vocals, I've been using it as an insert for vocals during mixing as well. Not fast enough for the snare sound I want, if you're looking for a snare compressor maybe go for a Distressor. Overall a great buy.

Excelente compresor de audio

I purchased this along with Warm Audio's La2a and Pultec Eq. The build quality on all three units are excellent for their price range. Unfortunately the WA76 had a noisy input pot and I sent it in for an exchange. Those things happen but that's the 1- star ding in the review. The unit sounded excellent when I wasn't making adjustments at the input stage. You can get an enormous amount of usable compression out of this unit. From slightly colored to full-on aggressive grit. 1176's are still around for a reason, and Warm Audio has definely captured the attitude at a great price. Their products are right at home in my racks full of high end hardware. Edit- July 21st- received replacement unit and it also has a noise issue when adjusting input control when signal is being passed through. I'm now assuming it's a trait of the model which would be extremely unfortunate. I'll contact Warm Audio and we'll see how their customer service is. I've got a few other pieces that have stepped input gain and none of them exhibit this issue. If that's the design than I'll pass on adding another to my rack.... 8/1/16- update: Warm Audio's customer service is incredibly responsive. I sent an email at 4:40 am on a Saturday and had a reply by 9 am. I did have to send the unit in but I won't hesitate to pick up another WA76 knowing if there's any issues their customer service would be on top of it. Absolutely no issues with the LA2's and EQP's.

Sumamente transparente con el trabajo que realiza, pero con carácter dejando los audios com mucho poder y estilo. Fácil de usar, pero se debe tener conocimiento previo del manejo. recordemos que es un compresor tipo FET de rápido ataque, es decir si no se controla el IN/OUT, podría saturar rápidamente. Digno de ser una opción viable para obtener un sonido muy, pero muy similar al original 1176 Rev. D

This thing is legit! For the price, I challenge anyone to find a superior product with as good of sonic quality and aesthetic appeal. Faithful reproduction of the 1176. Go ahead, take the Pepsi challenge with this bad boy and prepare to be dazzled.

The noise of distortion was just too much added to the signal