Analog studio compressors - Milk Audio Store

Explore Analog Compressors for Recording and Mixing

Discover our careful selection of analog compressors for professional use in rack format and 500 series.

All compressors in our catalog of professional outboards dedicated to recording, mixing and mastering have been carefully selected to meet the most demanding requirements for sound quality and equipment reliability, whether foruse in the recording studio or in more technically stressful situations, such as concerts or events.

Compressing a sound means reducing the dynamics of an audio signal by reducing the 'distance' from the highest peaks of a waveform to the lowest peaks, thus changing the harmonic content of the processed sound.

From an acoustic point of view, the compressor helps us to have a more controlled sound that is easier to place in a mix. From a technical point of view, however, compressing a sound is equivalent to changing the original waveform, leading it, in the case of excessive compression, toward distortion.

Given the many fields of use of an analog or digital compressor, it is very important to carefully consider the choice of the most suitable outboard for the purpose.

Audio compressors fall into 5 technological categories:

Professional audio compressors can be grouped into the five families based on the operation of the detector circuit, which, in addition to delineating the technology used to control dynamics, very accurately defines the compressor's timbral characteristic.

The five families are:

VCA Compressors
Optical or Opto Compressors
Vari-Mu Compressors
FET Compressors
Digital Compressors

VCA Compressor

These are the most widely used compressors and easiest to build. They use a VCA for dynamic control and can have a very high compression range. They tend to be very versatile and can be used in almost any type of application. Their low cost makes them the most suitable choice in most cases.

Optical compressor - OPTO compressor

The optical compressor is characterized by a very neutral and transparent sound. Even at the most extreme settings it tends to hardly make its coloration audible. It is characterized by the Detector operated by a photosensitive sensor and, thanks to this, by the automatic attack and release, which guarantee extreme naturalness to the sound. The optical compressor is very suitable for tracking or mastering.

Vari-Mu Compressors

These are the most colorful and sought-after compressors in recording and mixing. They give depth and body to the sound through the use of tubes in each stage of the circuit, including the detector. Vari-Mu are on average more expensive than the other families because they are built using only selected and hard-to-find components, but they are irreplaceable for their color and warmth. Very suitable for lead vocals, basses, ambient drums or master bus control.

FET (Field Effect Transistor) Compressor.

The FET compressor is built following the same type as the Vari-Mu, but using a transistor (Field Effect Transistor) instead of a tube. It is the best alternative to its larger tube sibling and is characterized by a slight emphasis in the midrange. Widely used in tracking and mixing of vocals, basses, guitars, drums, and more.

Digital Compressors

That's right ... although this is the category devoted to analog compressors, we cannot forget to point out that the digital compressor plays a vital role in the instrumentation of every studio and sound engineer today.

Digital compressors, although they can be both hardware and software, today are used only in plug-in, and therefore software, versions.

Digital and software compressors offer, in one solution, all the features of all compressor families, since most plug-ins are emulations of their analog brethren, with the addition of features characteristic of digital such as the "look ahead" function.

To date, the digital solution is still only one of the options as some tonal characteristics can only be achieved in the analog domain, so it is critical when choosing a compressor to carefully consider the sonic target you are looking for.

The Milk Audio Store staff is always available to identify with you the compressor that best suits your Recording, Mix or Mastering needs.

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