All Buttons In: An investigation into the use of the 1176 FET compressor in popular music production

The Urei/Universal Audio 1176 is one of the most revered and popular compressors used in music production (Senior 2009). Bill Putnam introduced the design in 1966 and at the time it was the first peak limiter based on all transistor circuit (Universal Audio 2009). Many engineers attribute its famous sound to the FET and fast time constants and despite being through many revisions it is still a studio staple today.

This paper aims to investigate why the 1176 is so widely used in production and will attempt to define its particular sonic signature. Due to the nature of popular music production and its under researched status in academia, information will primarily be gathered from textbooks and interviews given by contemporary music producers. From this information the author will attempt to ascertain how producers use the 1176 and undertake a series of subjective listening tests to verify their views.