SS VCA Channel Compressor Colour

Big, outboard compressors like the 1176 and LA-2A get a lot of credit for their impact on classic records. But equally important is the humble channel compressor. Beginning in the early-80’s, it became increasingly common for large consoles to feature a VCA compressor on every channel strip. This gave engineers unprecedented access to compression during both tracking and mixing, and changed the sound of records forever.

The SS VCA brings the unsung magic of the console channel compressor to the Colour format. It does its job smoothly and transparently, without stealing the show. Reach for it whenever you need to shape the dynamics of a track without adding extra artifacts.

But the SS VCA isn’t just for polite leveling. With the on-board RATIO and ATTACK/RELEASE switches you can dial it in for aggressive transient squashing. In short, the SS VCA is the Colour format’s swiss-army-knife compressor.

FEATURES

• VCA channel compressor in the style of 80’s and 90’s consoles
• THAT Corp 2181 VCA
• Two RATIO modes: 2:1 and 8:1
• Two ATTACK/RELEASE time constants:
  • FAST is 2ms attack / 20ms release
  • SLOW is 20ms attack / 200ms release
    
• Compatible with the Colour format
• Full, step-by-step assembly instructions and guaranteed support

Samples

Resources

• SS VCA Schematic (PDF)
• SS VCA Assembly Guide