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Any compressors out other than the RS124 that have something like the "super fuse" feature

MustangMan78

MustangMan78

Supporting Member
Mar 20, 2021
186
340
Douglassville, PA
#1
So, a looong time ago, I found a compressor plugin online for the Abbey Road RS124 (all 3 of them actually). This was way before the Chandler hardware or the Waves plugin. I played with it enough in Cubase to fall in love with the sound, especially the super fuse feature. I'd love to find a compressor that gives that same snarl and growl. It really seems to make the recording come alive and think it would give me exactly the bass sound I've been looking for. I've looked at all the usual 1176 and 2A suspects, but they're not an RS124, nor should they be. Is there anything out there that could get me close without having to sell a kidney?
 
#3
Chandler is pretty tight lipped, but it adds a musical quality to the processed signal...slightly driven and gritty, but in a really pleasing way. Apparently the name originates from the fuse cap on the front of the old units that you would turn to engage.
 
#4
I see the lack of replies to this thread as both good & bad.


GOOD: There is an untapped market for someone (Frank at FEA?) to put out this comp in a pedal format.
BAD: There is an untapped market perhaps because nobody is clamouring for a RS124-in-a-pedal.


Hmm Until the Cali76 came along, I don't know that there was a lot of clamour for an 1176-in-a-pedal, either. Maybe a murmur...


BUILD IT! THE CLAMOUR WILL COME!
 
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#6
A lot of the problem probably lies in that very few people actually know what was in those Abbey Road EMI compressors. Rumours have been spread around for years. Some or all of which could be right or wrong. I believe Chandler got exclusive rights to look inside and see what makes them tick. I wonder if the original Altec 436 on which they were based had the super fuse feature, or if that was one of the EMI mods? Maybe a clone 436 we get you close. Wouldn’t an affordable Klark Teknik or Warm Audio clone of either be awesome? :D
 
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#7
It sounds like what's being described is not a compressor per se, but a distortion caused by a component that could potentially be isolated from the function of compression. Like how there is/was a whole wave of people cloning the input preamp stage of the Echoplex, minus the entire echo mechanism.

That said, there's lots of dirty or dirt-augmented compressors out there. You might like the FMR PBC-6A, or the Accountant, etc.
 
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#8
I think it’s all part of the secret sauce of that sound. Just trying to duplicate it with drive won’t get you there. It something magical about the way it compresses the signal and the coloring it adds at the same time (more harmonics, maybe?). I wonder if another vari-mu style compressor would be close, though an RS124 with the super fuse disengaged isn’t the same.
 
#9
Just for technical clarity, overdrive = more harmonics. If the sound you're hearing from the compressor is not the same as the sound you think of from drive pedals, it is likely because of the way drive pedals are typically set (with obvious grit/grind/fuzz). Plus, remember you heard this sound in a digital emulation. Obviously the sound can be duplicated, using parts/circuits that are not the same as the ones in the original physical unit, because they did.

You've already answered your own question about vari-mu comps. The type of peak sensor used (control path) doesn't have any direct/consistent impact on the headroom, phase shift, or other harmonics-changing elements of the audio signal path.
 

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