1176 Shootout: Originals vs Clones, Six Flavours You Can Truly Hear

This overview was carried out by our good friend, engineer and producer Shelby Logan Warne at her studio Wise Music in King’s Cross, London. Shelby arrange a managed shootout to essentially hear how completely different 1176 models behave when pushed laborious and when used extra subtly. Identical efficiency, similar sign path, equivalent acquire discount — the one variable was which 1176 was in circuit. The outcomes proved simply how particular person these compressors are, even once they share the identical mannequin identify.

The efficiency featured Leoni Jane Kennedy, a Blackpool-born, London-based singer-songwriter and guitarist. Her tune “Ammunition” was chosen for the session, delivered dwell on voice and acoustic guitar. With a soulful voice and complicated guitar fashion, Leoni is an achieved artist whose taking part in and singing gave the compressors loads of dynamic materials to chew on.

When you have used an 1176, you already know the cliché, no two models sound the identical. We put that to the check with six flavours aspect by aspect, from classic UREI silverface and blackface models to fashionable Heat Audio recreations and a DIY Hairball. Identical efficiency, similar sign path, matched acquire discount, then each “smashed” and “wise” settings. The variations weren’t delicate.

The Line-up

• UREI 1176LN Rev H (Silverface)
• UREI 1176LN Rev G
• Heat Audio WA76-A (Blue Stripe)
• Heat Audio WA76-D2
• Heat Audio WA76
• Hairball Audio 1176 Rev A (Blue Stripe)

Session Setup

• Supply: “Ammunition” carried out dwell by Leoni Jane Kennedy, singing and taking part in acoustic guitar
• Mics: A body-mounted acoustic mic aimed close to the twelfth fret, plus a Heat Audio WA8000 on vocal
• Preamp and routing: SSL console channels for clear, transformerless acquire, guitar on channel 2, vocal on channel 3, summed to channel 4 for a single feed
• Dry reference: Direct out from channel 4 to Logic because the no-compressor management
• Parallel cut up: Patchbay parallels feeding equivalent enter stage to each 1176, so we may hot-switch between models

We began with aggressive “smashed” settings to reveal persona, then rolled again to practical, peak-taming compression and level-matched by ear whereas watching related VU needle motion.

First Pay attention: Driving Them Exhausting

UREI Rev G vs Rev H

• Rev G (black panel): Open and crisp, with a delightful saturation that felt harmonically tidy.
• Rev H (silverface): Surprisingly dirtier in our shootout, breaking apart faster with an apparent crunch within the mids. Fame says the H might be cleaner and brighter, nevertheless older models dwell many lives. Recaps, resistor drift and amplifier swaps imply every unique is its personal story.

Heat Audio WA76-A vs Hairball Rev A (Blue Stripes)

• Heat Audio WA76-A: Extra “sparkle” on prime, extra sub-energy getting by, a way of openness even when pinned.
• Hairball Rev A: Thicker low-mid saturation, a contact woolly compared, and a noticeably greater noise ground. It additionally wanted extra make-up acquire to land on the similar stage, and its VU needed fixed recalibration. Charming, vibey, and gritty, though much less prolonged above 11–12 kHz.

Heat Audio WA76 vs WA76-D2 Each confirmed related acquire discount on the meters, round 10 to twenty dB when pushed, but the tone was not equivalent. The WA76 “smooshed” extra and felt a bit of denser. The WA76-D2 held the picture along with a smoother midrange. It genuinely felt like two flavours from the identical household.

Huge takeaway at “stun”: Each unit flattened transients in its personal means. The VU needles may match, but the harmonic behaviour and EQ tilt had been wildly completely different.

Actual-World Settings: Simply Catching Peaks

We backed off enter to let the compressors do what most of us need on dwell vocal and acoustic, catch peaks, add glue, keep musical.

UREI Rev G Effortlessly elegant. With lighter hits it warmed the vocal in a means that felt like a completed document. Peaks had been tamed with out dropping air.

UREI Rev H When backed down it behaved, but nonetheless wore a raspy midrange edge. Not damaged, simply its vibe. If you happen to like angle on an acoustic singer-songwriter take, this has a color.

Heat Audio WA76-A (Blue Stripe) The shock star for readability at wise settings. Current, ethereal, and managed with out feeling squeezed. It did the “blue stripe raise” in a really usable, fashionable means.

Heat Audio WA76 A contact extra midrange push and earlier saturation in contrast with the D2. On bass or rock vocals this will likely be your good friend. On our acoustic and voice, nonetheless tasteful as soon as the enter was trimmed.

Heat Audio WA76-D2 Identical household tone because the WA76, only a shade smoother. If you’d like the 1176 grip with much less apparent hair within the mids, this discovered that spot.

Hairball Rev A Nonetheless noisy in comparison with the others and wanted extra acquire to compete, nevertheless once you needed a buttered prime finish and chewy midrange, it delivered a cool, vintage-adjacent thickness.

What We Heard, In Plain Language

• Meters lie. Two models displaying 10 to 12 dB of discount can sound utterly completely different. Use your ears, not your eyes.
• Prime finish. WA76-A was the sparkliest of the blue stripes. Hairball softened the final octave, which might be flattering.
• Low finish. WA76-A let extra sub by than the Hairball. Helpful once you need physique from an acoustic or a chesty vocal.
• Midrange. WA76 and WA76-D2 are siblings, the D2 smoother within the mids, the WA76 hairier. Rev H introduced crunch, Rev G introduced polish.
• Noise and practicality. The Hairball’s greater noise ground and drifting VU make it extra of a personality alternative. The Heat models had been constant and simple to deal with.
• Classic variance is actual. Previous UREIs have lived, and plenty of have been serviced otherwise. Anticipate persona, not uniformity.

Advised Use-Circumstances

• UREI Rev G: Elegant vocal levelling, pure acoustic management, locations the place you need heat with out haze.
• UREI Rev H: Edge and pleasure on devices, daring parallel smash, rock acoustic that may take some grit.
• WA76-A (Blue Stripe): Lead vocals needing current air and managed peaks, detailed acoustic guitars, pop and acoustic singer-songwriter.
• WA76: Bass guitar saturation, gritty rock vocals, parallel crush once you need density.
• WA76-D2: Basic objective 1176 duties the place you need grip and easy mids, stereo tasks in linked mode.
• Hairball Rev A: Character compression, vibey parallel, sources that profit from buttery highs and chewy midrange.

Methodology Notes for Your Personal Shootout

1. Cut up one efficiency to each unit in parallel so the enter is equivalent.
2. Begin “smashed” to disclose character rapidly, then again all the way down to the musical zone.
3. Stage-match by ear, then look on the meters. Shut VU readings don’t assure related sound.
4. Print a dry reference and A/B continually.
5. Take notes on EQ tilt, saturation onset, noise, and launch really feel. That’s what you’ll truly combine with.

Ultimate Ideas

Throughout six containers sporting the identical badge, we heard six distinct personalities. The UREI models reminded us why they’re the benchmark — every a one-off with its personal quirks and appeal. The Heat Audio models felt like calibrated, dependable takes on the classics, every with a transparent id. The Hairball introduced color and angle, an excellent wild card once you need grit.

It’s a buffet the place each spring roll appears equivalent and each chunk tastes completely different. Select the one which fits the tune, and benefit from the selection.

When you have your personal 1176 comparisons or favorite pairings, share them. We’d love to listen to what you’re listening to.

Large because of Shelby Logan Warne for internet hosting this shootout at Wise Music in King’s Cross, and to Leoni Jane Kennedy for the gorgeous efficiency of her tune “Ammunition.”