The result was the rather different-sounding solid-state 1176. It was at this time that Bill Putnam redesigned his 175 and 176 variable-mu tube compressorsto take advantage of the recently invented Field Effect Transistor (FET), which could replace the vacuum tubes in those models.

The original Universal Recording Electronics Industries (UREI) 1176 Peak Limiting Amplifier was born back in the Summer of Love, or '1967' to those too young to know about these things. Having conquered input amplifiers, Warm have moved on down the signal chain to compressors - and more specifically to the 1176 Revision D. One such device is the recently released WA76, made by Warm Audio, a young company who've already released a couple of well-received preamps: the WA12, reviewed in SOS February 2013 ( ) and the TB12 Tone Beast, reviewed in November 2013 ( ).

But a handful of hardware manufacturers are now creating less-expensive devices based on studio staples, like the UREI 1176 FET compressor-limiter. Seemingly countless software companies now offer their own virtual take on classic hardware, of course, with many mimicking the faceplate's appearance as well as the sound. Unfortunately, such authenticity doesn't usually come particularly cheap, which is one reason why a palette of alternative, more cost-effective options seems to be growing. There are also many 'boutique' manufacturers coming up with their own subtly different takes on classic designs. Plenty of original outboard remains available on the second-hand market, of course, and some of the manufacturers still make up-to-spec recreations of those originals. It really is the best of times for the music engineer: most home-recording equipment is good enough to capture a clean, modern sound, and those who crave a more vintage tone have ever more options available. Is any of the classic sound sacrificed in Warm's cost-cutting quest? This is far from being the first clone of a UREI 1176 FET compressor, but it's probably the cheapest to have hit the production lines.

Universal audio 1176 compressor plugin