AMS Neve 33609/N

This desert island stereo compressor offers comprehensive limiting and compression facilities ideal for music recording, mastering, post-production and broadcast applications.

The 33609/N uses exclusive Marinair specification transformers on the input, bridge-driver, sidechain and output stages - Neve colour throughout.

Neve pioneered the diode-bridge compressor by exploiting the electrical properties of diodes and mounting them in a bridge configuration with carefully selected control voltages, allowing for distortion to be significantly reduced. This creates a unique gain reduction slope that produces compression from smooth to an overdriven hard-clipping style. These unique characteristics make the 33609 the ideal creative studio tool.

The 33609 design has gone through several iterations since its inception, each rendition improving from the last. As a result, the 33609/N takes the best features from the beloved 33609s - such as balanced gain reduction circuitry, class A/B amplification. Additionally, the 33609/N has a discrete transformer-balanced output, evolved from the early Neve console line output stages to produce a ‘sweet’ sound.

Every control on the 33609 is stepped, from threshold through to make up gain. These switched controls are great for stereo matching and session recall, ideal for mixing and mastering.

The independent compressor and limiter circuitry gives ultimate dynamic control over transients. With the limiter input positioned after the compressors make up gain, the 33609 can be used as a creative tool with the limiter driven by the compressor's output.

The 33609's feedback-style compression feeds the compressors control signals back through the diode-bridge gain reduction circuit. This design introduces analogue non-linearities that form the unique character of 33609/N.

Compression can be perfectly tuned to fit a wide variety of program material with several switchable recovery times, including two auto-recovery options. The 33609/N slow attack feature reduces sensitivity to low frequencies by 6dB/octave at 100Hz, this tunes out kick drums and other low peaks that may otherwise trigger the compressor by just the right amount - mix bus glue.

The 33609/N's dual channels can be linked in stereo or used independently as separate channels at the flip of a switch. For larger groups of instruments, multiple 33609/Ns can connect with ease via the tandem control voltage connection; each unit's bypass, mono/stereo switch & compressor in/out switch can be remotely controlled.

Independent moving coil gain reduction meters display up to -20dB of gain reduction for each channel.

The 33609/N includes a true straight-through bypass, which connects the input terminals directly to the output terminals, ideal for auditioning compression by A/B-ing wet/dry signals.