Shadow Hills Industries Mastering Compressor
With its exceptional functionality, the Mastering Compressor from Shadow Hills is suitable for both mastering applications and as a compressor/limiter for individual channels when mixing.
Features
High-end mastering compressor
Two different compressor stages (optical, VCA) per channel
Selectable output transformers: nickel, iron and steel
All sections can be completely removed from the signal path via hardwire bypass
Locked controls for exact reproduction of settings
Also suitable for bus and track compression
The device can be used in stereo and dual mono operation. Internally, two compressors arranged in series work per channel. First and foremost is an opto-compressor, followed by a Class A compressor/limiter with discrete circuit technology. Both compressors respond to flexible output transformers that can be switched between nickel, iron and steel. Each section has enough gain to overdrive any tape machine or clip any A/D converter - if desired.
The input stage is transformer-balanced and is directly connected to the completely discrete opto-compressor. This section features the same optical attenuators (T4B) as those used in the LA2A and LA3A, but have been optimized by Shadow Hills for mastering applications.
The second unit is the discrete Class-A VCA compressor. There are no IC chips or electrolytic capacitors in the signal path. There are six ratio settings: 1.2 to 1, 2 to 1, 3 to 1, 4 to 1, 6 to 1 and 10 to 1. The attack times are: 0.1, 0.5, 1, 5, 10 and 30 milliseconds and 0.1, 0.25, 0.58, 1.2 milliseconds and Auto can be selected for the release times.
A filter can be activated in the side chain channel to counteract pumping effects in bass-heavy material.
Finally, the signal passes through Shadow Hill's transformer switching network, with three settings to choose from. The first shift position is nickel, modeled after a famous L.A. custom console. Iron comes second and Steel comes third. With this switch you have the choice between a clear, a colored and a dirty sound.
The opto section has a real (hardwire) bypass that completely bypasses it and thus completely removes it from the signal path. The VCA compressor can also be removed from the signal chain in the same way, but independently of the opto-compressor. If you deactivate both compressor stages, the signal only runs through the input and output transformers, which is ideal for coloring the sound without affecting the dynamics. There is also another (hardwire) bypass for the entire device. In addition to its role as a mastering compressor, the device is also a very flexible bus compressor and is also suitable for processing individual channels. For example, the combination of an opto compressor, VCA compressor and iron transformer for vocals is ideal. Or you can just use the VCA compressor with 10:1 including a steel transformer for massive processing of room mic signals. And so an infinite number of other applications can be found.