Legendary engineer Wally Heider, manager of remote recording at United, used his 610 console to
record many live recordings including Peter, Paul and Mary “In Concert” (1964), Wes Montgomery’s
“Full House” (1962), and all of the Smothers Brothers Live albums. Heider’s console was later
acquired by Paul McManus in 1987, who spent a decade restoring it. [We thank Paul for his efforts and
his contribution to our efforts to trace the history of the 610.]
At least one 610 module is still in use at Ocean Way. Allen Sides, who purchased the studio from
Putnam to open Ocean Way, personally traveled to Hawaii to collect the 610 console that was used to
record the live “Hawaii Calls” broadcasts. Jack Joseph Puig has been ensconced in Studio A with the
610 (and a stunning collection of vintage gear) where he has applied the vintage touch to acts
including Beck, Hole, Counting Crows, Goo Goo Dolls, No Doubt, Green Day and Jellyfish.
The 1176LN Limiting Amplifier and LA-2A Leveling Amplifier
The LA-2A and 1176 compressor/limiters long ago achieved classic status. They're a given in almost
any studio in the world — relied upon daily by engineers whose styles range from rock to rap, classical
to country and everything in between. With so many newer products on the market to choose from, it's
worth looking at the reasons why these classics remain a necessary part of any professional studio's
outboard equipment collection. The basic concept of a compressor/limiter, is of course, relatively
simple. It's a device in which the gain of a circuit is automatically adjusted using a predetermined
ratio that acts in response to the input signal level. A compressor/limiter "rides gain" like a recording
engineer does by hand with the fader of a console: it keeps the volume up during softer sections and
brings it down when the signal gets louder. The dynamic processing that occurs at ratios below 10 or
12 to one is generally referred to as compression; above that it's known as limiting. Modern day
compressors offer a great degree of programmability and flexibility while older devices such as the
1176 and the LA-2A are more straightforward in their design. Perhaps it is this fact that has
contributed to their appealing sound and the longevity of their popularity.
The 1176 LN
The original Universal Audio 1176LN was a major breakthrough in limiter technology – the first true
peak limiter with all transistor circuitry offering superior performance and a signature sound. Evolved
from the popular Universal Audio 175 and 176 vacuum tube limiters, the 1176LN retained the proven
qualities of these industry leaders, and set the standard for all limiters to follow.
It was Bill Putnam
himself who, in 1966, was responsible for the initial design of the 1176. Its circuit was rooted in the
1108 preamplifier, which was also designed by Putnam. As is evident from entries and schematics in
his design notebook, he experimented with the recently developed Field Effect Transistor (F.E.T.) in
various configurations to control the gain reduction in the circuit. He began using F.E.T.s as voltage
variable resistors, in which the resistance between the drain and the source terminals is controlled by
a voltage applied to the gate. His greatest challenge was to ensure that distortion was minimized by
operating the F.E.T.s within a linear region of operation.
After several unsuccessful attempts at using F.E.T.s in gain reduction circuits, Putnam settled upon
the straightforward approach of using the F.E.T. as the bottom leg in a voltage divider circuit, which is
placed ahead of a preamp stage.
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