Insider’s Secrets
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14
Remember, the limiter/compressor section in the 6176 is program-dependent. That’s an important
feature that allows it to be used in a musical, percussive way. Let’s say you have a medium tempo,
4/4 rock beat—an excellent scenario for using ALL mode. In this application, you’d probably have a
lot of input level, a slowish attack (so that the transients sneak through), and a quick release. The
sonic result is extraordinary. First, the kick drum causes a great concussion, which is enhanced by
the unique ALL mode distortion. As it does so, the other frequencies “suck in,” followed by an
exaggerated release and recovery, and then the rest of the drum kit sound returns... all in rather
dramatic fashion.
Electric Guitar and Bass
There’s something very special about the mix of tube preamplification and electric guitar and bass.
This is an area where the 6176 positively shines—little wonder, considering its lineage in the 2-610
and 1176LN. Myles Boisen stated flatly in his review of the 2-610 that the unit was “an absolute
smash hit for guitar and electric-bass recording at my studio.” One technique that both Boisen and
Cooper employed with great success was to split the electric guitar or bass signal and then plug one
side into the Hi-Z input and the other into an external tube direct (DI) box whose output was connected
to the the other channel’s mic input. Cooper also found that “cranking the [preamp] Gain to +10 gave
a slight bark that was perfect for country lead guitar fills.”
Even if you don’t want to compress a signal, the use of
1:1 mode in the limiter/compressor section allows the
6176 to act as a “tone box,” adding both solid-state
amplification and tube overdrive that can make an
electric guitar sound positively monstrous. Andy Johns
remembers using a pair of vintage 1176s on Jimmy
Page’s guitar on the song “Black Dog” for the multi-
platinum
Led Zeppelin IV
album, connecting them in
series (with the output of one feeding the input of
another), but with one of them having all ratio buttons
out (the equivalent of setting a 1:1 ratio on the 6176). “’Black Dog’ has a direct Gibson Les Paul
Sunburst 52,” he recalls, “going right into the mic amps on the mixer, which is going through two
1176s, and it sounds like some guy in the Albert Hall with a bunch of Marshalls. I couldn’t have done
it without the 1176s. There is not another compressor that will do that, because [it allows you to] take
out the compression [circuitry].”
In his review for
The Mix
, Trevor Curwin used an 1176LN reissue extensively on electric guitar, both in
the recording and mixing stages, and reported excellent results: “Used on a 4:1 ratio when recording
some electric guitars through a miked amp, it didn’t take much to get a great sounding result... Just
using around 3 dB of gain reduction added a very useful character to the sound. There is something
about an original 1176 that adds a certain presence and bite that can be especially pleasing on
electric guitar, and this new unit had that very same character about it.”
The use of 1:1 mode allows the
6176 to act as a “tone box,”
adding both solid-state
amplification and tube overdrive
that can make an electric guitar
sound positively monstrous.
