C1

Microphone Preamplifier tube Compressor, two channels. The units with the square VU meters dark blue, are the original series.

The ones with the round VU meters blue colour are from a later production:
Now featuring a spectacular raven blue 6mm CNC milled aluminium front panel, General Electric US military specification valves, high retention gold plated ceramic valve bases and circular back-lit VU meters, the new C-1 is even fatter sounding and more rugged than its legendary predecessor.

All controls are continuously variable (unlike some other units with switched parameters) and high quality onboard mic preamps allow direct-to-tape recording of microphone sources. Stereo front panel instrument inputs mean a keyboard or guitar can feed straight into the C-1 and down to tape with a minimum of fuss. Whether the C-1 is tracking vocals and instruments or adding roundness and warmth to a complete mix, it will become an indispensable part of your signal path within hours.

The C-1 features a low noise solid state preamp followed by two valve stages per channel. The valves are General Electric ECC83/12AX7A types, run from a stabilised 250v DC power supply. The first valve stage acts as a voltage amplifier, with the second stage forming part of the gain control element. The gain control is performed by our own unique transconductance stage which avoids the use of VCAs - thus improving transparency and minimising distortion, which is virtually constant at 0.05% over the full bandwidth. The frequency response of the C-1 is virtually flat between 20Hz and 40kHz, and measured between -3dB points, the C-1's bandwidth is a staggering 5Hz to 70kHz!
The new C-1 compressor maintains its position as the most flexible, polished sounding high end compressor on the market today. Now featuring a spectacular raven blue 6mm CNC milled aluminium front panel,

General Electric US military specification valves, high retention gold plated ceramic valve bases and circular back-lit VU meters, the new C-1 is even fatter sounding and more rugged than its legendary predecessor. All controls are continuously variable (unlike some other units with switched parameters) and high quality onboard mic preamps allow direct-to-tape recording of microphone sources.

Stereo front panel instrument inputs mean a keyboard or guitar can feed straight into the C-1 and down to tape with a minimum of fuss.
Whether the C-1 is tracking vocals and instruments or adding roundness and warmth to a complete mix, it will become an indispensable part of your signal path within hours.

The C-1 features a low noise solid state preamp followed by two valve stages per channel.
The valves are General Electric ECC83/12AX7A types, run from a stabilised 250v DC power supply.
The first valve stage acts as a voltage amplifier, with the second stage forming part of the gain control element.

The gain control is performed by our own unique transconductance stage which avoids the use of VCAs - thus improving transparency and minimising distortion, which is virtually constant at 0.05% over the full bandwidth.

The frequency response of the C-1 is virtually flat between 20Hz and 40kHz, and measured between -3dB points, the C-1's bandwidth is a staggering 5Hz to 70kHz!

Features

2 channels of soft knee, variable ratio compression
Balanced mic and line level inputs
Balanced line outputs, switchable for -10dB or +4dB operation
Unbalanced jack I/O connections
Stereo front panel instrument inputs with gain control and sensitivity switch (for guitar or keyboards etc.)
Sidechain insert points for frequency conscious compression 48v phantom power
90Hz high pass filter switch (12dB / octave). Applies to all inputs
Continuously variable Input Gain, Threshold, Attack / Release times, Compression Ratio and Gain Make Up
Program dependent compression characteristic- attack and release times automatically adjust in response to program material
?Stereo Link? mode - gangs Threshold, Attack, Release and Ratio controls for processing stereo signal sources
Back-lit circular VU meters allow monitoring of either output level or gain reduction
Bypass switch with LED
Frequency response 20Hz to 40kHz +0 / -1dB

Specifications

Mic Input: Impedance: > 10k. Gain range: +16 to +60dB. Input noise (EIN): -126 dBu (22Hz-22kHz). Max input level: +10dBu. Balanced XLR connector.
Line Input: (Balanced) Impedance: > 5k. Gain range: -10dB to +35dB. Max input level: +30dBu. XLR connector. (Unbalanced) Impedance: > 5k.
Gain range: -10dB to +35dB. Max input level: +24dBu. Jack connector. Auxiliary input: Two unbalanced jack connectors for stereo operation, or Input A may be used to drive both channels.
Max input level: +10dBu. Switchable sensitivity for guitar or keyboards.
Output: Balanced output impedance: < 10. Max level: +22dBu into 600. Unbalanced output impedance: 47. Max level: +20dBu into 10k.
Sidechain insert point: stereo jack, tip=send, ring=return. Nominal level -2dBu. Output impedance: 47, Return input impedance: 10k.
Compressor Functions (all continuously variable):- Threshold: -20dBu to +20dBu. Attack: 0.5mS to 50mS. Release: 40mS to 4S. Ratio: 1:1.5 to 1:30. Gain Make Up: 0dB to +20dB.
Frequency response: 20Hz to 40kHz +0 / -1dB. Distortion: 0.05% (10Hz-40kHz). Dynamic Range: 100dB. Power supply: 110-120v or 220-240v AC. Power consumption: 30VA typical.