We received a very special item from Berlin, the Schwerkraftmachine, made by Tegeler Audio Manufaktur.
This is, in short, a high end variable-mu compressor. It has a full analogue audio circuit with transformers on the in- and outputs and four tubes controlling the compression and giving warmth to the signal. It has the usual controls for a compressor: input gain, threshold, attack and release. And there is an output gain and a mix knob, so you can use it for parallel-compression too. And there is a sidechain filter, to determine the influence of the lower frequencies on the compression-level.
There is also a mode knob, as the behaviour of the compressor is controlled by a dsp. The DSP is responsible for the compression behaviour. To achieve the different types of compressors the dsp modifies the ratio, knee, attack and release curves. This signal is then converted to voltage and fed to the tube. There are 10 modes, to process different kinds of source material. With the mode knob you choose which type you want to use.
A full written review will be online soon. All the audio examples in the video are available as 24-bit files. To download, use this url: https://tinyurl.com/GJTV-SKM
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