Almost 50 years after Mr. Rupert Neve created his first diode bridge compressor designs, the 535 reimagines the larger-than-life personality of these classic circuits with new levels of precision and adaptability, helping virtually any track shine through a mix.
The Diode Bridge
Where the VCA compressor found in the 543 and Master Buss Processor provides unmatched clarity, the weighty, harmonically rich tonality of diode bridge compression can be essential in pushing key sources like vocals, electric guitars, bass and drums to the forefront of a mix. Mr. Rupert Neve’s original diode bridge compressors like the 2254 served as an inspiration for the design of the 535. By understanding the limitations of the original 2254 topology, painstaking effort was taken to reproduce the unique tone of the 2254 while improving the noise floor, expanding inflexible time constants, adding full wave sidechain detection for improved dynamic response, widening the range of threshold and ratio controls, and raising the headroom of the diode bridge itself. Delivering the powerful sound of these classic designs with enhanced flexibility for the modern age, the 535 is a dynamic tool equipped to make a statement on virtually any track.
Timing is Everything
The unified TIMING control is comprised of six selectable settings, carefully chosen for different applications – a major departure from the fixed attack of the 2254. FAST and MF settings are designed to help clamp down on more transient signals like drums, plucked string instruments and fast vocals. MED and MS have slightly slower attacks and releases which can allow more transients through while having a slightly longer recovery. Lastly, SLOW and AUTO are both significantly slower, and are designed for smoother level control.
FAST mode increases the speed of both attack and release for each setting, effectively doubling the number of time constants from 6 to 12. The FAST mode also allows for a dramatic increase in speed as compared to the 535’s renowned ancestors, providing significantly more tonal & operational versatility.
