AudioScape Buss Compressor Review Long-Term Test Lee esta reseña en español Getting ahold of an AudioScape product is not easy. And that may be putting it lightly. First off, you have to subscribe to their Instagram feed to learn what products will be sold just prior to their announcement on the Wednesday and Saturday of each week. Since they don’t sell all the products in their catalog, you then have to hope they’re going to sell the gear you’re looking for when you check in. But there’s more…
When the available products are announced at 8:00pm EST USA, and it’s one of the pieces you desire, it’s a mad rush to get onto their site, log in and then purchase that kit. And you have to be insanely fast, because there are usually many others who are battling to get that gear as well. Thus, your success rate is not usually high. The whole process is at best arduous, and at worst, just plain annoying. But here’s the thing…going through the audio industry’s equivalent of the Hunger Games, is worth it. AudioScape Buss Compressor Review Run by Chris Yetter, the AudioScape Engineering Company is a small concern hailing from Daytona Beach, Florida. The bespoke company creates new versions of sought after vintage gear by hand in their facility, including four different versions of the famed 1176 FET compressor, as well as the Opto Compressor, a clone of the LA-2A Leveling Amplifier. Yetter cut his teeth on creating recreations of vintage guitar pedals under the moniker of CBC Pedals, but decided to go all-in on AudioScape in 2016 and shuttered the company to the chagrin of many diehard fans. One of our staffers got ahold of the Buss Compressor, a faithful recreation of the Solid State Logic SL 4000 G Series center section compressor, and passed it around to a couple of us to test in our project studios. Now there are several quality compressors on the market, including SSL’s own version (now discontinued), but AudioScape’s take is one-fifth the price. Warm Audio has the Bus-Comp at a reasonable price point, but it’s not a true recreation. This has to be one of the most over-used audio terms these days, but the SSL G Series is know for its ability to “glue” mixes together in a very musical and pleasing manner. To that regard, the AudioScape Buss Compressor certainly delivers. AudioScape Logo Distrokid Coupon Code FutureMusic The easiest way for electronic musicians to get their music onto Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon Music, Tidal, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pandora, Twitch & much more! Click the banner above or the Go Button to save 7% off of your signup! GO! Although you can certainly use the Buss Compressor on individual elements, such as guitar, bass, drums and vocals, it really shines on the Master, ready to make your mix sound its best. Our staffers were delighted how it imparted “a certain quality” to their mix with a “nice round bottom” and an overall “sweetness.” On minimal techno, deep house, ambient and other spatial electronic music, it was simply amazing how the Buss Compressor brought out the tone of the spaces, making them more energetic and present in the mix without overhype. AudioScape Buss Compressor VU Meter The Buss Compressor’s front panel architecture closely mimics the original. Moving from left to right, there is a nicely backlit, analog dB Gain Reduction meter, followed by Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Release, and Make-Up gain controls. The Ratio, Attack, and Release controls are stepped and contain the same exact values as the original hardware, the other rotaries are continuous. After the Make-Up control are two toggle switches. The first toggles an internal 160 Hz Sidechain high-pass filter. The second turns the compressor On or Off. Last but not least is the power button. It’s a “somewhat old-school affair,” but has a “sloppy feel” and is “way too bright.” So bright, that the owner cut out a yellow PostIt Note to its exact size to reduce the output. SSL G-Series Buss Compressor The original SSL G-Series Buss Compressor in a 1U rack (Now Discontinued) Inevitably the question always arises whether a simple $29 plug-in will do the job just as well as hardware. Now, while there are several solid plug-ins that emulate the G Series, the answer is a resounding “no.” The flavor that the AudioScape Buss Compressor puts on your master output cannot be rivaled by code. Considering the low buy-in for that, dare I say “glue,” and your looking at a $699 withdrawal from your bank account. However, there’s another application for the Buss Compressor. AudioScape Buss Compressor XLR Closeup Electronic musicians and DJs may want to consider adding the Buss Compressor to the output of their live rig and/or DJ mixer. We were able to test this application at a live performance by Urban Rhythm. The venue was an outdoor amphitheater on the water, which presented some challenges. Utilizing the Buss Compressor on the master with a 2:1 ratio “wrapped the sound in a nice warm blanket” that negated the harshness that can arise from unexpected reflections. Considering the many different songs that were played, the output had a nice consistency that melding the performance together, especially with some of the seamless transitions between tracks. AudioScape Buss Compressor Features: » 1U 19″ Rackmount USA Made Case & Front Panel » Custom-Designed PCB with proper Attack/Release Values and Noise Specs » THAT Corporation VCA’s » True-Stereo VCA Controlled Compression – Not Summed Mono Like Other Designs » Handcrafted in the USA » IN/OUT Compression Toggle » 160hz Internal Sidechain High-Pass Filter Switch » Continuously Variable Threshold Control » Stepped Attack / Release / Ratio Switches » Continuously Variable +/- 20dB Make-Up Gain Control » Highest Quality, USA-Sourced Components Used Throughout (chosen to achieve the most Sonically Authentic Recreation) » Alpha Potentiometers and Rotary Switches » Backlit, Original-Styled Analog dB Gain Reduction Meter » Period-Correct Replica Knobs » Electronically Balanced +4dBu Circuitry » Neutrik XLR Input and Output connectors » Antek Power Transformer » Internal 120V/240V Power Supply » Handcrafted in the USA Rear View of the AudioScape Buss Compressor Conclusion AudioScape’s Buss Compressor is well worth the price of admission. When comparing it to Warm Audio’s Bus-Comp and Tierra Audio’s Gravity, we can safely say it out performs these competitors as far as sound quality and value. We would like to see some tweaks to the unit – see The Future below – but as far as sound quality, it’s a winner. If you don’t mind playing AudioScape’s reindeer games to score a unit, the Buss Compressor is Highly Recommended. Rating: 94% Cheers: + Value + Sound Quality + Authentic reproduction of original + VU Meter Jeers: – Power Button – Thin Chassis – Can’t Simply Preorder FutureMusic Power Award AudioScape Buss Compressor AudioScape’s Buss Compressor costs $699.99. The Future: Clearly from the review, we loved just about everything about the Buss Compressor, especially the price, but if Mr. Yetter was considering some modifications, we have a couple of suggestions. First, would be a different power button. The current version has a cool, retro vibe, but it doesn’t have a satisfying or positive “thunk” when you turn it on. Worse, is the power button’s light. It’s blinding. The second consideration would be increasing the thickness of the chassis. Sure it doesn’t matter once it’s in a rack, but when taking the Buss Compressor out of the box, the chassis had a visible sag on top when you grabbed it, which betrayed the quality of the rest of the unit. |
