Tube Tech Compressor Collection

The Tube-Tech CL 1B is a modern classic for a very good reason. As a vocal compressor in particular, its mixture of characteristic warm slow opto gain reduction and surprisingly versatile can’t-sound-bad operation have made it a staple across a wider variety of genres than perhaps any other optical compressor. Classic rock, cutting-edge pop, rap and hip hop, EDM… you name it.

The CL 1B Mk II isn’t only a feature-update, adding side-chain low cut filters and parallel mixing. It’s a complete audio-visual overhaul as well. The team at Softube has remodeled this luxury piece of studio hardware from the ground up, using their latest and best-ever component modelling and signal processing technology to give more detailed, punchier sound than ever. And it now has brand new high-resolution graphics which look gorgeous even on 4K and ultra-HD screens. You’ll want to reach out and grab the knobs the second you see it.

And when you do start to use it, you’ll be in control of a very special unit indeed – the tendency of an opto compressor is to grab hold fairly quickly but then take a while to fully reset, with a strongly exponential release curve. This means the transients are dealt with in a transparent way, but the larger body of the material benefits from a soft and musical leveling as the final ten or twenty percent of the gain reduction lingers before the next transient.It’s a sound every mix engineer should have on lock-down for bass, acoustic guitars, vocals and much more.