0% up to 48 Months on over 110 Brands!

New & Current Vintage King Card Holders

Shop Our Summer Sale

0% financing up to 48 Months on over 110 Brands!

When you shop now with your Vintage King Credit Card.

$ 1,199 .00
or $50/month for 24 months 0% interest for 24 months. 24 equal monthly payments required. Learn more
In Stock
Item is in stock and will ship the next business day. To inquire if this item is available to ship sooner or is in one of our stores, please call 888.653.1184.

SKU

121420

Please note: this item is available for purchase in the United States only.

Drawmer 1976 Stereo 3-Band Saturation and Width Processor

3-band stereo saturation and width processor has been designed to inject character, color and life into your recordings and live sound mixes
MFR# 1976

Product Description

The Drawmer 1976 Stereo 3-Band Saturation & Width Processor has been designed to inject character, color & life into your recordings and live sound in a style endemic of the classic equipment of the 1970s. The completely analog saturation of the 1976 will provide the realism that plug-ins can only aspire to, replacing the harsh, sterile digital sound with fullness, softness and warmth. Why emulate saturation when you can have the real thing?

Inspired by the highly acclaimed saturation and width features of Drawmer's DC2476 Digital Mastering Processor the 3 bands of independent saturation of the 1976 have been designed to add the pleasing imperfections that are so endemic in classic gear. Saturation is ideal for adding fullness to your music, taking your music from a cold, bleak landscape to a warm, bright vista.

In addition, however, unlike conventional saturation products the 1976 also features 3 bands of stereo width control to really bring out the depth and add real presence to your mix, and all with a single, yet comprehensive set of controls that provide genuine stereo operation.

What is saturation?

Saturation in music production is something that can really enrich the sound in your mix by adding a subtle form of distortion that adds pleasant-sounding harmonics. It originates from the analog days when audio recordings ran through various pieces of hardware, each one adding their own character to the music giving the audio a pleasant quality that was much sought after. Today, in the digital age, these characteristics no longer occur naturally, giving an overly clean, sterile quality to the audio, with saturation plug-ins used to emulate those not present. The 1976 allows you to add this character in a completely analog, natural way. However, it's use is not only limited to digital recordings, it'll add presence, warmth and life to any audio regardless of how it's recorded, whether its drum, vocals, synths and more, in digital or analog.

What about 3 Band Saturation?

Because the 1976 as 3 bands of independent saturation it can pull off amazing feats that single-band saturation could never accomplish. For example, it can bring out the bassline, adding presence and grit without ruining the overall balance within the mix by adding distortion to the top end. Or enhance the vocals without making the bottom sound muddy.

Where to make the most of Saturation

Saturation can be used to add warmth on pretty much any piece of audio, however it can be applied to some sounds far more effectively than others:

  • Percussion: Drums are one of the best sounds in which to use saturation. It can be used to 'glue' the whole drum bus together, injecting some punch and excitement, giving them depth and life, and adding harmonics that are pleasing to the ear, whilst taming rogue transients and high end harshness using natural compression.
  • Basslines: If your bassline sounds a little flat and lifeless it will really benefit from a adding some saturation. This will bring out the grit, dirty the sound and fatten it out. Use it on sine generated basslines to make them sound more natural, and push them out into the mix.
  • Synths: Synths tend to sound too digital and clinical. Saturation will bring them to life, making them sound warmer, more natural, and closer to the analog sound that they emulate. It'll inject harmonics and grit, and make the synths stand out more in the mix.
  • Vocals: Saturation is one of the secrets to great sounding vocals. Your vocal recordings may sound good but saturation will make them sing (pun intended). It will make any vocal sound fuller, especially thin and dull voices, and will warm and tame harsh sounding vocals by subtly softening sibilance. Don't go over the top though, keep the harmonic distortion gentle or it could ruin the vocals all together.
  • Mix: For all of it's pros, digital recording has a major drawback, by it's very nature it sounds too, well, digital. It's too harsh, too clean. Saturation can be the key here. It will add harmonic distortion to inject life and warmth into the mix, and help your digital mixes sound more like those from the analog recording era.

Just passing the audio through an analog device will have some effect on warming the mix, though passing it through the 1976 will take your mixes to the next level.

What about Width?

Without stereo widening the mix won't jump out of the speaker and grab your listener, this is where the 3 bands of the 1976 can be used to enhance the extra dimension to take the mix from a flat wall of sound to a 3D immersive experience. It's likely your mix will have a stereo element already, however, the 1976 makes it super easy to control these, widening and monogising where necessary to get the desired effect, and all just using the single stereo controls of the low, mid and high bands. One major benefit of having independent width control for each of the bands is to allow the high frequencies to be spread across a wider soundstage without affecting the low frequency end. Easy!

Features:

  • Powerful 3 Band all Analog Saturation for adding warmth to both your digital and analog sounds
  • Designed to Inject character to your audio reminiscent of 1970's era gear and remove the sanitized harshness that digital recordings suffer from
  • 3 band fully adjustable Stereo Width provides controllable depth and presence to you mix
  • Fully Variable Crossover controls between the bands allows you to tune in to signals for different amounts of independent saturation across the full frequency range
  • Genuine stereo operation with one set of controls for both channels
  • Can operate in Stereo and Mono
  • The Mono switch helps highlight problems within the stereo mix
  • Internal Low Hum Toroidal Linear Power Supply with Voltage Selector Switch
  • Classic Drawmer Build Quality with Rugged Steel Chassis and Aluminum Front Panel
  • Designed and manufactured by Drawmer in the UK

Product Specifications

Condition New
Chassis 19-inch Rack-mount
Rack Spaces 1U

Product Reviews

No one has written a review yet. Be the first!

* Required Fields

Share Your Opinion

The best gear advice always comes from those who use it the most. That's where you come in! Let the pro audio world hear your voice with a review of the Drawmer 1976 Stereo 3-Band Saturation and Width Processor . Once you submit your review, please check your email and verify your address to have it posted.

How do you rate this product?
I would like to thank VK for the wonderful sales assistance, service and prices. This was my first purchase with you and it won't be my last. I only wish I'd discovered you years ago!
Matthew R.
I had two Grammy wins this year - Ray LaMontagne & Carolina Chocolate Drops. Both made with help from Vintage King!
Ryan F.
In almost 20 years in Pro audio buying, never did I receive a unit so well packed and exactly as described. Works flawlessly. The whole process has been so smooth. I will never hesitate to do business with you guys in the future and will recommend you to everyone I know.
Martin C.
This was my first experience buying something from Vintage King (although I surf the "used" categories on the website frequently!), and, despite being on the other side of the world, I had absolutely no trouble and everything went very smoothly.
Phil T.
The speed of delivery exceeded my expectations! I was VERY pleased that my shipment arrived in time for a scheduled vocal tracking session. The packing insured that my order arrived safely. And the sales staff responded quickly to questions regarding the product.
James P.
Thank you so much! Vintage King has been so fair and easy to work with. I can't thank you enough. It feels good to trust such a hefty purchase to folks who are so helpful and knowledgeable. Vintage King is a sound designers dream store.
Noa L.
You guys have excellent customer service and I am excited about the next upgrade I complete on my fifth recording facility. I've been in the studio business for forty plus years. The salesman I worked with at Vintage King was the best of the best. You all rock!
Robby T.
I would recommend Vintage King to any one looking for top-class gear, unbeatable customer service and the best prices on the map!
Jake D.
My experience with Vintage King was excellent. The order was here fast considering it was out of stock. The sales person had SKB send it to me directly and I couldn't have been more pleased.
Michael D.
From the minute I placed my order I was kept well-informed through each step in your process. Even though I was buying a comparatively modest piece of gear, your attention to detail made me feel like I was purchasing a six-figure mixing desk.
Thomas W.
I am a new customer of yours. You guys provided me the absolute best deals in ordering all the equipment to power my brand new recording studio. Your customer service is amazing and i will always deal with you from here on out.
Rob M.
Thanks for your great service and getting this out today. You guys really are the Kings!
Alan B.
Better than expected! Truly impeccable service. Your team was professional, knowledgeable, provided speedy delivery above and beyond standard. Vintage King Audio is definitely my go to for all of my audio and information needs.
James O.