Rupert Neve Designs 535 500 Series Compressor

The new Rupert Neve Designs 535 Diode Bridge Compressor offers the same sonic quality as the acclaimed 2254 compressor but with expanded functionality for today's recording industry standards, all in the compact 500 series format.

The extra features include a reduced noise floor, expanded headroom, ratios from 1.5:1 to 8:1, six variable time constants, full stepped controls throughout, blend control to apply parallel compression within the unit, and a side chain high-pass filter.

The unified time 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 are for more transient applications such as drums, plucked acoustic instruments or fast dynamic vocals. MED and MS have slightly slower attacks which allow for transients to pass through while having a longer recovery time. SLOW and AUTO are both significantly slower and are meant to be used for a smooth level control.

By engaging the FAST mode, all of the attack and release times will increase per setting, ultimately taking the available time constants from six to twelve.

By using the blend control, you can apply just the right amount of extreme compression into the audio path, allowing a single 535 to apply parallel processing. A great way to create an enhanced yet natural sound which remains the dynamics intact but adds color and punch to any source.

The side chain high-pass filter can allow lower frequencies to pass through the compressor, which can often make for a mushy or cloudy sound. The filter is set to 150 Hz, allowing you to focus on the more key frequencies of a vocal, acoustic instrument or overhead microphones on a drum kit.

If you have a 500 series rack that will link two units, engaging the LINK control will allow one 535 to control the parameters of a second 535. When both modules have the LINK control engaged, the control voltage will be shared between them, so when one unit is triggered, it will trigger the other unit equally. This can often help maintain a center image in a stereo source. When using as a bus compressor, be sure to check the unlinked sound as well, making sure the compression on one side isn’t crushing the dynamics of the entire mix.