Standard Audio Stretch 500 Series Compressor

The Standard Audio Stretch is a 500 Series, multi-band compression/dynamics unit based on noise reduction units from the 1970s and 1980s. Stretch emulates the sound of these classic units in their respective “encode” modes. However, the Stretch adds new features to employ this old trick in a multitude of new ways.

The Stretch allows the user to use the 4 separate frequency bands in different combinations to sculpt or accentuate individual tracks or a mix in ways no other compressor or EQ can achieve. The onboard Mix Control dials in the perfect amount processing with the original dry signal. Use the Stretch to add air to vocals, add sparkle to acoustic guitars, add sheen to overheads, add punch to drums, make bass tracks thunderous, or even create additional depth and detail on the whole mix bus. The possibilities are endless!

Features:

• Four frequency bands that are individually processed; LF Band: 20 Hz - 110 Hz, MF Band: 110 Hz - 3 kHz, HF3 Band: 3 kHz - 20 kHz, HF9 Band: 9 kHz - 20 kHz
• Filter/Compression pushbutton: lets the user cycle continuously through 7 different filter combinations, orange HPF and LPF front panel LEDs indicate the different combinations
• 100% analog signal path
• Highest quality, high reliability amplifier circuit design, high-quality filter capacitors for filter stages
• Engage push button: Enables/Disables true hard-wired relay bypass circuit, unit is engaged when pushbutton LED is lit
• Filter/Compression pushbutton LED: Indicates when any of the active filter stages has reached 2 dB of compression
• Input Control: Allows the user to set the gain structure through the unit so that the desired amount of compression is occurring
• Output Control: A post-mix circuit output level control allows the engineer to set the output level to DAW/Tape without altering the mix blend
• Mix Control: Blend the Stretch signal in with the un-processed input signal to vary the amount of effect desired

Please Note: For some 500 series based consoles (API 1608 for example), it may be necessary to connect the Stretch via an unbalanced output to interface with the console properly. We have provided a jumper (labeled J2) on the Stretch PCB that lets the engineer choose the output configuration. Using the provided shorting plug, connect pins 2 & 3 for balanced operation (factory default). Connect pins 1 & 2 for unbalanced operation. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.