Impresser was modeled after one of the most flexible, powerful, and edgy compressors known to the audio world. Its signature sound is due to a unique analog design and a very special feature set. Impresser offers the best of classic vintage compression while adding a wider range of control options. This vintage unit, now recreated by the powerful Antelope Audio FPGA engine, can handle it all.

Impresser can add gentle and warm compression to your tracks or aggressively pump up any source audio. The flexibility of Impresser is aided by the addition of its own harmonic distortion. This can be used for subtle, tube-quality distortion and even in place of a tape saturator. It works its magic with or without the Impresser compressing the signal. Our own contribution to the effect is the adjustable frequency settings for the High and Band Pass Sidechain Filters. This enables even deeper control when shaping the frequency range for where you need the Impresser to work. Like all Antelope Audio FPGA compressor models, you can use the Impresser either in mono or with two channels stereo linked.

Compression and Distortion

The original hardware unit (father of the Impresser) was designed in the early 90s and reflected its time. In that period the 1176 and LA-2A had already established themselves as a must for every studio yet they were no longer in production and were hard to find. The Impresser was born as a readily available tool that can provide the same quality optical compression as an LA-2A yet with the switch of a few buttons transform itself into 1176-style fast compressor.

Around that time Grunge music was at its peaks and studios were seeking tools that can add analog distortion, color, and dirt to the music. The Impresser’s father had the ability to saturate and distort by adding 2nd and 3rd order harmonics or a combination of the two. That made it not only the most flexible compressor at its time, but also a complete color palette being able to emulate tube & tape saturation.

Three decades later the analog version of our Impresser can be found in most studios around the globe and has gained the reputation of a true Studio Swiss Army Knife.

Some analog versions of the Impresser were later modified with the so-called “British Mode”. That switch can essentially emulate the non-linearities and pumping of an 1176 in “All Buttons Mode”. On the Impresser that function is labeled as “UK Mode” and when engaged the Attack & Release times turn into pure aggression. If the Nuke ratio is the equivalent of setting a forest on fire then switching to “UK Mode” would be trying to put out the fire with a gasoline hose.

Now You Can:

• • Add super aggressive musical compression without any unwanted artifacts.
• • Emulate Tube & Tape saturation.
• • Use the iconic “Nuke” Ratio to squash a small garage into a giant pumping dirty grunge-room.
• • Fine-tune the High-Pass & High-Band side-chain filters to your taste (Antelope Impresser ONLY)
• • Emulate the character of a vintage 1176 “All Buttons Mode”

Tips & Tricks:

LA-2A setting: Ratio at 10:1 (Opto) | Attack at 100 | Release at 0. Use in the Input & Output knobs for the amount of compression and makeup gain just like an LA-2A.

1176 setting: Ratio 3:1 or 4:1 or 6:1 or 20:1 | Attack under 40 | Harmonics OFF

Smooth out harsh & bright vocals by targeting the unwanted frequencies with the midrange sidechain filter similarly to a de-esser.

Use the 2nd & 3rd order Harmonics to slightly thicken up a bass guitar in Opto Mode for a full and warm sound or switch to “UK Mode” for a drastic distortion that will make your bass cut through dense mixes

Explore more effects in our Software Store

DISCLAIMER

1176 Limiting Amplifier and Teletronix LA-2A Leveling Amplifier are registered trademarks of Universal Audio, Inc.