Golden Age Project Channel Vintage Style Compressor

The COMP-3A is a single-channel vintage-style Compressor/Leveler. The signal path uses only discrete components like resistors, capacitors and transistors, and the input and output is transformer balanced using two different transformers, each one optimized for its purpose. This is the way audio components were built before integrated circuits became available.

Integrated circuits are small and cheap and widely used in most modern designs. The drawback is that audio components built with modern technology don’t always provide the best sound quality or the type of character that the modern user desires.

The subjective sound quality delivered by vintage equipment is often preferred over the one delivered by modern units, a situation that is even more obvious now when music is recorded with clean-sounding digital audio equipment. This is the reason why so many vintage audio components are cloned and produced again, and also why the vintage originals are often very expensive on the second-hand market.

The circuit used in the COMP-3A is based on a classic design that uses an electro-luminescent panel and a photoelectric cell to control gain. This gives the COMP-3A unique, program-dependent compression characteristics. In addition, the vintage-style signal path adds a wonderful and musical character to the sound. The ease of use with only two main controls makes it very simple to achieve the desired sound.

These attributes hav made the original units a favorite of engineers and musicians worldwide. This classic sound is now available at a very affordable price point with the COMP-3A.