How a studio compressor became the secret ingredient in an iconic Led Zeppelin guitar moment – the story of Universal Audio’s 1176 compressor
Jimmy Page has always liked to use gear in unintended musical ways, but his experimentation with UA’s 1176 compressor led to one of the most iconic studio guitar tones in Led Zeppelin history.
There’s an argument to be made that the 1176 Peak Limiter is one of the most important bits of studio gear ever made. Launched by Universal Audio founder Bill Putnam in 1967, this studio compressor has become a bedrock of pretty much every recording studio, and a vital tool for a truly gobsmacking range of artists and producers – from Prince and Vangelis to Rick Rubin and Steve Albini.
“The 1176 has sustained UA’s reputation for tone and quality more than any other product,” says Will Shanks, Universal Audio’s Senior Product Designer. “Before the 1176 there was the 176 – that was a tube design, and the first to have dedicated attack, release and ratio controls. Bill Putnam wanted an extremely fast attack time with even greater range for gain reduction. He got there with the FET-based 1176, and the rest is history.”
Whether used to bring character to 50 Cent’s vocals, Kenny Beats’ samples or Travis Barker’s drums, the 1176 has played a part in countless iconic recordings, but it is the compressor’s use in guitar that’s perhaps its most interesting – because it shows the wonderful ability of musicians to take a piece of gear and utilise it in a way that its creator never intended.
