Lindell Audio has released its LiN76 Vintage Limiting Amplifier, designed to recreate the timbres and nuances of Universal Audio’s 1176LN FET-based dynamics processing from the late 1960s.
Designed by company founder Tobias Lindell, the LiN76 is intended for 76-style FET compression, and also replicates the ‘all-button mode’ used by British recording engineers throughout the 1970s – a sound that is still popular today.
This ‘secret mode’ effectively changes the compression ratio to roughly 20:1, as well as changing the bias of the circuitry and the manner in which the knobs interact with each other. As a result, the LiN76 becomes much more aggressive, with its reaction knee becoming more like a plateau than a gentle curve with a more aggressive dirty tone well suited to use on aggressive drums. The attack becomes very punchy with a ‘sucking’ sound on the release. Regular settings, however, are: Attack – continuously variable 20μs to 800μs; Release – 50ms to 1200ms; and Ratio – 4:1, 8:1, 12:1, and 20:1.
Vintage dynamics processing continues with a front panel-dominating vu meter, indicating the amount of gain reduction applied with units selected by the chosen Meter mode: +4 meters output level at 0 with +4dB output; +8 meters output level at 0dB with +8dB output; Off is self explanatory; and GR allows meter calibration.
The rear panel of the 2U-high rack unit offer Output and Input as balanced line-level TRS.
A RAD Distribution company, Lindell Audio’s LiN76 is shipping and available at a MAP of US$399 in the US and an SSP of €499 including VAT in the EU.
