4-to-1 up to the 20-to-1 ratio . It ’ s a robust and pristine circuit design . Pedal76 really does sound and behave like a rackmount 1176 . I ’ ve seen several pedal emulations , but none like this . The Pedal76 , like its predecessor circuit , also loves to be abused , and I can hear the familiar harmonic distortion and color I ’ ve come to love in the rackmount units .
On guitar , I got that familiar smack for the tight pikin ’ parts , and it sounds like the real thing- wait , I guess it is ! I used the high gain ( drive ) mode on bass . I could hear the upper harmonic stuff you need to help the bass cut through the track . Distortion adds an excellent character to the bass , and it ’ s a must in the studio . They also did a fantastic job at putting the footswitch far away from the knobs . I appreciate that since I have big feet . That being said , I usually always keep my compressor engaged . It gives a more defined sound to my ears , and I typically put it early in the signal chain .
Of course , if you use the pedal for recording , it could be anywhere or even the last thing before entering the DAW . I love that there is a ratio button . If you ’ re looking for smooth compression , you can set the pedal 4-to-1 , slow attack , medium release , and pull back about 2-4 DB . 8-to-1 is a little more spanky , and 20-to1 is almost what they call Britt mode where you push in all the buttons on the rack unit .
MY TAKEAWAY : Warm Audio has a winner here . This professional FET compression with a real CineMag transformer will be a killer sound for any guitar or bass player . It looks fantastic on a pedalboard , and people will be drawn to figure out what it is . The VU meter is beneficial for seeing what ’ s happening in real-time and how many DBs it ’ s pulling back . It sounds good enough to take more pedalboard real estate than usual . I swapped out some things to make room once I heard it .
Because it has a balanced output , it will be a flexible device for anyone . You could use it as a D . I . going into your DAW . This is a valuable asset to the home recording scene . Having a little compression when going direct will cause your internal guitar plug-ins to act much happier . I recommend you try this pedal out .
For the price point , you ’ re getting the sound of a much more expensive piece of professional gear . The original 1176 will run close to $ 3,000.00 . You have to love modern manufacturing . I ’ m so thankful that Warm Audio is helping guys like us raise our audio game ! The Warm Audio Pedal76 sells for $ 269.00 .
$ 269.00 WarmAudio . com / pedal76
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