Video Chat with a Pro Audio Expert - Live

Pulsar Audio 1178 FET Compressor Plug-In (Download)

BH #PUPULSAR1178 • MFR #PULSAR 1178
Print
Pulsar Audio 1178 FET Compressor Plug-In (Download)
Key Features
  • Emulates Rare 1178 FET Studio Compressor
  • Fast and Bright Compression Character
  • Saturation Stage with Four Modes
  • Integrated Mid-Side Processing
Merging the fast and bright FET compression sounds of the rare and classic 1178 studio hardware with digital enhancements including mid-side processing, selectable saturation styles, robust sidechaining with full EQ, and advanced metering, the Pulsar Audio 1178 plug-in is a truly special and capable tool for producers, mixers, and mastering engineers. Whether used on individual instruments such as vocals and bass, mix buses, or even masters, Pulsar's 1178 can deliver transparency when you need it, color when you want it, and extreme smashing when creativity calls for it.
More Details
Digital
Electronic Download
No Store Display
This item cannot be returned.
Emailed within 1-3 Business Days
Ask an Expert
800-606-6969

Pulsar Audio PULSAR 1178 Overview

From Manufacturer

Merging the fast and bright FET compression sounds of the rare and classic 1178 studio hardware with digital enhancements including mid-side processing, selectable saturation styles, robust sidechaining with full EQ, and advanced metering, the Pulsar Audio 1178 plug-in is a truly special and capable tool for producers, mixers, and mastering engineers. Whether used on individual instruments such as vocals and bass, mix buses, or even masters, Pulsar's 1178 can deliver transparency when you need it, color when you want it, and extreme smashing when creativity calls for it.

Other features that take the 1178 into the tech of today include adjustable look-ahead or look-behind detection to exercise precise control of transients, a mix knob for instant parallel compression, and a GUI that can be resized to suit available screen real estate. Compatibility with AAX, AU, VST2, and VST3 plug-in formats makes the Pulsar Audio 1178 a welcome addition to most macOS and Windows DAWs.

A Rare Studio Classic, Updated
A compressor that eats transients for breakfast, the 1178 is a rare and expensive legend of the recording studio. Cleaner and more versatile than its older brother the 1176, the 1178 has been used by great producers including Chris Lord-Alge (My Chemical Romance), Bob Clearmountain (Rolling Stones, Christina Aguilera), Yvan Bing (Phil Collins), and Nigel Godrich (Radiohead). Pulsar 1178 adds a full sidechain EQ for added control, an optional saturation stage for warmth and character, and precise metering.
Topology Preservation Technology
Pulsar's proprietary modeling technology allows an ideal emulation of the original device's behavior. From the saturation of diodes, transistors, or tubes, to the slight internal filtering and tiny calibration defects, everything is accurately reproduced. What's more, these behaviors are reproduced without going through a complete simulation of the circuit, thus saving CPU power.
Saturation Stage
Push the signal further using one of four saturation flavors, and adjust the processing strength. Tape emulates the character of magnetic recording technology, Warm offers subtle distortion that's great for high frequencies, Triode emulates a Class-A tube amp adding mostly odd harmonics, and Clip offers digital clipping for heavy-handed action.

Mid-Side Processing
Pulsar 1178 comes with built-in optional mid-side encoding and decoding, enabling a signal's mono and stereo information to be processed separately with different settings. Listen buttons simplify the setting by allowing you to listen to mid or side signals in isolation. And the engaging visualization can be set to monitor only the channel you're working on, so you always know what you're doing.
Look Ahead, Look Behind
Bring the compressor's detection action forward in time—practically impossible in an analog signal path—or delay its action by up to 10 ms to help transients to pop through. You set the exact timing of the look-ahead or look-behind delay stages—up to 20 ms for the former or up to 10 ms for the latter.
Powerful Sidechain EQ
High-passing the sidechain is possible with Pulsar 1178, but so is a lot more thanks to an entire sidechain EQ section. Five filter types are available here as are band solo and sidechain audition to help perfectly tailor your signal and arrive at the ideal detection response.
External Sidechain
Pulsar 1178 allows you to define an external sidechain input, as with most compressors in the digital age. This opens a very wide range of applications including ducking, de-essing, filtering the sidechain signal with your favorite EQ, or even applying dynamic processing.
Advanced Metering Section
Gain reduction, input level, and output level are all visible in different ways. The scrolling gain reduction meter offers a view of gain reduction and the audio signal, VU-style metering shows instantaneous gain reduction for both stereo channels, and LED-style input, output, and gain reduction are available to calibrate peak and RMS loudness.
Smart GUI
Pulsar 1178 comes all wrapped up in a responsive and resizable interface. Just drag the resize handle to set it to your preferred size, from nice and compact to highly visible. What's more, in most DAWs, loading Pulsar 1178 on a mono channel will open the plug-in with a streamlined interface that shows only a single channel of operation.

Pulsar Audio PULSAR 1178 Specs

Delivery Format
Download
License Type
Standard: Perpetual License
User Support
2 Users / 2 Devices
Standalone Operation
No
System Compatibility/Requirements
Operating System: Windows/macOS
Plug In Formats: AAX (Native) / AU / VST2 / VST3
USB Key Authentication: Required (iLok)

Pulsar Audio PULSAR 1178 Reviews

See any errors on this page?
Whatever You Need, We've Got It