A mono 500-series FET compressor, the Little Devil from Chandler Limited uses a discrete circuit path and transformer-balanced elements to give you flavors of Chandler’s LTD-2, 2264, 33609, and Germanium Compressor. Due to its selectable knee curve, it is capable of compression of audio signals in a colorful and “grabby” manner, or in a more smooth, transparent fashion. As such, the unit is suitable for a variety of sources, from harmonic, acoustic instruments in Zener mode, to percussive elements and electric guitars in Germ mode.
The unit provides attack, release, ratio, input, and output controls, but does not carry a traditional threshold selector; this makes it similar to a vintage TG-style unit in operation. A sidechain high-pass filter selector has been provided so that you can keep frequencies up to 300 Hz from triggering the compression circuit. You’ll also note the mix knob, which allows you to blend dry, unprocessed signal with the compressed results. In this way, you can approximate the effects of parallel compression. This 500-series module has been designed to work with a variety of lunchbox enclosures from manufacturers such as API, BAE, Empirical Labs, A-Designs, and more.
Input: This attenuator, placed at the front of the circuit, allows you to set the level of signal going into the compressor circuit.
Output: This controls the gain of the output stage. You can use this to make up for losses in compression, or just to crank the signal for louder levels if that sound is pleasing to you.
Mix: This knob mixes together raw, unprocessed signal with the compressed signal, allowing you to simulate parallel compression, a popular technique for drum buss and stereo buss processing in the right circumstances.
Attack: The attack is set to operate between a wide range of times, allowing you to grab as many or as few of the audio as you’d like.
Release: This standard release toggle provides three settings—slow, medium, and fast.
Ratio: Chosen by ear, these ratio selections offer settings between minimal to near-limiting. With the curve set to GERM, the ratio functions in a more standard way than in the Zener setting, in which the ratio and curve interact to change the time constants. The higher the ratio in Zener mode, the slower the timing.
Curve Switch: This allows the Little Devil to behave almost like two different compressors by switching the knee setting, which has a sizeable effect on the sound and function of the unit. Set one way, the curve resembles the GERM settings on the Chandler Germanium compressor at a very aggressive setting, even though the knee itself remains on the smoother side. This allows for a grabby, punchy, and more colored sound when compared to the ZENER curve, which provides a gentler knee, and can even facilitate higher levels of gain reduction with a nonetheless transparent sound. It can be referred to as a “reverse Zener”, as it behaves almost as the opposite as the Zener setting on the Zener Limiter and Chandler Germanium Compressor.
Sidechain: Sometimes, low-level frequencies can cause the compressor to kick in before you’d want it to, causing the signal to lose a bit of life in the compression stage. This knob obviates that phenomenon by dictating a frequency below which loud signals will not trigger the compression circuit. This knob is selectable from 30 to 300 Hz. You can also leave it off.