New York, NY (July 6, 2023)—Most new channel strips are of the plug-in variety, so it was a pleasant surprise to hear about the Drawmer 1977, a 2RU analog processor that features Preamplifier, E.Q., Compressor and Output sections.
The controls on the unit are arranged in the order of the signal flow, with the Preamplifier section on the far left, the Output section on the far right and the EQ and Compressor in the middle. By default, the EQ is first, but you can swap their place in the signal chain with the flick of a switch.
The six-way Preamplifier Select switch lets you choose between Instrument, Line, and Mic Inputs. It also enables you to select one of three impedance settings for the mic input: 2.4, 600 or 200 Ohms, and switch on the 48V phantom power.
Preamp gain is controlled with a 12-position knob that lets you go from 0 dB to 66 dB in Mic mode or -24 dB to +24 dB in Instrument mode. The other preamp controls activate the Phase Reverse and High Pass Filter functions. The HPF Variable Frequency knob is fully adjustable between 16 Hz and 130 Hz. The On/Off switch bypasses the HPF.
The E.Q. section features three fully parametric bands, each capable of boosting or cutting by 12 dB. The Low Band goes from 40 Hz to 725 Hz, the Mid Band from 140 Hz to 13 kHz and the High Band from 530 Hz to 20 kHz. Each band has an Overload LED, and you can bypass the entire EQ section with the E.Q. Switch.
The Compressor section offers Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Release, and Make-Up Gain knobs. If you press the PGM switch, it turns on an auto-release function.
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Drawmer included its proprietary Big and Air circuits in the compressor. Activating the Big Switch reduces low-end sensitivity in the sidechain. Turning on the Air Switch adds back high-frequencies that can get attenuated by heavy compression. The amount of attenuation is displayed in the horizontal, eight-segment Gain Reduction Meter.
The Compressor also features a Saturate effect for dialing in variable amounts of overdrive. You can filter the lows or highs out of the saturation circuit with the Type switches.
The Output section includes a VU Meter, a 10dB Pad, a Mix control for the compressor, a Fade knob that adds or subtracts gain, and a Preamp Direct switch that bypasses the EQ and Compressor sections.
On the back panel, you’ll find the XLR Mic and Line Inputs, an XLR Output, an XLR Preamp O/P output that lets you tap into the signal at the end of the Preamplifier stage, and a 1/4-inch TR Side Chain insert for connecting additional EQ into the signal chain.
The Drawmer 1977 sells for $1,749 and is available now. Find out more at the Drawmer website.
