| MIX VERDICT: WARM AUDIO WA-1B |
| THE TAKEAWAY: “While it doesn’t quite equal the sonically rich character of the original, it gets you in the ballpark.” |
| COMPANY: Warm Audio • www.warmaudio.com PRICE: $1,199 PROS: • Offers sound and behavior similar to Tube Tech CL 1B at a much lower cost. • Transparent dynamics control for vocals and instruments • Handy front-panel meter calibration knob CONS: • Not quite as rich- and full-sounding as the CL 1B. |
Warm Audio has released another hardware emulation of a classic piece of gear. Although for legal reasons the company can’t say so directly, the WA-1B is a recreation of the legendary Tube-Tech CL 1B—the optical tube compressor from Denmark that’s been a pro-audio staple since 1991.
Warm Audio specializes in re-creating hardware processors and selling them at more affordable prices. From a business standpoint, the WA-1B differs from previous Warm products in that it emulates a processor that’s still in production, rather than a vintage unit that’s no longer made, thereby putting it in direct competition with Tube-Tech.
While that has led to some active and forceful exchanges of opinion online, it’s universally agreed that the CL 1B is an excellent compressor with a unique sound. Can the WA-1B, priced nearly 70 percent lower than the original, replicate its sound and vibe?
IT’S GOT THE LOOK
If you compare the two units visually, the most significant difference is that the Tube-Tech unit is 3RU tall, while the WA-1B fills two rackspaces.
The WA-1B features a chassis in the same shade of blue and an almost identical control set, with the knobs and switches placed in the same order as the original unit.
As with its inspiration, the WA-1B offers a single processing channel with a sidechain circuit that allows you to connect multiple units and control them all from one. I only had a single review unit.
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The I/O on the back is balanced, offering XLR and TRS inputs and outputs. In addition, there are two quarter-inch sidechain connectors and an IEC power input.
On the inside, Warm designed the unit with discrete analog circuitry, including custom Lundahl transformers and a pair of “select” tubes. The units are built in Asia but inspected and tested by hand in the company’s Austin, Texas, facility.
The WA-1B includes Gain, Ratio, Threshold, Attack and Release knobs.
Like the original, a switch lets you choose between Fixed, Fixed/Manual and Manual attack and release settings. The Manual mode allows users to set the Attack and Release freely. The former goes from 0.5 ms to 300 ms, and the latter from 0.05 seconds to 10 seconds.
The Fixed mode features a 1 ms attack and 50 ms release. Fixed/Manual allows for manual adjustment of the attack time but blends the Manual release time with that of the Fixed mode.
Another switch controls which of the two sidechain bus connections are active. Unlike the CL 1B, the WA-1B sports a front-panel meter calibration knob. The WA-1B manual instructs you to calibrate the meter by setting it to 0 dB when the unit is on but no signal is present. It’s effortless.
COMPRESSING
I used the WA-1B on input while recording DI electric guitar and bass and for miked acoustic guitar, mandolin, resonator guitar and vocals (which the original unit is particularly flattering on). I A/B’d each source with the WA-1B on and in Bypass mode, ensuring that the level was the same with the unit on and off to make the comparison fair.
In each instance, the WA-1B added a pleasant fullness to the sound. Not having a CL 1B on hand, I couldn’t do a direct comparison.
However, I did A/B the WA-1B with the UAD and UAD/Softube CL 1B plug-ins. I also listened closely to a sonic comparison of the two hardware units posted by Vintage King, whose expertise in such matters I trust.
To my ears, the WA-1B does a good job of emulating the clean and transparent compression of the CL 1B, and while it doesn’t quite equal the sonically rich character of the original, it gets you in the ballpark.
