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Used Shadow Hills Industries Dual Vandergraph 500 Series Stereo Compressor
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Shadow Hills Industries Dual Vandergraph 500 Series Stereo Compressor

2-channel 500 Series Class-A VCA Compressor with Discrete Audio Path, Four Compression Ratios, Sidechain Filters, and Hardwire Bypass
$2,795.00

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Shadow Hills Industries Dual Vandergraph 500 Series Stereo Compressor
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Impeccable Class A Stereo Compression

The Shadow Hills Industries Dual Vandergraph stereo compressor is a direct descendant of the Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor - in API 500 Series format. Packing discrete, fully Class A VCAs, the Dual Vandergraph carries forth its big sibling's sterling reputation for exceptional sound quality and performance. With its pristine sonics, the Dual Vandergraph makes an ideal bus compressor, and its four compression ratios make it easy to teach even the rowdiest signals good manners. If you're looking to fortify your 500 Series rack with a premium stereo compressor, look no further than the Shadow Hills Industries Dual Vandergraph.

Shadow Hills Industries Dual Vandergraph at a Glance:
  • Easy to operate
  • All the control you need
  • Seriously built to sound great
Easy to operate

The Shadow Hills Industries Dual Vandergraph operates in stereo, however you control it with a single set of variable attenuators, rather than having to juggle two sets of controls. Nice! Even cooler, it will function normally with just a a single channel connected. Perhaps best of all, the Dual Vandergraph takes up very little of your precious studio real estate - just two spaces in your 500 Series chassis.

All the control you need

The Dual Vandergraph sports all the amenities you'd expect in a world-class compressor: four compression ratios, sidechain filters, hardwire bypass, and a vintage-flavored engraved front panel with a VU meter, tophat switch caps, and big classic knobs for compression and output level. No matter how gnarly or mild-mannered your input signal, compression ratios of 2:1, 2.5:1, 4:1, and 8:1 let you tailor your dynamics exactly the way you want them.

Seriously built to sound great

The uncompromising build of the Shadow Hills Industries Dual Vandergraph is, of course, to a large degree responsible for its amazing performance. Packed with top-drawer components such as discrete, fully Class-A VCAs and Swiss-made discrete rotary attenuators, every component was painstakingly selected based on its contribution to the overall design objective: stunning sound quality. With its impressive sound and performance, ease of operation, and weapons-grade build quality, the Shadow Hills Industries Dual Vandergraph belongs in your 500 Series arsenal.

Shadow Hills Industries Dual Vandergraph Features:
  • Premium Class-A Stereo compressor for your 500 Series rack
  • Discrete audio path
  • Four compression ratios (1.2:1, 2.5:1, 4:1, and 8:1)
  • Control the dynamics of any program material
  • Discrete gain cells from the Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor
  • Selectable sidechain filters: 90Hz, 150Hz, 250Hz, bandpass
  • Swiss-made discrete rotary attenuators
Enhance your 500 Series rack with the Shadow Hills Dual Vandergraph!

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Tech Specs

  • Processor Type: Class A Compressor
  • Number of Channels: 2
  • Controls: Ratio, Filter, Compressor, Output
  • Ratio: 1.2:1, 2.5:1, 4:1, 8:1
  • Manufacturer Part Number: Dual Vandergraph

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Customer Reviews

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Rated 5/5

Best quality for the money

This will be one of your favorite purchases. It adds body, weight, and depth. also great for tightening up lows or smoothing out top end. this thing will make your 2buss correct its posture. Only downside for me is that its stepped and the gaps between steps can be pretty large depending on your audio source.
Music background: Producer, Engineer
Rated 5/5

One of The Best Compressors Period!

If you are looking for a compressor in the $1,500-$3,000, you should seriously consider the Dual Vandergraph, 500 series or otherwise. It is simply amazing. I wanted a stereo buss compressor and originally considered the SSL 500 series. If you were thinking the same, save your money and get the Vandergraph. If you are looking to spend less than the purchase price of the DV, just save those pennies to get it. You will be very, very happy you did.

Not only does it sound great, it is surprisingly versatile. Don't be fooled by the preset ratios. I have not found this limiting at all. I can be as transparent or as heavy-handed as I want. The sidechain filters switch makes a big difference. Even without engaging any compression, the DV automatically adds a highly desirable girth and larger-than-life sound to the signal. The controls are simply for fine-tuning that added richness and tightening the dynamics. However, unlike lesser compressors, the dynamic control does NOT make the signal smaller sounding.

I've had the Vandergraph for only a couple of months and have used it as a master buss and drum buss compressor on some metal tracks. However, my studio partner does mainly hip-hop and R&B and it sounds great there too. I have to mix a jazz project that contains drums, electric bass, piano, a 3-piece horn section, guitar and vocals. I have no doubt that the DV will shine on that project too.

The only negative is that if you don't have a lunchbox, you'll have to buy one to add the DV to your studio toolbox. Well worth it though. Nothing but praise for this piece. I will be buried with my '75 Les Paul and my Vandergraph!
Music background: professional musician, producer & engineer
Rated 5/5

Wow.. Is an understatement.

This has to be the most amazing compressor on earth.. It will light up you tracks.
Rated 5/5

Iron, Iron, Iron

So let's be honest, who HASN'T lusted after a $7,000 Shadow Hills Mastering Comp? I know I have, and that's why my eye turned to the dual vandy, which is basically with very few details withheld, the VCA section of the SHMC. I plugged it into my rack with high hopes and it still and it kicked my @$$.

The sound? Iron, iron, iron... just a weighty, dense, confident, beautiful gut-punch. The options are fairly limited compared ot others (i.e. 4 selectable ratios and no attack/release fine-tuning), but what's there you can tell was very carefully selected and implemented - frankly, for someone like myself who is what I'll call a passionate hobbyist but not a professional who has a degree in audio production, I feel like the limited options are probably a good thing, as I know this is going to sound great wherever I set it - less opportunity for me to screw it up! The 1.25:1 and 2:1 are great on the mix bus and drum bus, and this thing does great with tracking, as well. Awesome purchase, I almost thing it's undervalued for the sounds you'll get, this thing is well worth the price tag!

The SH branding of invoking golden-age military technology/layout and feel is just plain COOL, too. If you haven't seen their website, check it out... gloriously archane. To get to a product page you have to look up a code in the manual and type it into the enigma machine... WTF!?!?!? LOVE IT!
Rated 4.5/5

Spank Me with VCA's!

I'll try to do this gently with descriptions that are not commonly used.
You know how murky and flat some compressors get ? This is not that.
The Dual Vandy is a sure thing if you want quick go to usable compression without too much guess work and the Jensen / Shadow Hills transformer combination delivers an angst that you won't find in another 3 lettered manufacturer. Don't get me wrong I like those other guys too but this DOES sound different and even in bypass it does something to the mind!
I've used this on drums, guitars, vocals and program stereo bus and all of the pre chosen ratios and release times are balanced nicely. With the side chain filter I'm able to get tailored responses from the detector to find something usable pretty quick. That being said I did only give a 4.5 due to one drawback for me. It has stepped potentiometers which is cool for recall and confidence but for me I find on occasion the need to go right in the middle of the current and last click of the dial. An easy work around is to back off the input via the fader just a hair and call it macaroni !
To sum it up I love this compressor and it keeps impressing me all the time. I will continue to buy Shadow Hills gear based on quality/ usability and vision laid out by Mr Reardon with whom I have an audio engineers man crush due to his legacy being made at Shadow Hills Industries.
Music background: Producer / Engineer / Musician

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What Do Our In-house Gear Experts Think?

Kris Eckman

The Shadow Hills Industries Dual Vandergraph gives me all the highlights of their Mastering Compressor, but at a price that's better for my home-studio budget. I love the range of compression I can get out of this processor. I can smooth out stems, crush drums, or level off my entire mix as needed. From metal to psychedelic, every mix I produce benefits from the punch and presence of my Dual Vandergraph.
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