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API 527 500 Series Compressor/Limiter Reviews

VCA-based 500 Series Compressor/limiter with 2510 and 2520 Discrete Op-amps

The API 527 compressor/limiter brings the same incredible character and response to your 500 Series rack found in their 2500 Stereo Bus Compressor. Featuring both API's newer "feed forward" and original "feed back" gain reduction methods, the 527 covers a wide range of tone - from classic warmth to modern precision. The 527 also offers you API's famous "over-easy" soft knee type, with the option of engaging a hard knee for limiting. A wide range of threshold, attack, and decay settings give you an extended degree of control over your compression, and the 527's detented attack and decay knobs make recalling your favorite settings easy and reliable. And since the API 527 uses both 2510 and 2520 discrete op-amps, it give you signature API sound.

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Highest Rated Reviews

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wonderful and effective !!

By Giovanni Rios from Miami, FL USA on May 19, 2011 Music Background: Singer & Music Producer

wonderful and effective compressor and limiter. API 527 compressor is great especially on vocals, guitar, percussion etc. etc. try it and see.

Wow! Great Compressor/Limiter

By Giovanni Rios from Miami, FL USA on May 11, 2011 Music Background: Singer & Music Producer

API is truly! the compressor / limiter API 527 is wonderful, natural produce incredible clarity and does not color the signal. Good use on vocals, guitar, percussion, bass etc. etc. Try it and see.

Sensational, The new standard!!

By HH from Nashville, TN on November 6, 2010 Music Background: Artist, Writer, Producer

I was nervous about this because no one had reviewed it yet, well let me help you out. This is one of the most versatile compressors period! I'm working now with an A-list producer in nashville and he picked this for our lead vocal compressor! It's been great for anything we've tried it on! AMAZING!!!!

Awesome.

By Jeff from Morganton, NC on January 31, 2012 Music Background: Home Studio, Pro Musician

Everything I thought it would be!

Good Utilitarian Compressor

By chris jones from san francisco, ca on September 26, 2011 Music Background: Songwriter

This is my first/only outboard compressor for my home studio and when comparing it to the sounds of my plugin comps, well... there is no comparison.

I have used this to track vocals (very good in the "new" setting on "soft"), bass and guitars, and it's absolutely fantastic as a limiter in that it's fairly clean (not dark, or bright, just transparent with warmth).

I have also run drums, keys, and everything else through this in the mixing process, and it has a lot of attitude and creates the "grab" effect without much coloration. The "Thrust" feature is invaluable for letting you get the top end to sustain and pump without sacrificing the lows. This is an invaluable tool.

This is a great all-around compressor. Being able to switch between Old and New modes is like having two types in one, and the ability to link 2 of these is a great way to get close to the 2500 sound on a budget (I want this setup as my buss compressor eventually).

Criticisms are that it took me about a month to get used to the settings on this thing: The multiple modes are actually overwhelming and the attack/release/ratio settings are really different from other types of comps I have used. To make matters worse, the old and new settings completely change the character of the unit, making it necessary to readjust between the two (you can't just A/B the switch usually). The sacrifice for versatility is that it's not a "set-it-and-forget-it" type comp. It takes a lot of tweaking to get things right.

That being said, this is an all-around great compressor and if you can only have one, this will do everything you need it to. No complaints, other than it's making me want more types of comps!

A Somewhat Contrarian Review

By Dan Popp from Akron, OH on March 4, 2014 Music Background: Commercial Recording

I wouldn't call this unit "transparent." If my Crane Song Trakker in "Clean" mode is transparent, then the API 527 is something else. It brings a little of that API vintage rock & roll character, I think.

Nor would I call this a "limiter," since it won't clamp down fast enough to actually limit in my application, which is voiceovers.

What it does, rather, is give you some flexibility, especially with the New/Old and Hard/Soft toggles. I've even used it in a pinch to de-ess by playing with the controls in Thrust mode.

It's not the quietest or the cleanest compressor in my arsenal, but it will give you "big and loud" with ease. I use it in my main signal chain every day, so it's doing something right.

Attack is not as fast as other "flexible" compressors

By Nate Vaughan from Los Angeles, CA on July 19, 2014 Music Background: Small-budget Producer

I was looking for more flexibility. As another user observed, the fastest attack time is not quick enough to grab transients in many applications. This includes vocals, bass, drums, and acoustic guitars. The 527 cannot clamp down quick enough to bring down the attack and bring up the resonance of a tom hit, for example.

One application I did quite like it on was a drum "glue" mic. While tracking drums, I put a LDC in omni over the kick drum and smashed it with the 527. It was pumping, gluey goodness. I also used it for light tracking compression of vocals, aiming at 1.5-4db of gain reduction, and did a nice job.

Another complaint is that the resolution of gain reduction LEDs is too spread out in the low compression range. If you want to use it to take 4-5db off the peaks of a source while tracking, you will have to use a lot of guesswork as the first 3 LEDs are 1.5, 4, and 6 DB of gain reduction. I suppose this would imply that the compressor is intended for more aggressive applications, but with the transient problem noted above, I didn't find it terribly helpful for aggressive compression.

I didn't have much luck in a year of owning the 527.

Nice mojo

By George cain from Augusta, ga on October 22, 2013 Music Background: Musician, home studio owner

This unit can really give you variety of mojo based on hard or soft knee and old and new. Very very good sound.

I have only one big complaint. It does not have enough gain.
Like only 10 db. The 2500 has 25 db of gain. La2 a has 40db.
So 527 too noisey for me.
Maybe I'll get the 2500.

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