Mastering-grade Compression for Your Studio
The Dangerous Music COMPRESSOR is a mastering-grade unit that gives you a fistful of control over your signal. Like all Chris Muth designs, the COMPRESSOR is packed with cutting-edge engineering, premium components, and genuinely useful features like Auto Attack/Release, Smart Dynamics dual-slope detection, and the True Stereo Dual Detector that delivers superior imaging. The COMPRESSOR sports active sidechain send/return circuitry, which gives you exacting control with no loading or impedance issues. The COMPRESSOR is audiophile-clean and pristine — even with 20dB of gain reduction. The Dangerous Music COMPRESSOR — it's essential kit.
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Active sidechain: your secret weapon for achieving pro results
It's no secret that sidechaining is your key to achieving amazing results with a compressor. The passive sidechain of most compressors, however, leaves something to be desired. In true Dangerous fashion, the COMPRESSOR gives you a better solution: active sidechain send/return circuitry that gives you tons of control, with no loading or impedance issues. You also get a Sidechain Monitor that lets you monitor the signal, as well as Sibilance Boost — which shaves shrillness with no post-compression hangover — and a 60Hz Bass Cut that tightens your track without damaging your low end.
Cool features that take the guesswork out of dynamics control
The Dangerous COMPRESSOR is packed with smart features that let you get great results, quickly. One of these is Auto Attack/Release, which intelligently sets — you guessed it — the attack and release of the compressor. And the algorithms employed here do this far better than you could yourself by relying on guesswork enlightened by years of professional experience. Another cool feature is Smart Dynamics dual-slope detection, which automatically limits peaks while stealthily compressing the average. And then there's the True Stereo Dual Detector that preserves your stereo image far better than traditional linking ever could. The proof of all this is in the high-quality, pro results — and how quickly you can achieve them. Looks like Dangerous Music has another winner on their hands with their COMPRESSOR.
Dangerous Music: mastering-grade hardware for the modern hybrid studio
Dangerous Music's product designer, Chris Muth, spent years designing custom equipment for many of the world's top mastering engineers and facilities. These professionals demand both a mastering-grade audio path and an intuitive feature set, and this became the baseline for all Dangerous Music designs. The mission: to provide innovative hardware that solves the problems of the DAW-based hybrid studio. At Sweetwater, we immediately recognized the value of Dangerous products to professionals whose livelihoods depend on their gear. If you have clients who demand fast, great-sounding results, the Dangerous Music COMPRESSOR belongs in your rack.
What the pros are saying about the COMPRESSOR:
- "The sound of the signal path through the Dangerous COMPRESSOR, and the quality of the sound even when you just deploy the gain, is really quite lovely. The Smart Dynamics feature helps address the level issue in a really great way that lets me use less of, or even turn off, my digital limiter!" — Jonathan Wyner (mastering engineer)
- "It's super quick and easy to determine where it will sound best at the push of a button. It's so versatile that I can get it to feel like an SSL bus compressor, or it can be grabby, or I can get it to stay out of the way and just control the level. — Michael James (producer/mix engineer)
- "I put the Dangerous COMPRESSOR on after everything and the mix starts to sound together. The Dangerous COMPRESSOR highlights a lot of the melodic elements of the mix in a way that just lets them sparkle. It's so clean, but it has a certain vibe that is just so gorgeous. The Dangerous COMPRESSOR opens up the top end, makes it more exciting, and gives a euphoric sound, which is both subtle and complex." — Reuven Amiel (mix engineer)
- "The headroom and transparency of the Dangerous COMPRESSOR put it into a different category than the other stereo compressors I regularly use. I can say without hesitation that the Dangerous COMPRESSOR is the most hi-fi compressor I've ever had in my mix chain." — Eli Crews (producer/engineer)
- "I've never in my life used a compressor where I felt confident using it on every master ... until now! Plus it just looks great. Makes me smile every time I sit down at my desk." — Paris Minzer (Frogtown Sound)
- "Transparency, accuracy, stereo image integrity, ease of use, and performance are all a part of what this new stereo compressor brings to the market." — Joe Mullen (Professional Sound Magazine)
Dangerous Music COMPRESSOR Features:
- Amazingly powerful and easy to use
- Auto Attack/Release eliminates the guesswork
- Audiophile-clean: performs like an automated fader
- Active sidechain send/return circuitry gives you tons of control, with no loading or impedance issues
- Sidechain Monitor lets you monitor your sidechain signal, plus Sibilance Boost and Bass Cut
- Sibilance Boost shaves sibilance and shrillness with no post-compression hangover
- Bass Cut (60Hz) tightens the track without sacrificing the low end
- Immaculate VCA: virtually no distortion, even with 20dB of gain reduction
- True Stereo Dual Detector preserves your stereo image better than traditional linking
- Auto Attack/Release: replace "guess" with "yes" for rapid-fire results
- Smart Dynamics Dual-slope Detection automatically limits peaks while stealthily compressing the average
