Fredenstein V.A.S. Desktop FET Compressor Reviews
Use the Fredenstein V.A.S. Compressor as a single-channel solution for day-to-day compression tasks in your studio, or get two of them and link them for true stereo operation. LED meters allow you to check the amount of gain reduction and output level at a glance. The side-chain insert point allows you to trigger compression from an external source, with a switchable filter to fine-tune which frequencies trigger the compressor — perfect for preventing bass-heavy signals from triggering too much compression. And the Mix control lets you blend your source signal for parallel-compression effects. Complete with a steel-core output transformer for rich sound and ultra-low noise, the Fredenstein V.A.S. Compressor is a workhorse dynamics controller.
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Highest Rated Reviews
2023 Update Review
I had to update my review of this product. On my last review, I complained about the LED gain reduction lights not responding correctly. There was nothing wrong about it - simply just my inexperience using the unit. It's going on 3 years of me having this and all I can say is this compressor is simply amazing sounding! Sounds so good on drums and vocals. I've compared this unit with other 1176 clones, many of them way above its price range, and this keeps coming out on top. The input amp is discrete and the makeup gain has the transformer so it's cleaner even then my Urei rev F. So lowering the input and cranking the makeup can give you wonderful tones. Also, the wider range of attack and release time from an original 1176 gives this thing even more versatility. I can honestly say this is a sleeper unit. Good Job Fredenstein.
Great Colored Preamp
This is a great little preamp. I only use it on vocals. Very quiet. And it's colored. Heavily colored. Very Smooth. Clear. Unique sound signature.
Pairs wonderfully with the Rode NT1a but especially with a Blue Bluebird. This preamp likes to see a bright mic. It brings out the best in the brighter condensers in my opinion.Tames them in a very nice way. So if you have some bright mics that bother you with other preamps,try this out.
For the price, it's unique, sounds great and looks cool too.
Build quality if fantastic. Can't lose with this one and like I said. Very quiet too.
Top notch quality in a miniature body
I love the sound of this little fet compressor. It allows recordings to sit in the mix perfectly. Only two issues I have will fredenstein is they should of included the rack years instead of making it an additional purchase. Also, the LEDs on the gain reduction side doesn't read the reduction how I expected so there is a learning curve -as weird as that sound. Anyway, 2020 if you would like a quality fet and not have the same overpriced units everyone else runs to, buy this!
Compact Compressor With A Nod To A Studio Legend
Bought a Fred VAS preamp a while back, really glad I got it; awesome performance for the price. When I was able to save up enough to add a compressor to the chain, I decided to go with the matching Fred VAS compressor. The preamp rocks (a very useful,high quality unit)-so I figured Fredenstein would get the compressor right, too. Which they did, and it really does behave like an 1176-style compressor w LED's instead of a VU meter, with extra hot-rodded specs and goodies thrown in for free. The unit I received is almost perfect, I could not be happier, especially at this price-point. An excellent compressor/limiter, it does it's job well, just like the big dawgs. Plus, I saved enough $$ to add a Klark-Teknik tube EQ to my channel strip, all without sacrificing a bit of performance. If I had known the VAS PreAmp was as good as it was, I would have just jumped straight to the F200, dual-channel preamp with compressor. I am sold on Fredenstein! BTW, Sweetwater hooked me up with another epic deal, with a ton of savings thrown in ta boot. Thanks, Bob M!
Mini 1176
This thing is basically a mini 1176 with extra features. I bet everyone just overlooks it because of the way it looks and the lower price. They also have a rack ear set that lets you hook two together to fit in a 1U space. Give it a try!
Should be more.
I think at this price point, for a single-function (compression) device, you can do better.
Save up... and get something more compelling (Warm Audio, Klark Teknik, etc).
This is so mediocre that it really doesn't rise above the level of what you get in a multi-channel DBX type unit. It doesn't warrant the price.
The sound is flat and doesn't really bring out the detail and depth of the material going into it, and that's the whole point of a compressor. So it fails on that level.
The unit is solidly built, so it gets points for that.
I just hope I can exchange it for something better...
