Carefully modeled on legendary, extremely rare 1954 analog studio equipment.In fact, the U17 combines everything we love about the golden era of analog design with a very modern and proficient approach to dynamic processing. The previous soft clipper adds nice coloration, taming heavy transients before entering a true compressor that can blend from soft and transparent to direct and aggressive with its powerful torque control. The original hardware was designed to provide soft and unobtrusive compression, and the plugin offers just that in the most beautiful way… but it also adds a couple of serious set screws, turning the gentleman into a real duplicitous. The U17 combines a solid-state diode bridge using germanium semiconductor crystals with all-tube and massive transformer-coupled amplification – the most complex hybrid design yet. Created by Allgemeine Telefon-Fabrik in Hamburg for the NWDR broadcast network, only a few dozen copies of this iconic analog masterpiece were made, making it one of the rarest compressors ever made. Analog heritage! In 1954, a truly unique compressor appeared on the scene: the U17.
