Abbey Road RS124 Compressor

Name: Abbey Road RS124 Compressor
Price: 27.28 USD
Author: Waves

by Waves · Compressor · Vintage tube compressor

Not rated yet

Models Abbey Road's RS124, an in-house modified Altec tube compressor used on many 1960s recordings.

Best for: Vocals, Bass, Drums. Genres: Rock & Indie, Pop.

Keywords: tube, bus processing, hardware emulation, vintage, vocals, 60s, bass, drums, 50s, aggressive, creamy, drum bus, glue, mastering, mid/side, mix bus, built-in mix knob, mixing, punchy, single-band, subtle, tracking.

What it does

Emulates Abbey Road's RS124, an in-house modified Altec tube compressor used on many 1960s recordings. Waves says it is the officially approved emulation.

Two versions: Studio (punchier, for tracking) and Cutter (slower, for bus and mastering).
Controls: input, six-position recovery, auto-hold and an output attenuator.
Extras: Super Fuse mode for aggressive compression, mid/side, stereo and a wet/dry mix.

Source: Waves product page

When to use it

A character compressor for adding smooth body rather than clean control. It is closer to the LA-2A style plugins in the rated list than to a clean modern compressor like Pro-C 3.

Best for: vocals, bass, drum bus and mix bus glue.
Genres: rock, pop, soul, retro.
Tip: Super Fuse can sound harsh; blend it with the dry signal.

What producers say

Sound On Sound (2021) said it exudes vintage class and works whether subtle or hard.

The reviewer found Cutter creamy on vocals and instruments and Studio good for energising drums.

Sound On Sound review

Where to buy

Best Service: $27.28
Plugin Boutique: $29.99 (regular $149)
PluginFox: $29.99
AudioDeluxe: $29.99 (regular $149)
Waves: see store

Tutorials and reviews

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