The classic 1176 FET compressor is an undisputed legend, renowned for its blazing-fast attack times, aggressive transient control, and iconic analog weight. With the Seventeen, Black Lion Audio didn't just build another 1176 clone—they completely re-engineered the classic dynamic circuit from the ground up to create a modernized, high-performance FET compressor with lower noise and expanded tonal versatility.

Built around a custom IC-based front end paired with Black Lion’s proprietary Chicago-wound output transformer, the Seventeen captures all the punch, grit, and explosive drum-crushing character of vintage revision units while eliminating the high noise floor and low-end loss often associated with vintage 1176s. The low end remains thick, tight, and extended, making it an absolute monster on vocals, snare drums, bass guitars, and room mics.

What sets the Seventeen apart are its modern workflow upgrades. Black Lion added a frequency-selectable Sidechain High-Pass Filter to keep sub-bass from pumping the compression circuit, a switchable High-Pass / Low-Pass Signal Filter section for shaping the compressed audio path, and a dedicated Dry/Wet Blend control for instant parallel compression directly on the front panel. Plus, it includes the iconic "All-Buttons-In" mode for maximum harmonic distortion and slamming dynamics.

The Seventeen is not the ’76 compressor that your grandfather recorded with. It isn’t even a remake but rather the Black Lion spin on what the ’76 Should have been. Designed in conjunction with hitmaker Tobias Lindell and featuring a redesigned and improved IC based front end, the Seventeen shows incredible detail and nuance normally not possible with this style compressor. This new front end circuit is coupled with our custom designed, made in Chicago output transformer, designed to give this unit a huge bottom end that balances out the open top end very nicely. We also include our proprietary Black Lion style power decoupling for an incredibly low noise floor. The Seventeen also uses high grade nichicon signal capacitors, widely considered some of the highest quality caps available.

Never the ones to settle for “good enough,” we have added features that users normally consider as upgrades or mods including, a frequency adjustable side chain, separate selectable high and low pass filters, a wet/dry mix knob to allow users to blend in dry signal into their compressed signal, the Seventeen has a palette of tones not available to anything else on the market today. It also includes the all important stereo link function for linking together two units.

Warranty

This item is sold without the Sound Pure 3-year warranty (used / B-stock / dealer-exempt). Coverage terms for items in this category live in Terms & Conditions, Section 27.

Returns

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