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Drawmer 1968 Mercenary Edition - Used  From Drawmer

Versatile Stereo Tube compressor (with Transformer outputs), this is the go to compressor if you are budget minded but do NOT want to sacrifice quality. In Used, Excellent Condition w/ Factory Box

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Drawmer

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What We Think

First of all, this thing is an exceptional value. There is clearly no tube compressor with this sort of quality for miles. Finding a truly professional-level 2-channel compressor for under $2,000 is virtually impossible, much less one that is selling at our special, for less than $1700!

The Drawmer 1968 strikes a really nice balance- while it is a tube unit, based on how you set it, and how you drive it, the unit can become quite transparent, or be pushed to be rather tubey, and even edgy/aggressive. The point is, you get not only a professional level compressor for well under market price for such a box, but you pick up a unit that has a range of color choices, and therefore a wonderful range of applications. We've tested the 1968 in clean applications such as acoustic guitar where it had subtle, neutral dynamic control, but at the same time provided a nice tube sheen and splash to the sound. We've tested the on distorted electric guitar cabinets where we pushed it hard, and it clammed up just like we wanted it to. And, we've tested the Drawmer on the stereo 2 buss where it nicely warmed up a relatively thin digital mix. For a compressor that operates at a professional level, much less a tube compressor (they tend to cost considerably more money to build well than many purely solid state build alternatives), the 1968 is one incredible value. As a color option tool and as a general studio workhorse, it makes sense for any studio to pick one up, at this uniquely reasonable price point.

Manufacturer's Description from Drawmer

Drawmer UK and Mercenary Audio continue to answer the demands of the discriminating engineer with their latest entry, the 1968 "Mercenary Edition" Based on the exceptional compressor design found in the Mercenary Edition Mic Pre/DI/Compressor , the "M E" features improved metering and function with the incorporation of separate "big" switches for each channel, making it ideal for use in both tracking and stereo compression applications. The "M E"'s gain reduction cell is the same FET compressor with variable tube output stages as the 1969, giving it a rich euphonic tone with the speed and musical grace made famous by the 1969 "M-E". The "Big" switch feature on each channel provides the user front panel control to easily remove the low frequency component of the program material from control of the gain reduction cell, effictively boosting the bass output. A patchable side chain is available in conjunction to the "Big" switch offering the user complete flexibility frequency dependent ducking. The 1968 "M-E" also features 'side chain listen' capability granting the user the ability to perform precise and specific side chain control. The metering on the 1968 has also been expanded to meet the demands of modern tracking and 2 buss requirements. The VU meter can display either gain reduction or output levels while a sophisticated LED warning system has been implemented to warn the user as they approach the maximum operating level. The 1968 "M-E" is a unit that was designed to be capable of being driven hard, which is the reason for the "+10" meter re-scaling switch, yet one need not be a maniac to enjoy the musical qualities of what we think you will find to be one of the most musical compressors you can add to your arsenal of tools.

Drawmer

About Manufacturer

The Beginning: The name Drawmer is synonymous with professional signal processing in recording studio, broadcast and live sound reinforcement environments. The company which is based in Yorkshire, England was founded by Ivor Drawmer whose passion was designing audio circuits. "The whole thing started in 1981," explains Drawmer. "I had been playing keyboards with bands in Yorkshire, but that wasn't going so well and also I wasn't getting any younger. With the encouragement of friends I built a small batch of stereo delay lines, which I called the Multitracker, and that was the start of Drawmer." The DS201 Gate: In 1982 Drawmer revolutionised gating by introducing the DS201 Dual Noise Gate, the world's first 'frequency conscious' noise gate. "It came about from working with a producer called Phil Chapman, who wanted me to build him a gate. Without doing any research I built this thing that switched on, held for a certain amount of time and then just switched off. In practice of course it was no good at all, so I then spent some time going around studios looking at how gates were being used. What really surprised me was how long engineers spent fiddling with gates trying to get them optimally set up and I realised very quickly that a better design was needed." The DS201's unique High-Pass and Low-Pass key filters, comprehensive envelope control and ultra-fast attack time has since made it the 'industry standard' gate throughout the world. The 201 transformed the gate from what had previously been a simple "on/off" device to a powerful creative tool playing a significant role in modern music production. "It was the kind of unit that people discovered uses for and it immediately enabled engineers to do the things they'd always dreamed of with minimum fuss," says Drawmer. Very little has changed to the design of the DS201over the years, and Ivor Drawmer claims it sells as well now as it did back in the early 1980s. "It's astounding where they all go, but to date we've sold tens of thousands of units," he says. The 1960 Mic-Pre/Tube Compressor: In 1984 Drawmer released the original 1960 Mic Pre-Amp/Vacuum Tube Compressor which combined two high performance mic pre-amps, two 'soft knee' tube compressors and an instrument pre-amp with EQ. The 1960 was the first self contained 'front end', and for many recordists who required only one or two microphone input channels it replaced the mixing console, assuring the user of a high quality signal path with a 'distinctive' sound. The concept of the 1960 was to combine the 'warmth and character' of eight active tube stages with the low noise and reliability of solid state electronics. The 1960 has been adopted by producers and musicians around the world and acclaimed as the ultimate direct interface between the sound source and the recording medium. Although the basic design and features of the 1960 remain the same to this day, periodic upgrades have been performed, the latest being the addition of high-pass filters and overload LEDs to the mic pre-amp. As the retro movement has escalated, Drawmer says there has been a dramatic surge in 1960 sales which now puts the unit on a par with the gates. Programme Adaptive: During 1989 Drawmer developed a new proprietary gating circuitry which it entitled 'programme adaptive'. This intelligent auto-circuitry was capable of analysing the dynamic content of the incoming signal and constantly optimising the 'attack', 'hold', 'ratio' and 'release' parameters thereby creating a much smoother gating action than previously available. The first products to incorporate Drawmer's 'programme adaptive' circuitry were the DL241 Auto Compressor released in 1990 and the DS404 Quad Noise Gate released in 1991. Also developed in 1989 was a new limiter circuitry which performed 'Zero Overshoot', 'Zero Response Time' transparent limiting. This was also included in the DL241 Auto Compressor and later the DL441 Quad Auto Compressor Limiter. In 1992 Drawmer took the innovative step of incorporating their newly developed 'Dynamics Spectral Enhancement' circuitry into a high quality compressor/limiter which enabled the user to dynamically boost any high frequency energy lost during the full band compression process. The resulting product, the DL251 Spectral Compressor was enthusiastically received by the mastering, broadcast and studio industries. The 1961 Tube Equaliser: With the new series of compressors becoming established amongst professional users Drawmer decided to expand its range of tube products and in 1994 released the 1961 Vacuum Tube Equaliser. An interesting 1961 design feature was the inclusion of a variable input level control on each of the two channels. This design approach allows the user to control the amount of 'warmth' by deciding how hard to drive the tubes giving a sound as 'clean' as the best discrete solid state designs or as 'hot' as the 'hottest' vintage tube models. The 1962 Digital Vacuum Tube Pre-Amp: The 1962 Digital Vacuum Tube Pre-Amp is a hybrid combining solid state, valve and digital technology. It comprises a high performance stereo analog pre-amp with 3-band EQ, low and high pass filters, low and high frequency dynamic enhancement, limiting and variable tube drive which feeds directly to 24-bit A/D converters. As well as analog outputs the 1962 is equipped with AES/EBU, SP-DIF and Tascam's TDIF or Alesis ADAT digital interfaces. "The concept is to offer very high quality analog with optional processing and tube warmth before converting to digital via the high resolution converters," explains Ivor Drawmer. The MX Series: In contrast to the 'high end' 1962, the MX30 Gated/Comp/Limiter and MX40 Punch Gate are low cost entry level dynamics processors bringing Drawmer's professional processing into a wider M.I. market place. The MX range has recently been expanded with the MX50 Dual De-Esser and MX60 Front End One. Digital Masterflow and Future Developments: Digital technology features strongly in Drawmer's future products, and the new Masterflow range of processing units translate some of Drawmer's existing designs into the digital domain. The company has also joined the growing list of manufacturers working on a series of TDM software modules for Digidesign's Pro Tools System and has recently developed a plug-in for the Mackie D8B Digital Console. Ivor Drawmer now works in conjunction with a team of highly qualified technicians with both analog and digital skills. Their design brief is to continue to create innovative and unique products based on feedback from the Sales and Marketing department and the Drawmer International Distributor network.

Specifications

INPUT IMPEDANCE 20K Ohms MAXIMUM INPUT LEVEL +20dBu OUTPUT IMPEDANCE 50 Ohms MAXIMUM OUTPUT LEVEL +22dBm (balanced) BANDWIDTH <17Hz to 28KHz -1dB <10Hz to 47.5kHz -3dB UNITY GAIN NOISE -85dB, 22Hz-22kHz DISTORTION @ 1KHz Line Input with BYPASS selected < 0.1% Line Input with NORMAL selected < 0.35% CROSSTALK >70dB@10kHz

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