Softube Chandler Limited Zener-Bender  From Softube

A powerful and musical modern plug-in channel strip with the unique vintage sound of Chandler Limited®, the Zener-Bender combines the crisp and colorful character of the Curve Bender Mastering Equalizer with the big, punchy Zener Limiter to bring class, history, and most crucially of all, a phenomenal sonic impact. Component-modeled with Softube’s customary care and experience, these units together can take charge of any mix.

A powerful channel strip

Two vintage-sounding units, full of heritage and trusted by some of the world's top engineers, combined into a focused channel strip workflow.

The big and punchy Zener Limiter

A versatile and powerful compressor/limiter with punch and power to match its tasteful distortion.

The crisp and colorful Curve Bender

An extremely musical and characterful mastering equalizer. Can be subtle or drastic, but always makes things sound better.

All this iconic sound also in Console 1

This collection also includes a version specially tailored to Console 1. More than the sum of its parts, the Zener-Bender expansion in Console 1 is a uniquely vintage-sounding powerhouse with modern flexibility and workflow.

This product supports Extended Features

We love VU meters, Bakelite knobs, and analog quirks. But we want modern precision and workflow. The answer? Softube Extended Features. Easy-access panels with the innovations you need close at hand.

An imperial family tree

Tracing the heritage of the Chandler Limited® Zener-Bender is like discovering an imperial family tree. Its roots are in EMI consoles, used at Abbey Road from the 60s onwards to record some of the most seminal albums of all time, by the likes of Pink Floyd and The Beatles. And right up to the present day Curve Bender and Zener Limiter are being used in both hardware and plug-in form by top producers and engineers across records by world-leading artists such as Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, The White Stripes, Foo Fighters, Taylor Swift, and more. The influence of the Chandler sound cannot be overstated. It shapes the world it rules.

Zener-Bender

The native plug-in version of the Zener-Bender, apart from combining the heritage, color, and character of the Zener Limiter and the Curve Bender in one impactful channel strip, is special for its plug-in-only features.

Digital audio and software flexibility allow us to offer External Sidechain input, Mid/Side Processing, and Channel Linking. Clean up your low end in the center of your soundstage while gently calming your cymbals out wide. Bring a vocal to the front, even at the mastering stage, without damaging the tracks supporting it. You’re in charge of just about everything.

Zener Limiter

The TG12413 Zener Limiter was conceived by Chandler Limited® designer Wade Goeke, to continue the tradition of EMI Limiters started in 1954 with the RS114 tube limiter and the 1968 RS168 Zener Limiter. The Zener Limiters were also part of the 1969 TG12345 console channel and the 1974 TG12413.

It's a powerful, punchy-sounding dynamics workhorse, which brings character without being difficult. It's a favorite of top mix engineers like Tony Maserati and Joe Chiccarelli, as much for its versatility as for the mojo it brings.

Curve Bender Mastering Equalizer

The Chandler Limited® Curve Bender mastering equalizer is based on desk circuits from the world-famous Abbey Road Studios in London, used to create albums of genuinely legendary status, such as Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd, and Abbey Road by The Beatles.

The Curve Bender has more bands (four, compared to the original console’s two), more fixed filter points (a huge fifty-one, up from just nine, chosen and designed in the image of the original circuits by Chandler Limited® founder, Wade Goeke), more Q and gain options, and added low and high pass filters, making the unit a mastering powerhouse without sacrificing the exquisite analog sound-flavor which made it a leader.

Zener-Bender for Console 1

Our hybrid hardware/software mixing system, Console 1, also benefits from the wonderfully unique vintage sound of the Zener-Bender, with its own bespoke version of the channel strip included with the native version, or available on its own.

Console 1 is a highly intuitive hardware control system for our fantastic-sounding software mixing tools – especially complete channel strips – and with every new strip we release, the flexibility and freedom grow. The Zener-Bender in particular opens up new sonic ground to Console 1 users, with its classic yet wonderfully modern tonal quality.

In short

• Zener Limiter and Curve Bender combined in one channel strip
• The historic EMI/Abbey Road sound from the late 60s realized by Chandler Limited®’s hardware and reimagined for a modern studio context
• Expertly modeled by Softube
• Includes four plug-ins: Zener-Bender, Zener Limiter, Curve Bender and Zener-Bender for Console 1
• Units used on modern classic records by Beyoncé, The White Stripes, and Lady Gaga
• Plug-in exclusive features: External Sidechain, M/S Processing, Channel Linking Zener-Bender
• Console 1-ready: the individual plug-ins can be used within the Console 1 mixing ecosystem. Learn more