Originally released in 1973, Eventide’s Omnipressor is said to be the first studio product that actively encouraged the use of dynamics processing as a creative effect. It was discontinued after only a few years in production, so as many of the original units gradually fell into disrepair, surviving examples became increasingly expensive over the years. Now, to celebrate its 50th anniversary, the company have announced the upcoming launch of theOmnipressor 2830*Au, a reissue that stays true to the original design.
Eventide say that the new unit is a faithful replica, and has been created based on hand-drawn schematics from their archives to ensure it provides the same sound as an original unit. They have also taken the opportunity to enhance its performance, however: the reissue is fitted with input and output transformers — something which was a cost option on the original — and has gained the ability to link multiple units. It also benefits from a new power supply design, a backlit meter and modern connection options in place of terminal strips.
Core Functionality
The core functionality that made the device popular remains, though. The Omnipressor offers a mixture of compression, expansion, gating and limiting, and comes equipped with some more unusual functionality such as negative compression ratios.
The left of the front panel houses the sorts of controls you’d expect to see on a compressor: a Threshold knob is joined by Attack (0.1 – 100 ms) and Release (1ms – 1 second) controls, along with Input and Mix controls to set the incoming signal level and apply parallel processing. There are also options to apply a high-pass filter to the side-chain signal, or insert an external side-chain processor.
Over on the other side, a Function switch offers a range of expansion and compression ratio options (including a limiting option), along with a selection of negative compression ratio settings. There are also Gain Limit and Atten Limit dials, allowing users to define the maximum amount of gain (or gain reduction) applied by the processor. A Link switch allows controls to be linked across multiple connected units, and an Output control provides ±12dB of adjustment over the final signal level.
The Omnipressor’s balanced line-level input and output are provided on both XLR and quarter-inch TRS sockets, as are its side-chain send and return connections. An additional pair of quarter-inch TRS sockets then offer a Link connection for running multiple units together to process material with higher channel counts. The unit is fitted with an internal power supply, and accepts mains power via an IEC inlet.
Related SOS Content
You can find out more about negative compression ratios — and how to put them to use — in the below technique article from SOS November 2023.
- Negative Ratio Compression - (print / web / app / replica / PDF editions)
Pricing & Availability
The Omnipressor will be shipping in January 2024, priced at $1999.
https://www.eventideaudio.com/rackmount/omnipressor-reissue/
