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Average Price: $21,097

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$100

$501+

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Description

Step into the realm of legendary sound with the Fairchild 660 Compressor, a dynamic processor revered for its iconic vacuum tube circuitry. This single-channel tube limiter/compressor brings a touch of vintage magic to modern studios, celebrated for its buttery warmth and unparalleled sonic depth. Originally crafted in the late '50s, the Fairchild 660’s meticulous design ensures a lush, organic compression with its lightning-fast attack times and adjustable release settings. Whether you're capturing the soulful nuances of a vocal performance or adding punch to a full mix, the 660 delivers a velvety smoothness that has defined countless classic recordings.

The Fairchild 660’s unique architecture offers a control set unlike any other. With six selectable time constants, you have the flexibility to fine-tune attack and release times to fit any musical context, from subtle dynamic shaping to dramatic limiting. Its program-dependent compression adjusts seamlessly, providing gentle control on soft peaks and firm limiting on louder signals. The tube-driven amplification and custom-wound transformers guarantee minimal distortion, preserving the integrity of your audio throughout the processing chain.

For those seeking a piece of audio history that elevates every detail of their mix, the Fairchild 660 Compressor stands as a testament to timeless engineering and sonic excellence.

Key Features:

  • Single-channel tube limiter/compressor
  • Iconic vacuum tube circuitry for rich, warm tones
  • Six selectable attack/release time constants
  • Tube-driven amplification with custom-wound transformers
  • Program-dependent soft-knee compression
  • Handwired point-to-point construction
  • VU limiting metering for precise monitoring

Product specs

Type Tube Compressor
Number of Channels Single Channel
Controls Input Gain, Threshold, Time Constant
Inputs 1 x XLR
Outputs 1 x XLR
Power Source Standard IEC AC Input
Width 19"

FAQs

What makes the Fairchild 660 Compressor unique compared to other compressors?

The Fairchild 660 is renowned for its all-tube circuitry and variable-mu design, providing a warm, musical compression that is highly sought after for vocal and instrument processing.

What type of audio connections does the Fairchild 660 Compressor use?

The Fairchild 660 Compressor features XLR inputs and outputs, ensuring professional-grade connectivity for studio environments.

What are the main controls available on the Fairchild 660 Compressor?

The Fairchild 660 offers Input Gain, Threshold, and Time Constant controls, allowing precise manipulation of compression characteristics to suit various audio sources.

Is the Fairchild 660 Compressor suitable for stereo processing?

The Fairchild 660 is a single-channel compressor, making it ideal for mono sources. For stereo applications, a dual-channel model like the Fairchild 670 would be necessary.

What is the power requirement for the Fairchild 660 Compressor?

The Fairchild 660 Compressor uses a standard IEC AC input for power, compatible with typical studio power setups.

PAST TO FUTURE

PAST TO FUTURE

FAIRCHILD 660 TUBE COMPRESSOR IRS! Demo

Video thumbnail for FAIRCHILD 660 TUBE COMPRESSOR IRS! Demo by PAST TO FUTURE

FAIRCHILD 660 TUBE COMPRESSOR IRS! Demo

PAST TO FUTURE

PAST TO FUTURE

Reviews

Owner Insights

We analyzed real musician discussions from forums and Reddit to find what players love, question, and tweak about Fairchild 660 Compressor.

Comparisons

  • Owners note the native UAD Spark version of the Fairchild 660/670 has a more natural low end compared to the DSP version, which can sound overly heavy.

    Source
  • Users frequently compare the UAD Fairchild plugin to the Acustica Ultramarine, mentioning a preference for Acustica's sonics, despite higher CPU usage.

    Source

Use cases and applications

  • The Fairchild 660 is particularly favored for enhancing the sound of piano and drums, adding a sense of completion and size in these applications.

    Source

Software and compatibility

  • UADx plugins are not compatible with UAD legacy sessions on Apollo, but a conversion feature is available in Luna.

    Source

User experience

  • Some users experience significant issues with UA Connect during plugin updates, including freezing and incomplete downloads, potentially linked to firewall or antivirus settings.

    Source

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Artist usage

Add artist
See how Paul McCartney uses Fairchild 660 Compressor

Paul McCartney

Singer, Bassist

The Beatles

...
Verified via Hog Hill Mill Blog

the Fairchild 660 Compressor/Limiter is listed in this blog

See how Bob Dylan uses Fairchild 660 Compressor

Bob Dylan

Keyboardist, Composer

U.S.A. for Africa

...
Verified via Soundonsound

Used for Dylan's vocals on Shadows in the Night, as stated by producer Al Schmitt in this May 2015 Sound on Sound interview.

“I used Capitol’s Neumann U47 on Bob’s vocals. It’s the very same microphone that was used on Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Nat King Cole. It’s a great–sounding microphone. Fortunately, because I work a lot at Capitol, I get to use it frequently, and I’ve had it on Paul McCartney and on Diana Krall and others. The mic was maybe nine or 10 inches away from Bob, with a windscreen. Pops and esses were no problem. I used the Neve 1073 mic pres in the old Neve desk at Capitol on all the mics. It has an amazing sound, with lots of punch and warmth. So Bob’s 47 went through that. The only compression I used on the entire album was on Bob’s voice, a tiny bit of an old mono Fairchild. I barely touched it, I used it mainly for the tube sound. It just added some warmth. On the desk I also mixed in some of Capitol’s live chamber number four on his voice.

The mention of a "mono" Fairchild specifies a 660.

See how Ringo Starr uses Fairchild 660 Compressor

Ringo Starr

Singer, Drummer

The Beatles

...
Verified via Scribd

Used on the bass drum for Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, as stated by assistant engineer Geoff Emerick when discussing "Tomorrow Never Knows" for The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years by Mark Lewisohn.

Another distinctive element of "Tomorrow Never Knows" was Ringo's hypnotic drum sound. “I moved the bass drum microphone much closer to the drum than had been done before,” says Emerick. “There’s an early picture of the Beatles wearing a woollen jumper with four necks. I stuffed that inside the drum to deaden the sound. Then we put the sound through Fairchild 660 valve limiters and compressors. It became the sound of Revolver and Pepper really. Drums had never been heard like that before.” And Ringo's reaction? "He loved it, there's no question of that. They all loved the sounds. It was exactly what they wanted."

See how Nick Drake uses Fairchild 660 Compressor

Nick Drake

Singer, Guitarist

...
Verified via Archive

Used on vocals, as mentioned in this article from philsbook.com.

A Neumann U67 was used for the vocal and placed close to the singer's mouth. The guitar was close mic'ed in front of the sound hole using a Neumann KM56.

The mics went through the Sound Techniques desk to an Ampex 4-track half inch tape machine. The desk circuits were transformer coupled, discrete transistor with inductor based eq. The vocal was compressed through a Fairchild 660 limiter. Delay would be added using an Ampex 2 track and reverberation with an EMT plate.

See how Sturgill Simpson uses Fairchild 660 Compressor

Sturgill Simpson

Singer, Guitarist

Sunday Valley

...
Verified via Mixonline

Used for vocals on A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, as stated by producer David Ferguson in this May 4, 2016 Mix Online interview.

Simpson told Ferguson he likes to sing into a beyerdynamic M 160 mic, which Ferguson appreciated. “Those ribbon mics will take a lot of sound pressure and they don’t leak very much,” Ferguson says. “You get any mic in a room with a bunch of drums, bass amps, and all that sh[*]t going on, and it helps to have a mic that doesn’t leak very much but has a warm, smooth sound.” Also in Simpson’s vocal chain: the same UA 6176 pre that Ferguson used with Johnny Cash, and a rented Fairchild 660.

See how Adele uses Fairchild 660 Compressor

Adele

Singer

The Gangbang

...
Verified via SonicScoop

Used for vocals on "Hello", as stated by mix engineer Tom Elhirst in this December 21, 2015 SonicScoop interview.

The chain in LA was the Neve 1066 (Mic pre/3-band EQ) to the Bluestripe UREI 1176 compressor into a Fairchild 660 limiter. I’m taking the multitrack return from Pro Tools to the line amp on the Neve 1066, then straight into the 1176 and 660 and back up the insert return.

The UREI is hitting and releasing quicker, while the Fairchild is doing a much slower attack and release. Here at Electric Lady I use a Neve 1081 into a Blackface 1176 and then into a Tube-Tech CL 1B compressor.

A large part of the vocal sound is the plates and chambers at Capitol Studios: There’s chambers that Les Paul built back in the 1940’s, and they are literally like nothing else on earth. When I got back to NY in September, I mixed five or six songs at Electric Lady, so we’d send the vocals from here and they’d record it through the chamber, and send back the prints.

Once you’ve found the vocal sound for someone like Adele, you want to use it through the whole record, and these plates and chambers sound incredible. To get to them is hard enough: you go in to the basement of Capitol, you then climb through a ladder to get to the sub-basement, where it looks like no one has been for 50 years. You literally open a hatch and climb down a steel ladder.

Have you ever been in a reverb chamber? They’re like tiled rooms, not painted – like Alice in Wonderland rooms, they don’t look right.

There’s a lot of effects going on behind the vocals. There’s an AMS delay, an Eventide preset called “Canyon,” a plate, a spring…You can see the escalation of things. There’s about seven or eight things going on. You get this wide kind of thing, but her vocal remains super-present.

So what’s going on in the box?

There’s no compression processing going on at all, just some de-essing and some little volume draws on the vocals – little dots and dips, but no rides. The rides have been done with automation on the flying faders.

See how Jonathan Wilson uses Fairchild 660 Compressor

Jonathan Wilson

Guitarist

Eisley

...
Verified via Tapeop

In a Tape Op interview, Jonathan Wilson discusses his early exposure to high-quality equipment, including the Fairchild 660 Compressor, highlighting its influence on his career.

See how Dave Rawlings uses Fairchild 660 Compressor

Dave Rawlings

Singer, Guitarist

Dave Rawlings Machine

...
Verified via Izotope

Dave Rawlings is associated with the Fairchild 660 Compressor, as highlighted in an article from Izotope. The piece discusses how this iconic compressor/limiter became known to artists like Rawlings during the late '60s, particularly at Olympic Studios, where it was integral to the signal processing chain for recording on 1, 2, and 4 track tapes.

See how Diana Krall uses Fairchild 660 Compressor

Diana Krall

Singer, Keyboardist

...
Verified via Mixonline

According to this Mixonline interview with producer Al Schmitt, a Fairchild 660 was used for Krall's vocals on Turn Up the Quiet.

“The Neumann U47 sounded fantastic on Diana,” Schmitt says. “It’s my go-to vocal mic, the same one Sinatra used on his Capitol records. I placed it about five or six inches from Diana. I also used a Neve 1073 preamplifier and just a touch of my Fairchild 660 compressor for the warmth of its tubes, compressed a dB or two. I ran Diana’s voice through Capitol Echo Chamber #4, blended with my Bricasti Design [Model 7 Stereo] reverb to get the sound that I want.”

Genre Usage

Based on how artists on Equipboard use this gear, it is most commonly found in the following genres.

Used With

Based on how musicians on Equipboard use Fairchild 660 Compressor, it is most commonly used with the following gear.

Telefunken U47
Telefunken U47 Condenser Microphones
2
DBX 160X
DBX 160X Effects Processors
1
Solid State Logic FX G384
Solid State Logic FX G384 Effects Processors
1
AMS Neve 1073
AMS Neve 1073 Preamps & Channel Strips
1
Pultec EQP-1A3 Equalizer
Pultec EQP-1A3 Equalizer Effects Processors
1

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