Based on legendary vintage diode designs, the SUCCESSOR keeps the sonic character of such units, but the added
features have already taken it into legendary status on its own.
It is a new beast on its own and will make your mixes
shine in modern production environments.
Ultra-fast attack and releases allow for larger than life drum bus compression sounds, snare drums can be more
present and the stereo image widens as there is more natural room for tracks to breathe.
To make things even more
versatile, a complex sidechain filter has been implemented, departing for the traditional, simple high pass one.
Sophisticated sidechain filters let you sculpt your mix in ways not previously possible.
And not only does the
SUCCESSOR contain a great selection of internal sidechain filters but it is also possible to use an external sidechain
when necessary with its back panel
¼
jack connections.
From FET-like, all-buttons-in drum sounds (and in stereo!) to VCA-style mix bus with the added warmth and fatness
only custom transformers can supply, the Heritage Audio SUCCESSOR is designed to live permanently hooked up to
your Mix or instrument busses and make your mixes shine.
Now vocals stand out in the mix without being
overwhelming or mudding out your guitars or other instruments.
Unlike vintage diode bridge designs, the HA
SUCCESSOR has a range of attack and release times that goes from ultra-fast, FET like values, to very slow, VCA
like gentle timings, making this unit arguably the most versatile bus compressor up to date.
As always, experimentation will help you to learn exactly how this beast of a compressor will respond and we highly
recommend it.
But just to get you going here are some ideas to keep in mind…
Playing around with ATTACK and RELEASE will change the sound A LOT. Very fast attack times will eat up transients
and may make your sounds less punchy but more detailed at the same time. While a slower ATTACK combined with
a quicker RELEASE will help accentuate the transients and make your sounds jump.
BLEND Control can help you restore punchiness to your sounds. When you´ve applied a heavy amount of
compression you can sometimes lose the definition of your sounds.
Simply mixing in a bit of the DRY signal can
really help out.
CAUTION: Very Fast ATTACK and RELEASE times along with heavy amounts of compression may make your music
unusable due to the unit self-oscillating. This depends on the program and its frequency content. Any artifacts caused
by excess of compression at fast timings are not a sign of a defective unit, but a sign of misuse (or intentional
creativity!).
The sidechain filter is another control that can have dramatic results in your music.
High Pass filter at 80 Hz makes bass heavy sounds such as kick drum not to dominate the compression. 160 Hz
does so with Kick and Snare. 800 Hz boost allows to moderate mixes with too much lo mid content on them (such is
the case when snare drum is too loud in the mix or a honky vocal is dominating). 3 kHz boost does the same with too
loud vocals or fuzzy guitars. 5 kHz lo pass allows you to almost de-ess the mix when cymbals are too loud or shrieky.
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