With its "future-primitive" style and sound, the Chandler Limited TG1 seems to be from another age, plucked from a time capsule. This stereo limiter/compressor is based on the EMI TG12413 plug-in limiter module, which was used in the early 1970s TG Series mixing desks and mastering consoles. Designed to replace tube gear used in EMI studios around the world since the 1950s, the TG Series was EMI's first foray into transistorized equipment. EMI built the TG boards in Hayes, Middlesex, and first installed them at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in 1968, in time to be used to record The Beatles' final studio album, Abbey Road. Many other significant records in the early '70s through 1983 were recorded on TG desks, including Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and some of Paul McCartney's early solo and Wings albums.

A ROCKIN' TWO-SPACE BOX

Hand-made in the U.S., the Chandler Limited TG1 features an all-discrete Class-A/B analog circuit with balanced transformer inputs and outputs. Neve module mavens will appreciate the Marinair and St. Ives input and output transformers, which, like most of the TG1's components, are made in England. Not designed for a clean and transparent sound, amplifier gain is controlled by changing the bias current and therefore a Zener diode's impedance. This Zener limiter produces a smooth, pleasing and colorful distortion, circa 1968.

Powered externally by the half-rackspace PSU-1 power supply, the TG1 comes in a rugged two-space, nickel-plated steel box that looks like a giant Neve module case. Popping the TG1's hood reveals handsome construction with a neat wire harness connecting hand-soldered Elma switches on the front panel to a single, large printed circuit board. With construction better than it has to be, you can take this unit anywhere without worry. One note: The loose-fitting top panel rattles when operating in the presence of loud low-frequency sounds.

My eye was immediately pulled to the left side of the TG1's British RAF gray front panel, where two black Sifam meters are canted on their sides. These meters read gain reduction only, and the novel positioning is exactly like the original TG desk's VU meters: The needles move in an arc vertically instead of horizontally. Keeping with this official militaristic look, all switches are slightly recessed in the front panel, and control knobs are fitted with old-fashion black British radio pointer knobs.

To the right of the on/off switch and VU meters are switches for mono/stereo linking and individual in/out switches for left and right channels. The in/out hard-wired bypass switches put a loud 'kerchunk' in your mix when toggled, so wait for no sound when engaging the unit. All controls retain EMI's original British nomenclature starting with the Hold control. Hold (shorthand for threshold, because the original TG modules didn't have room for the whole word) is an input level and threshold in one knob; it works just like the input control on a Universal Audio 1176LN. Next to Hold is Output, or makeup gain, a 21-position rotary switch whose center position is 0 dB and ranges +/- 10 dB.

There are two operating modes for the TG: Comp (compress) and Limit. A two-position rotary switch changes modes and an internally fixed attack time setting. In Comp mode, the attack time is fixed at 47 ms, while in Limit mode, the attack time is a faster 8 ms. Comp and Limit modes each have their own set of release time choices selectable by a six-position rotary switch called Recovery. Release time choices in Limit mode are 0.05, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, one and two seconds. Comp mode choices are 0.25, 0.5, 1.20, 2.5, five and 10 seconds. Compression ratio is fixed at 2:1 in both modes.

CHANDLER LIMITED TG1 SPECS Input Impedance: 300 ohms Output Impedance: 600 ohms Max Output Level: +28 dBm Noise: -75 dBm Frequency Range: 15Hz to 20kHz Distortion: 0.22% With Hold Control Full Up.

IN THE STUDIO

The TG is very easy to use and does not require precise setup: Simply select a mode and recovery time and turn up the Hold control to get a sound. For everyday compression duties, I chose the Comp mode. For subtle compression (1 to 3 dB), I found that the Hold control was touchy: All action began at the very bottom of the range. I was feeding full-level, 24-bit audio directly from a Pro Tools|HD's 192 I/O. I got a better range of control by inserting the TG1 in a channel of the board (post-fader) or by reducing the level going to it. If you do this, there is plenty of makeup gain available with the Output knob, but you might notice more noise buildup.