Golden Age Audio COMP-2A Compressor

General

A respectful nod to the renowned valve-based T4 opto compressor, it's near-impossible to make the Golden Age Audio Comp-2A sound bad, to point where it feels like this compressor just understands what the music needs. This compressor has a super-fast response to any sudden peaks and slows right down in response to longer, drawn out notes - and does it all automatically. This is unique to opto compression and the beauty is that, it never sounds unnatural, even when the settings are pushed to extremes. By simply tweaking the Peak Reduction and Gain, you already get good results and, if you want more in-depth control, just dive into the extra switches lined up along the bottom of the control panel. Activate the on-board side-chain function and the detector responds to the treble and mid frequencies rather than the lower frequencies - ideal for treating the drums. Meanwhile the Compress/Limit switch serves as the ratio control and the Bypass switch is a handy perk when you need to quickly compare the processed and unprocessed signal without having to faff with a patch bay. Basically, the Golden Age Audio Comp-2A is a fool-proof compressor that could easily have come at twice the price.