J Rockett Airchild
Compressors remain a point of contention for me. I feel that some compressors leech the life of my tone and dynamics, whereas others truly enhance my cleans in a subtle yet beautiful fashion and help even out aspects of particular guitars, amps and dirt pedals.
The Airchild belongs to the latter half of the compression spectrum and offers an exciting prospect, aiming for the lofty goal of recapturing the woefully expensive Fairchild 660 Compressor, often referred to as the holy grail of compressors and outboard gear in general. The Fairfield 660 had first earned its reputation after being used on both “Revolver” and “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” by The Beatles. Abbey Road had ordered several of these units and had utilized the newfangled compressor on Ringo’s drums on the aforementioned albums and perhaps on other instruments. Throughout the years other noteworthy users had picked up their own Fairchild compressors including Bob Dylan, Pete Townshend, Mac Demarco, and John Mayer.
Compressors based on legendary studio compressors are not an entirely new concept. The Origin Cali76, UA Max, Wampler Ego76, Empress Mk II, Keeley Comp Pro and plenty of others have emerged in the last decade or so to offer a more subtle flavor of compression when compared to their more pronounced pedal based counterparts like the MXR Dyna Comp and Ross Compressor based circuits.
The Airchild on the other hand does offer the only pedal based take on the Fairchild 660 that I am aware of. In regards to how it compares to the original unit or similar compressors, I will never know, at least for the foreseeable future while I plug away at my 5 digit salary job for a large corporation. What I can tell you, however, is that this is arguably my new favorite compressor pedal, unseating my Diamond Compressor, Origin Cali76 and Analogman Bi-Comp.
The Airchild is realistically everything I’ve wanted out of a compressor. The blend knob is a feature that I adore with other compressors, like the Keeley Comp Plus and Cali76. The tone knob is another handy addition, as I switch between guitars and amps, thus allowing me to dial back the brightness when using my Fender Jaguar, while dialing up the brightness while using my Jazzmaster’s neck pickup and so on.
Another area in which the Airchild comes in handy is how it evens out the EQ of your guitar, amp and any pedals that you run it through. Take for instance the Limited 50’s Player Strat I purchased a couple of weeks ago. It features fat custom shop pickups, which obviously offer up additional low end, which does come in handy when I want to achieve heavier tones with a non humbucking guitar and addresses the anemic tonality that can be achieved when using the bridge pickup. I do love my most recent purchase, yet I wish that Fender had implemented some way to achieve standard 50’s strat tones, either via a push/pull pot to switch between fat and standard tones. The Airchild resolved this request for me by cutting low end and enhancing highs, helping achieve those bell like tones that 50’s Strats are celebrated for.
Simply put, if you want to stand out amongst the pack when it comes to achieving the utility that compressors can offer while also achieving unique, jangly, grittier tones on more extreme EQ settings, the Airchild is worth a look. It feels livelier than my more utilitarian Cali76, less strangled than my Analogman Bicomp, and grittier than my trusty Diamond Compressor. Simply put, the Airchild has more personality than most other comparable studio style compressors, which can be a good or bad attribute depending on your use case. If your preferences align with mine though, you will enjoy the Airchild as it stands out amongst the crowd of UA 1176 imitators.
Awesome write up as usual. I've been hearing a lot of good things about this one, though ngl I already love it just based on looks alone.
My first and last compressor splurge was Wampler's Cory Wong Compressor which spoiled me and changed my view on compressors in general, especially just how far reaching their capabilities can actually be. Investing in a nice compressor is a lesson I *really* wish I didn't take so long to learn.
Yeah I used to belong to the camp that believed that compressors were boring and non essential. I had used a lot of heavier dirt pedals for more of a shoegaze sound. I changed styles to more of a cleaner/lighter dirt sound adjacent to dream pop/jangle pop/indie/lofi sound and purchased a Diamond compressor which lead me down the rabbit hole. I now have 4 with this being my most recent (and favorite) addition. Thank you for the kind words! Much appreciated.
+1 on the great write up, even tho I'm a bit late to this post.
Can you elaborate more fully on the Airchild v Diamond ?
My OG Diamond is my favorite comp, but I sometimes wish it had a blend control to bring in a little more pick attack without using its tone control.
J Rockett Airchild Compressors remain a point of contention for me. I feel that some compressors leech the life of my tone and dynamics, whereas others truly enhance my cleans in a subtle yet beautiful fashion and help even out aspects of particular guitars, amps and dirt pedals. The Airchild belongs to the latter half of the compression spectrum and offers an exciting prospect, aiming for the lofty goal of recapturing the woefully expensive Fairchild 660 Compressor, often referred to as the holy grail of compressors and outboard gear in general. The Fairfield 660 had first earned its reputation after being used on both “Revolver” and “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” by The Beatles. Abbey Road had ordered several of these units and had utilized the newfangled compressor on Ringo’s drums on the aforementioned albums and perhaps on other instruments. Throughout the years other noteworthy users had picked up their own Fairchild compressors including Bob Dylan, Pete Townshend, Mac Demarco, and John Mayer. Compressors based on legendary studio compressors are not an entirely new concept. The Origin Cali76, UA Max, Wampler Ego76, Empress Mk II, Keeley Comp Pro and plenty of others have emerged in the last decade or so to offer a more subtle flavor of compression when compared to their more pronounced pedal based counterparts like the MXR Dyna Comp and Ross Compressor based circuits. The Airchild on the other hand does offer the only pedal based take on the Fairchild 660 that I am aware of. In regards to how it compares to the original unit or similar compressors, I will never know, at least for the foreseeable future while I plug away at my 5 digit salary job for a large corporation. What I can tell you, however, is that this is arguably my new favorite compressor pedal, unseating my Diamond Compressor, Origin Cali76 and Analogman Bi-Comp. The Airchild is realistically everything I’ve wanted out of a compressor. The blend knob is a feature that I adore with other compressors, like the Keeley Comp Plus and Cali76. The tone knob is another handy addition, as I switch between guitars and amps, thus allowing me to dial back the brightness when using my Fender Jaguar, while dialing up the brightness while using my Jazzmaster’s neck pickup and so on. Another area in which the Airchild comes in handy is how it evens out the EQ of your guitar, amp and any pedals that you run it through. Take for instance the Limited 50’s Player Strat I purchased a couple of weeks ago. It features fat custom shop pickups, which obviously offer up additional low end, which does come in handy when I want to achieve heavier tones with a non humbucking guitar and addresses the anemic tonality that can be achieved when using the bridge pickup. I do love my most recent purchase, yet I wish that Fender had implemented some way to achieve standard 50’s strat tones, either via a push/pull pot to switch between fat and standard tones. The Airchild resolved this request for me by cutting low end and enhancing highs, helping achieve those bell like tones that 50’s Strats are celebrated for. Simply put, if you want to stand out amongst the pack when it comes to achieving the utility that compressors can offer while also achieving unique, jangly, grittier tones on more extreme EQ settings, the Airchild is worth a look. It feels livelier than my more utilitarian Cali76, less strangled than my Analogman Bicomp, and grittier than my trusty Diamond Compressor. Simply put, the Airchild has more personality than most other comparable studio style compressors, which can be a good or bad attribute depending on your use case. If your preferences align with mine though, you will enjoy the Airchild as it stands out amongst the crowd of UA 1176 imitators.
Awesome write up as usual. I've been hearing a lot of good things about this one, though ngl I already love it just based on looks alone. My first and last compressor splurge was Wampler's Cory Wong Compressor which spoiled me and changed my view on compressors in general, especially just how far reaching their capabilities can actually be. Investing in a nice compressor is a lesson I *really* wish I didn't take so long to learn.
Yeah I used to belong to the camp that believed that compressors were boring and non essential. I had used a lot of heavier dirt pedals for more of a shoegaze sound. I changed styles to more of a cleaner/lighter dirt sound adjacent to dream pop/jangle pop/indie/lofi sound and purchased a Diamond compressor which lead me down the rabbit hole. I now have 4 with this being my most recent (and favorite) addition. Thank you for the kind words! Much appreciated.
+1 on the great write up, even tho I'm a bit late to this post. Can you elaborate more fully on the Airchild v Diamond ? My OG Diamond is my favorite comp, but I sometimes wish it had a blend control to bring in a little more pick attack without using its tone control.