There are rare times in the professional audio industry when a new piece of recording equipment comes to the market that is ahead of its time. A Designs Audio believes the HM2 Compressor “Nail” is one of those pieces of recording equipment.

The Nail offers endless possibilities in the control of compression and shaping the envelope with three features that set the Nail apart from other compressors - these are the Hard Threshold, the Filter and the Mix.  Because of the unique nature of it's design, the Nail will take you to places you have not experienced before.  But as with all things new, there is a 'learning curve'. The NAIL is a Feedback, Diode based design combined with valves, making it a Hybrid.

One feature that you won't see is the Ratio setting control, which has been replaced with a “Variable Ratio”.  This means that the ratio will change as the settings of the Threshold and Hard Threshold are changed along with the amount of gain reduction.  You may, or may not, need to adjust Attack and Release, depending on what is sonically pleasing.

MIX

This feature is most unusual, allowing you to employ Parallel Compression techniques - in stereo - with only one compressor.  It offers a fully variable blend of the Nail’s compression with your untreated audio signal.  You can go from a 100% dry signal to full-on compression, depending upon your need or taste.

This means you can perform extreme compression on a signal such as drums, then dial in just the amount you want into the audio path.  And do this in stereo.  Most compressors do not have this option and you will find yourself fighting this in a mix.  The Nail takes all that away and makes it easy to blend just the right amount into your audio signal path.

FILTER

The Nail offers another feature, the Filter. The Filter is a Variable High Pass Filter on the side chain so that selected frequencies below are not triggered by the gain reduction. This feature, in combination with the Hard Threshold and Threshold, allows you to select the frequency or frequencies you wish to compress. This is by no means a “multi-band compressor” where you can isolate and compress, but it works somewhat along those lines.

For example, if you would like to compress everything above 50Hz, but you do not want to drag down the frequencies below that, then simply select the right frequency you wish to apply compression to. Then, you will be compressing all frequencies above your selected choice.

The frequencies below 50HZ will be hit by the Nail’s compression, but they will NOT be dragged down, the way most compressors will do.

Again, this will not isolate the assigned frequency in the way that a multi-band does, rather it will allow you to be very flexible without fully compressing the lower frequencies.  This function becomes extremely useful with recordings that are Kick Drum-forward or Bass-forward.  But, the Nail has much more to offer with numerous other applications.

METERS

A great deal of thought and consideration went into the decision to use an LED array as opposed to the traditional VU meters you would most likely see on a compressor.  Aesthetics and personal taste are involved and we chose a combination of “Old School and Modern Look.”  But, plain old work environment conditions dictate that LED's can be seen from across a dark studio much easier than a backlit VU meter, and in some cases with more accuracy.

2 BUSS AND TRACKING

The NAIL was designed with the 2 Buss in mind, so it is with this that the feature of a Stereo Link Switch was developed.  All the functions on both channels in Stereo Link Mode will be controlled via channel 1 (with the exception of Gain and Mix).

The NAIL is not limited to this application alone!  It works very well as a tracking compressor too.

MOJO, VIBE, COLOR

All quality equipment brings something unique to the table.  The NAIL is no different in that respect.  It has it’s own sonic flavour, for lack of a better term, but it can be “neutral,” clean or coloured, as well.  The valves in the NAIL (12AT7) were selected because they allow for more on-demand control.

SWITCHES

The NAIL has six functional switches: a main power switch, a stereo link switch, and two gain reduction/level switches to change the metering, one for each channel.  There are also two in/out switches, one for each channel, that allow you to hard bypass the compressor channel, as needed.

CONNECTORS

The NAIL has four XLR connectors on the rear panel, two male balanced and two female balanced for easy standard integration into any studio.

POTENTIOMETERS

The potentiometers, or pots, are the conductive plastic type, found to be the most reliable and with a lifespan well in excess of cheaper, carbon track pots.  Custom-milled aluminium knobs, and a milled-aluminium face plate add just the right touch to compliment this unit.

For A-Designs Audio, the HM2 COMPRESSOR “NAIL” is the last product needed to complete our signal chain, which includes the MP-2A Valve Microphone Pre Amplifier, the Pacifica Solid State Pre Amplifier, and HM2EQ “HAMMER” Hybrid 3 Band Dual Mono EQ.  All these are in the standard 19" rack format for both the Professional and Non Professional.  And, as always, our products are Beta Tested to the max and then field tested.

We feel you will find the NAIL to be a great addition to your studio’s working environment and will help enhance your results. The more you use the NAIL the more you will understand the unique functions and greater possibilities that this unit has to offer.  You will no longer be controlled by compression. You will have the control.

The Nail web page contains two PDFs.  One PDF is an Owner’s Manual.  Contained in that manual is a graphic of the face plate of the HM2 COMPRESSOR “NAIL” on page 6.  We strongly recommend you visit this before you insert the NAIL into your signal chain.  We refer to this graphic as “A GOOD STARTING POINT”.  But another good starting point would be to just turn off the Hard Threshold and Filter then turn the Mix to full on so you get a sense of the compressor alone.  The second PDF is a RECALL sheet.  You can use this to mark the settings used in a session for call backs.

We are doing our bit to keep our planet green, so there is no paper manual included with any A-Designs products that require a manual.