Description
Vintage Inovonics compressor / limiter from 1970s USA. This 201 is in excellent condition and has been carefully recapped & refurbished in our workshops. It’s been switched to 220 Volt operation so no external transformer required. The small control knobs have been replaced
Tested & working 100%. Photos show the compressor for sale. They were taken before the compressor was switched to 220V and a new UK power plug fitted
The Inovonics Model 201 is an American-made single-channel limiter with peak & average response settings. Introduced in the late 70s, the 201 was a favourite with American engineers including Michael Brauer and the late Bruce Swedien
The Model 201 has separate controls for average (RMS) and peak limiting plus attack & release controls and an input gain control. This is similar to an 1176 in that it acts as a threshold control
In use the 201 is a punchy, dynamic compressor with a characteristic sound
This Model 201 has been modified in the past to repurpose the Ripple Cancel switch as a limiter bypass. This was a common mod in the USA
“It was one of the first dual slope limiters made. It will compress then hit the limiter, sort of a bend and then a flat line if viewed on a graphic gain reduction chart. These were very popular in LA studios in the 1980’s.- Jim Williams
Jim Woods designed these for Inovonics in Santa Cruz, CA back in the late 1970’s. He told me the last run of 5 units was built in 1995. He still services them I think. They might still also have parts” – Jim Williams
“It can sound aggressive if set that way, sort of a dirty dynamite.” – Jim Williams
“I use it anywhere i would use a Distressor. I prefer it for mixing but i don’t track with Distressors. My personal favorite use is on snares. Combine it with some SSL dynamics and you get a great sound for any genre”
“This thing is awesome on drums if you’re going for a certain type of sound”
“Amazing on kick and snare. Great for rock guitars. Cool as a parallel mix bus”
“Killer on kick and snare… extend the note for days…
Not a one trick pony at all IMHO. Compress, limit, hold the note in the limiter section to extend it (a nice feature they added), great for guitar solo’s, kick, snare, vocals… one of the best VCA comps ever made, again IMHO.
Until you play with one and use it during a tracking or a mix session, you really can’t appreciate what these compressors can do. Sit there with an electric guitar some time and dial it in while you play, guaranteed you’ll have a lot of fun”
It seems to hit the signal pretty hard, of course in varying degrees depending on how you set the parameters, but in general it’s a pretty heavy sounding compressor/limiter. It has it’s own sound… This thing is awesome on drums if you’re going for a certain type of sound”
Vintage unit in very good used condition. Supplied with XLR pigtails. Converted to 220 VAC with captive cable & UK power plug. EU power plug supplied on request. Tested & working 100%. Photos show the 201 for sale. Since the photos were taken the small knobs have been replaced
