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Opto Compressor

Available to buy for SQ-5 SQ-6 SQ-7

Available as part of Compressor Pack I

Musical. Classy. Smooth.
The optical compressor dream factory.

Musical. Classy. Smooth. The optical compressor dream factory.

What happens when you take the characteristics of a rack-full of highly desirable optical compressors and combine them into one killer unit? You get the Opto.

Famous for their smooth and musical sound and ability to tame vocals, bass, and even drums, optical compression is an essential addition to your compressor toolkit.

This Allen & Heath original brings the best in optical compression to your SQ.

Can be used in place of any input or mix channel compressor with zero-latency.

Opto is great for:

LA Sound

Bring the LA studio sound to your live shows

Smooth Compression

Smooth, musical compression for vocals, bass, drums and more

Versatile Compression

Get classic optical compression sounds or create entirely new textures

The Very Best of Optical

Because Opto is inspired by numerous filament, electro-luminescent and LED-based optical compressors, each with their own distinct characteristics, you can produce a huge variety of classic and contemporary sounds – or create your own flavours.

Want to dial in a vintage sound? No problem; set the Attack and Recovery to Slow or Medium.

Need a more contemporary voicing? Switch the Attack and Recovery to Fast.

We’ve even added a Burn mode which emulates the slower release time of a filament, and a Transient control which results in a slower recovery as the gain reduction decreases.

Both versions are available on all inputs and mix busses with just the flick of a switch.

Unmistakably Smooth

For lead vocals, Opto serves up an unmistakable smooth character that brings depth and clarity to every performance.

Similarly, when applied to bass guitar, Opto ’rounds’ and smooths whilst retaining the dynamics.

Even electric guitars can benefit from the flexible compression options that Opto offers, bringing a polished sheen to mid-heavy overdriven sounds.

“The Opto is very close to those original optical compressors, it does something magical to vocals – it’s a perfect match for great singers!”

Dave McDonald, FOH Engineer
(Adele, Brendan Benson, Air, Florence and the Machine)

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