[Product Review] Warm Audio WA76 by soki kimura

Hello!
This is drummer soki kimura.

It’s been a while since my last introduction of the mic preamp WA-273EQ,

but today, I’m excited to introduce
the Warm Audio WA76!

Warm Audio / WA76 Compressor

The WA76 is a modern reconstruction of the legendary UREI 1176LN Revision D compressor!

This time, I’ll test its impact on the kick drum, snare drum, drum bus, and drum ambient mic.

I’ll also compare it to the UAD plugin with similar settings.

*I’ve aimed for a -3dB gain reduction (the amount of volume reduction).
*Please refer to the photos for settings.

★ Test Results ★

Kick Drum

■ First, the raw sound:

■ Then, with the WA76:

IMPUT: 52、OUTPUT: 22、ATTACK: 8、RELEASE: 16、RATIO: 8

Next, I’ll try a similar UAD plugin.

■ UAD 1176LN Rev E:

IMPUT: min、OUTPUT: 1、ATTACK: 3.8、RELEASE: 5.8、RATIO: 8

★The compressor adds punch and aggression while stabilizing the sound!
The WA76 produces more harmonics, whereas the UAD plugin feels more polished.

Snare Drum

■ First, the raw sound:

■ Then, with the WA76:

IMPUT: 37、OUTPUT: 35、ATTACK: 3.5、RELEASE: 17、RATIO: 8

■ From UAD, the 1176LN Rev E:

IMPUT: 36、OUTPUT: 16、ATTACK: 1.8、RELEASE: 6.3、RATIO: 8

★Similar to the kick drum, the snare gains clarity and stability.

Drum Kit

I applied compression to the entire drum bus.

■ First, the raw sound:

■ Then, with the WA76:

IMPUT: 52、OUTPUT: 24、ATTACK: 5、RELEASE: fast、RATIO: 4

■ From UAD, the 1176LN Rev E:

IMPUT: min、OUTPUT: 7、ATTACK: 2.2、RELEASE: fast、RATIO: 4

★The energy of the entire kit changes!
The saturation fills the space beautifully.

Drum Kit with Ambient Mic - ALL-Buttons In

Using the ALL-buttons in setting (engaging all Ratio buttons) creates a heavily distorted sound. I used this on the ambient mic (placed far from the drums to capture room reverb).

*The ambient mic is deliberately louder in the mix for clarity.

■ First, the raw sound:

■ Then, with the WA76:

IMPUT: 38、OUTPUT: 32、ATTACK: slow、RELEASE: 18、RATIO: all

■ From UAD, the 1176LN Rev E:

IMPUT: 33、OUTPUT: 20、ATTACK: slow、RELEASE: 6、RATIO: all

It gets wild!
The raw sound feels almost tame in comparison.

How was that?
The WA76 is quite bold, delivering a thick...
Like analog feel with lots of harmonics.

The real hardware excels when blended with other sounds, showing its full potential.

I also came up with more effective ways to use it, and I’m excited to try those out when I get the chance!

I hope to test those ideas at some point, but for now, that’s it.

I’m starting to want one for each drum channel... haha!

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