Retro 176

With a name

paying homage to its legendary roots, the Retro Instruments 176 delivers every ounce of that magic, classic sound. Retro went out of their way to make the 176 faithful to the extraordinarily versatile Sinatra-era design we've all come to love, while incorporating the features you wish the original had. For example, there's a highpass filter, a hardwire bypass switch, and stereo linking. Plus, you can choose from even more colors by flipping a switch and bypassing the interstage transformer — perfect for bass and husky vocals. All in all, the 176 successfully honors the classic tube limiting amplifier while updating it for today's engineer, earning it "go-to" status from the likes of Jacquire King and Chris Lord-Alge. All in all, the Retro Instruments 176 is all about delivering that classic sound, without the classic's limitations — and doing it with the consistency and reliability you expect from a brand-new, boutique piece of gear.

• Precision Knob scales for easy recallability
• Continuously variable attack and release time
• Four settings of compression ratio from soft compression to limiting (2:1, 4:1, 8:1, 12:1)
• Wide-Range Sidechain Highpass Filter
• Vocal Asymmetry Tool
• Hard-wire Bypass Switch
• Interstage Transformer Bypass Switch
• High Quality VU Meter switchable between Input, Output and Gain Reduction
• XLR input and output connections
• IEC power connector
• 115/230V AC Mains
• Integral tube balance test
• Easy stereo strapping of two or more units
• Selected NOS tubes and components

• 20 dB of available gain reduction
• Signal to noise ratio of greater than 76dB
• Flat frequency response within 0.5dB from 20-20,000Hz and Harmonic Distortion of less than 1% from 0-15dB gain reduction