The Holy Grail of Smooth Compressors


Give your music the sound of silky-smooth Abbey Road RS124 compression – the legendary velvety tones heard on every Beatles recording made at Abbey Road. With two distinct flavors to choose from, this classic tube model is the only software emulation of the ultra-rare RS124s, approved by Abbey Road Studios.

Few pieces of gear define music history as the RS124 does. The custom-built RS124 compressors were the secret weapon of Abbey Road engineers during the ‘60s – favored by Geoff Emerick for punchy bass sounds; by Ken Scott for lush guitar treatment; by Norman Smith for lightly gluing the entire rhythm bus. RS124 was also a popular choice for mastering in Abbey Road’s cutting rooms.

The RS124 sound is especially famous for the thick, creamy bass tones it produced on Beatles classics such as “Rain” and “Come Together.” Abbey Road engineers would typically push the input of the RS124 deep into 15-20 dB of gain reduction, producing wonderfully lush results on numerous sources.

Today, Grammy®-winning pop/R&B and hip hop engineer Tony Maserati consistently applies RS124 tones to his vocal tracks, including those of Beyoncé and Alicia Keys, to supplement their stunning voice qualities.

The RS124 was actually an extensive in-house modification of the American Altec 436B compressor. It is believed only 25 units were ever created, and each serial number was hand-built by Abbey Road/EMI technical legends Bill Livy, Len Page and Mike Bachelor.

Naturally, no RS124 unit sounded exactly the same. Each had different sonic qualities and attack/release times, due to constant tinkering of the components used. As a result, some units were more suited for tracking, others for bus compression and disc cutting/mastering duties.

Accordingly, the Waves Abbey Road plugin features two distinct RS124 flavors, modeled from the original hardware:

• Studio models RS124 serial no. 60070B – a favorite unit used for tracking at Abbey Road from the late ‘50s into the ‘60s, due its faster attack and release times. This is the more aggressive sound of the RS124, which creates a beautiful “squashed” sound on transients.
  
• Cutter is a modification with slower attack and release times. The slower RS124s were favored for studio reduction mixes and in Abbey Road’s cutting rooms during the ‘60s. The more relaxed attack made these units suitable and more forgiving for bus compression and mastering purposes.

The RS124 is a feedback compressor with a variable recovery. Want it to become more aggressive? The included “Super Fuse” mode matches release time to attack time, creating a brutal compression character that sounds like it’s “fighting against itself.” Try this on your drum bus for complete room destruction.

The legendary RS124 left a huge sonic fingerprint on the Abbey Road ‘60s sound. Since its rediscovery in the early 2000s, this important, rare and unique compressor in still being used at Abbey Road Studios today. Now, its one-of-a-kind sound is yours.

Abbey Road RS124 Vintage Tube Compressor

 

Lol, i like bypassed better in the top video. I like waves but the compressors tend to fall apart when pushed, they also sound flat and cloudy compared to acustica/nebula, which can handle the source like real hardware.

 

i think this Is the old versione AiR released back in the days now under Waves new clothes

 

Sadly those are only 32-bit...

 

I really like the Waves Abbey Roads saturator, but everything else from Abbey Roads is okish.
I am just curious but don't know the answer, Is Abbey Roads Studio running out of business because they releasing more and more plugins with waves ??

 

You know you have to take a break when you think you read "RSA1024 protection" for a tenth...

 

I agree that many of their emulated "analog" compressors tend to get worse when pushed. They do sound alright when used moderately but as you said, when you push them they start to sound muddy and not as crisp as the real deal. They are still better than some cheap hardware *cough*klark teknik*cough* comps though!

However, I kinda like this one. I liked it on a acoustic guitar track that was a bit harsh and also on female vocals! Maybe not the best comp for a modern and pristine sound though. Reminds me of the VComp, which I also like.

 

VComp is supposed to emu the Neve 2254E which is said to sound smooth but is a discrete comp, while AA Creme and UP Royal Compressor are supposed to behave/sound like the RS124.

 

Yes, I know they don't emulate the same comp, I was just comparing it to other Waves compressors!

 

the old klarks sound better when pushed though

 

I know this is a old post, but... I need ask... someone knows where can I find the old 32bit that works on win 10? (i know, no direct links, so pm me)

I tried all AiR release (v1.0.1) that I could find, from the sister site, from that Russian forum with magnets... from that know blog... no one worked on jBridge, on VST Plugin Analyzer and Plugin Doctor also, they tells me invalid plugin.. the others old Abbey Road plugins worked fine only this one not..

I know I can use the Waves... I have that one installed... but I wanna use this old one too. And keep for collection..

Thanks in advance

-- edit --

A member called multmin helped me with this affair. He found one that's work fine. I'm really grateful.

Another prestative guy asked for a comparison between the Waves and one from Kush. I'll try to do that and post results really soon.

 

Last edited: Feb 16, 2023