Pye Limiter

Vintage Compression. Distinctive Tone.

The Pye Limiter is a rare, vintage compressor known for its distinctive sound, offering a unique tonal option for dynamic control. This beast is legendary and has shaped the sound of countless hit records with its unique character and versatility.

Audio Comparison

A Quick Tour

Analog Matrix Interface

The Robotics

Pye Limiter Overview

The PYE Limiter is a very rare vintage classic compressor limiter that was made in England by PYE TVT LIMITED.  It was an essential part of the British sound of the classic rock era and saw extensive use at London’s Olympic Studios during the golden era of rock recording in the late 60s.  It’s known for its thick, rich gluey sound and outstanding on just about anything!

F. Reid Shippen: Hey, you know all your favorite rock records? That great drum room sound?

That was these!

No seriously. Pye made electronics in the UK in the day. Olympic Studios were the first to get them to make limiters, and these were used extensively on stuff from Hendrix to Zepplin.

Now you know why the Eddie Kramer plugin from Waves looks a lot like these. Or vice-versa.

These are insanely rare, and they just sound amazing on drum rooms, drum buss (parallel), and anything percussive. Piano is percussive, acoustic… but the magic is drums.

Plugins sound good, these sound creamy.

You may not get much of a chance to use these because I’ll probably be renting them all the time.  Sorry.

Control a Real Pye Limiter from Right Inside Your Daw

Reserve From: $8.74

More Information

Select Features of the Pye Limiter

  • Threshold from -20 to +16 dB
  • Decay times of 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 ms
  • Compression ratios of 1:1 / 2:1 / 3:1 / 5:1 / and Limiting

Tips

Ignore the noise gate stuff. Slam these.

Make a mono (or stereo) drum/bass buss. Run these on it parallel, print and blend. You’re welcome.