Warm Audio Pedal76

This pedal‑format compressor doubles up as a serious studio tool.

Pedal‑style versions of UREI’s classic 1176 solid‑state peak limiter have proved popular with gigging guitarists since Origin Effects’ original Cali 76 model first made the FET‑based circuit available in a compact, footswitchable form. Many others have followed, not least Origin themselves, with ever more compact versions, and, of course, Universal Audio (who still make the 1176 rackmount hardware) with their own digital emulations in pedal form. They’re joined now by Warm Audio, with an all‑analogue, relatively large‑format, footswitchable unit designated the Pedal76 Limiting Amplifier.

Overview

Of course, Warm Audio are no strangers to the 1176‑style circuit, having produced one of the most popular reproductions over the last decade in the form of their highly regarded WA‑76 rackmount compressor, and they’ve recently announced more 1176‑inspired outboard too. The Pedal76 is said to utilise the same high‑grade components and custom Cinemag output transformer to offer the same level of audio performance in a ‘pedalboard‑friendly format’. It is actually more compact than the original Cali76 model, but it would still use up a bit of space on a smaller board, with dimensions of 160 x 115mm, and a casing height of 58mm, or 78mm to the top of the control knobs — it wouldn’t actually fit under the lid of my gigging pedalboard. Ironically, however, the very characteristics that make it perhaps a slightly awkward pedalboard companion make it a great desktop recording unit. The larger dimensions allow for larger control knobs somewhat in the style of the original hardware, and with some size differentiation of function that just make it easy to use for creative on‑the‑fly adjustments, whilst still being small enough to keep close at hand, especially compared to something that you have to rackmount.

The control line‑up is the usual Input, Output, Attack and Release setup, but with a rotary control for Ratio rather than the switch bank of the original design. The Ratio control has the expected 4, 8, 12 and...