Abbey Road RS124 Compressor

The Holy Grail of Gentle Compressors

Give your music the silk smooth compression sound Abbey Road RS124 - the legendary velvety tones heard on all Beatles recordings 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 equipment defines the history of music like the RS124. Custom RS124 compressors were the secret weapon of Abbey Road engineers throughout the 1960s - favored by Geoff Emerick for powerful bass sounds; by Ken Scott for his exuberant guitar treatment; by Norman Smith for lightly pasting 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 in the classics. Beatles such as “Rain” and “Come Together.” Abbey Road engineers typically boost the RS124's input by a 15-20 dB gain reduction, producing wonderfully lush results across multiple sources.

Today, the engineer of pop / R & B and Grammy® winning hip hop Tony Maserati consistently apply RS124 tones to her vocal tracks, including those of Beyoncé and Alicia Keys, to complement her impressive vocal qualities.

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

Of course, no RS124 units sounded. exactly the same. Each had different sonic qualities and attack/release times due to constant tweaking of the components used. As a result, some units were better suited for tracking, others for bus compression and cutting/disk mastering tasks.

So the Waves Abbey Road plugin features two Distinct RS124 flavors, modeled after the original hardware:

Studio models RS124 serial no. 60070B - a favorite unit used for tracking in late-years Abbey Road 50s to 60s, due to their faster attack and release time. This is the more aggressive sound of the RS124, which creates a beautiful “compressed” sound on transients.

Cutter is a modification with slower attack and release times . The slower RS124s were preferred for studio reduction mixes and in Abbey Road editing rooms during the 1960s. The more relaxed attack made these units suitable and more tolerant for bus compression and mastering purposes.

The RS124 is a feedback compressor with variable recovery. Want to become more aggressive? The included "Super Fuse" mode combines release time with attack time, creating a brutal compression character that sounds like you're "fighting yourself". Try this on your drum bus for complete room destruction.

The legendary RS124 left a huge sonic fingerprint on the Abbey Road sound of the 60s. Since its early rediscovery from 2000, this important, rare and unique compressor is still in use at Abbey Road Studios today. Now your unique sound is yours.
LessPrecise modeling of Abbey Road's ultra-rare RS124 valve compressor Smooth tones for vocals, bass, drums, bus compression and mastering Developed with Abbey Road StudiosHeard on all Beatles recordings made at Abbey RoadThe creamy compression tone for classic recordings: From Paul McCartney's bass to Beyoncé's vocals Two distinct RS124 tube flavors included: Super-Fuse “Studio” and “Cutter” mode added for more aggressive results SC-HP, Mix button and MS options included