Hardware Compressor With Digital Control

US Tierra Audio releases Gravity Mix & Master 06/03/24

Tierra Audio has released the Gravity Mix & Master, a high-end Compressor, Limiter and Expander, designed for professional studios seeking unparalleled production sound quality, and with the kind of remote control usually reserved for software plugins. They describe it as the most accurate and versatile analogue compressor in just 1U. Here's the press release from distributors Synthax Audio UK with the full details...

Alongside its premium analogue sound, extensive digital remote control options (AU, AAX, VST3) provide precise recall of every parameter, with Tierra Audio's Smart Ambience system enabling exact temperature and humidity controls over all of the analogue components, whilst a Community API allows users to edit and share patches with one another online.

"It's been our dream since 6 years ago, when Esther Gutierrez (Co-Founder & COO) and I founded the company, to unify the analogue and digital worlds in a way never seen before," explains Javier Pascual, Co-Founder & CEO of Tierra Audio.

"As our original Gravity Bus Compressor is still a best seller all over the world, we thought it was the perfect candidate to develop our vision.

"The Gravity Mix & Master is a 2-channel compressor and expander with a completely analogue audio path – and an absolutely disruptive digital control system – which up until now hasn't existed in the pro audio industry.

"It's a very sophisticated piece of equipment, designed for expert producers and sound engineers working with heavy mixing and mastering workloads every day, and who need to optimise their workflow to the maximum. Without giving up the best quality of analogue audio of course!"

Taking Preset Recall to the next level

The Gravity Mix & Master combines Tierra Audio's love of classic analogue sounds with the flexibility offered by modern digital technologies – providing a host of clever technical features, including a series of self-diagnostic tools which look for and detect any operational issues with the device, and can be fed back to the Tierra Audio team automatically.

Over 5 years in the making – with dozens of prototypes and revisions, and over 100(!) different iterations of the A-D circuitry – the Tierra Audio Gravity M&M sits as the crown jewel in Tierra's collection of high-end studio outboard, which also includes the original Gravity VCA Compressor, Boreal FET Compressor, and Canyon 16 Summing Mixer.

Analogue components are known to perform differently under different temperatures and atmospheric conditions – as such, all of the Gravity Mix & Masters's internal electronics are fully temperature-controlled, with TA's Smart Ambience technology allowing the humidity and pressure from previous mixing or mastering sessions to be accurately recalled – weeks, months and even years later.

"I always say the Gravity Mix & Master is actually a robot, just without the wheels," Javier continues. "It brings together the best technologies in the fields of connectivity, security, and advanced sensor and recall technology, to make every mix and every master perfect. And above all, reproducible – time and time again.

"The product has Ethernet, WiFi, USB and Bluetooth connectivity to configure and control it remotely in real-time, even remotely via the internet. It has an internal environment-control system that 'talks' to the DAW, to remember and reach the original working temperature of each recording, mixing or mastering session.

"The calibration of all its audio lines are automatically internally stored, detecting any slight deviations that may exist, and either compensating for them, or even notifying us that there may be a problem – all before the owner of the Gravity even notices!"

Parallel Compression, Mid/Side & Side-Chaining

Fundamentally the Gravity Mix & Master is a 2-channel Compressor with a pure analogue signal path. As the name suggests, the device is primarily designed to operate as a powerful Mix or Master Bus Compressor, with 5 operation modes – Stereo, Dual Mono, Mid-Side, Serial Mono and Parallel Mono.

It can also be used as an Expander or Limiter, and features options for Mid/Side as well as a Blend control for parallel compression, a hardware knee control (with options for soft, medium and hard), an Automatic Gain Reduction Assistant, and Stereo Side-Chain Inputs with variable LP, HP and Notch filters.

"Gravity is a bus compressor that sonically competes with the best, with its amplification system which is based on the best VCAs on the market, with completely analogue electronics," says Javier. "But at its core it provides features that no other product on the market has been able to incorporate, such as the Smart Ambience system, the Community API, or the new chain operation modes.

"Now it's up to the pro audio community to take all of the functionality and discover the many different uses we know the equipment is capable of – the next few months are going to be exciting in this regard."