Ferta Optical Compressor

COMPRESSOR

The Fermata optical compressor is a product that has spent a very long time in development at XTS. From dreaming up ideal compressor features, designing the circuits to implement them, sourcing parts for production and going back to square one on more than one occasion, the guys at XTS have worked very hard to provide a compressor that offers a ton of control without being difficult to dial in -- and the results are amazing! The Fermata holds true to many classic optical compressor characteristics. The optical element of the Fermata gives a soft-knee squish that sounds natural even under high SUSTAIN settings. Unlike some VCA based designs, the Fermata can limit dynamic range without necessarily destroying the dynamic content of your signal. Even with very aggressive and pumping settings, this compressor breathes like the great studio optical-based designs of the past. While the Fermata does not have a mix control per se, it does have a four ways of controlling the compression characteristic to whatever level of subtly needed. For as much as the Fermata offers in terms of compression, it may be the ways in which it can be made to NOT compress that set it apart from other devices in the market.