1176 Classic Limiter Collection Black Friday Deal 2026: $49, 75% off

The 1176 Classic Black Friday deal takes 75% off Universal Audio's 1176 Classic Limiter Collection, $49 until Nov 30, 2026.

It's a limiter plugin set built on the FET compressor Bill Putnam designed, the 1176. Universal Audio says it was the first compressor with solid-state circuitry and 20 microsecond FET gain reduction.

The maker says its first 1176 plugin, released in 2001, launched the UAD platform on its own. This collection adds updated graphics and extra controls.

Which 1176 versions does the collection include?

Three revisions, covering more than 40 years of changes to the original design:

• Rev A "Bluestripe": the original Putnam FET design, with higher distortion and its own FET gain amplifier character
• Rev E "Blackface": the early '70s Brad Plunkett "LN" (Low Noise) era, with a more linear compression response, transistor gain amplification and a changed program dependence
• 1176AE: the 40th Anniversary Edition with exclusive mods, including a lower 2:1 compression ratio

How do the controls work?

Input sets the compression threshold and the level feeding the circuit at the same time. Output sets the final level.

Attack sets how fast the 1176 responds to incoming signal. Release sets how fast it returns to its starting level.

The VU meter reads either gain reduction or output level (+4/+8).

Four Ratio buttons set the amount of gain reduction. Lower ratios compress, higher ratios limit.

With every Ratio button disengaged, compression is off but the signal still runs through the 1176 circuitry, and the maker says this adds color. The multi-button combinations possible on the hardware are in the plugin too, including the "All Button" sound.

What does the plugin add for modern workflows?

These features exist only in the plugin version:

• Dry/Wet mix control for parallel processing on bass and kick drums
• Custom Sidechain Filter to reduce low-frequency pumping
• Headroom control
• Updated graphics with improved VU metering

The emulation covers the full electronic path, including transformers and FET and transistor amplifiers. That path is where the colorful distortion comes from.

Presets come from 1176 users Andy Johns, Andrew Scheps, Ed Cherney and Joe Chiccarelli.

What formats do you get?

Your purchase includes two versions. UAD Native runs on Mac or PC with any audio interface and no UA hardware. The Apollo Realtime and UAD-2 version runs accelerated on Apollo interfaces and UAD-2 hardware.