Stam Audio SA4000 (SSL Clone)

All the talk about the effectiveness of throwing the AH over the master bus made me realize what I really need in life is a good SSL-type comp. I found out about this clone made by a company located in Chile. Looks like a pretty sweet deal.


http://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/tk-audio-bc1-mkii

I use this one.
Better than the original.

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For me, it was first the Deco, now it’s the Overstayer Stereo Compressor (FET, but whatever).

Everyone needs something on their Master.

This looks promising.

This one is awful compelling for that preorder price of $590. There’s another $90 shipping fee that needs to be factored in too fyi.

As ghetto as it may sound, I’ve been very pleased with using the vinyl sim compressor on my Roland SP-404 for these duties as I’m a lo-fi nut. Just want that classic SSL flavor to work with as well.

Also a good idea.

If OB worked for me I would give my AR’s distortion and compressor a lot of work.

Clear, although cheaper, this new kid on the block misses some nice functions which you can find on the BC-1S mkII.

Actually, if I wasn’t watching my budget, I’d love to start a 500 series rig with one of these followed by an Elysia Karacter.

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A lot of good things for one’s signal chain out there.

I was reading some Gearslutz reviews of the Stam SA4000, and found it interesting that the the first reviewer prefers it to the TK Audio BC-1; he’s planning on selling his to get the Stam.

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yeah, checked those out as well. Can’t say I recognize the usernames of the reviewers though.

Are there any respectable media reviews of this thing, tape op, sos etc? The price is too attractive to believe tbh. Been on the lookout for a “proper” 1RU stereo bus comp below the 1k range for some time now. Would love to get into the 500 series crack but the cost is nowhere near realism for me…

Man, this thing costs the same as my Cali76TX pedal… Value with a capital V!

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On the GS thread for the SA4000, there have been several people who’ve received units that have given it high praises. The SA-2A Stam released earlier received a lot of praise as well. Everyone says the build quality is top notch, which is really important to me. If you can put up with waiting, this seems legit to me. I placed a preorder with a $100 deposit while I try to make my final decision. I think I’m going to go for it most likely.

Okay then. I will do more research on this company. Checking out their other products, this stuff looks really impressive, a two channel 1073 pre for > 1k! A U87 for 700?! Bookmarked. Thanks for the tip, sir.

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If you are on budget and you wanna start with the 500 system then i recommend a fredenstein bento 6 for € 330 and two Joe Meek compressors for € 150 each makes a total of € 630. Or you could get the new dbx comps. you still got 4 slots for other modules.

Don’t tempt me. No 500-series for this guy, I’m in the process of selling off the last of my eurorack-related stuff.

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Well you could get 4 blank panels so you wouldn’t get tempted :wink:

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I have a nice Prime Analog SSL clone compressor with sidechain. Very transparent but the phase gets inverted. Maybe you can fetch this somewhere used. The one on the bottom of the pic:

Pic is actually to get you tempted…!

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The US dollar is really strong right now; the thought of buying an Elysia Xpressor and Karacter directly from a European dealer to fill up a 500-series lunchbox has crossed my mind many times. I see you have a Compounder; I love abusing that compressor. I was thinking about finding one of those again too.

The compounder can get very nasty, love it or hate it, but it’s rock solid.
Here in Germany it’s pretty expensive to go for the 500 series. My jaw alsways drops when i see the prices in the US. One more point for your temptation…!

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