Stam Audio SA4000mk3.... A Week (Or So) On

So as some of you might have seen on my socials I recently got my hands on a Stam Audio SA4000 which I absolutely fell in love with immediately! Whilst this is a clone of the legendary SSL 4000 G series bus compressor this version gives you the option to switch to the 4000 E series circuitry making the whole unit incredibly versatile.

This was my first analog compressor in my collection (soon to be many more) so after using this for a week it's made a rather large difference to the way to the way I've been approaching my mixes. The reason being that this isn't just an interchangeable compressor like a lot of the plugin emulations you get out there but adds its own character and shapes the sound of the whole mix through more than just compression so will change decisions made during the mix. Their version of the G series lives up to legend of the SSL giving you a full range of bus compression more suited for overall mixes whilst adding more depth, width and colour adding some subtle saturation to your sound. The E series on the other hand is lot more grabby and punchy more suited for something like a drum bus or using as parallel compression by using the mix blend already on the unit.

The only downside I found with this unit is that there was a longer wait time than initially stated but that has been improving from what it was before.

So all in all this unit is living up to the legend for a fraction of the price and if you want to learn more about this unit check out https://stamaudio.com/. If you would like to hear audio examples of this unit and maybe a comparison or shootout other compressors like plugins etc please let us know in the comments and we will make a video for it!

All thoughts and opinions are my own. All photos are copyright of Spirit Sounds Studios.