Decca compressor

The Decca compressors/limiters are dual-channel dynamics processing units, which were originally built for use at Decca Studios on Broadhurst Gardens during the 1960s/70s, often housed in the studios' cutting rooms and control rooms. The units were all valve (tube) compressors with multiple transformers to enhance a sound, hosting controls for gain, threshold and recovery time as well as stereo linking. The sound of the unit was likened to an LA-2A compressor. Only two dozen of these units were made and were only intended for in-house use at Decca Studios. Few of these survive today.

Peter Gabriel obtained four of the original Decca compressors after the studio closed in 1980. They came Peter's first console, a Decca console he bought second-hand from the studio. And those compressors would play a significant role in the production behind his subsequent solo albums, starting with Birdy at least. The best examples of the Decca compressor would be the So album: it was a part of his vocal chain on the record and also helped create the signature bass sound on "Sledgehammer" (along with an SSL mic preamp). The Decca compressors remain at Real World Studios to this day.

Besides Peter, producer Daniel Lanois owns a few Decca compressors.