The Orb 418A Vintage Stereo FET Limiter Emulations (GENESIS)

AnalogX The Orb 418A Vintage Stereo FET Limiter Emulations (GENESIS)

Exclusive to Genesis | Modelled at 48k | High Quality Modelling Tier | Calibrated for authentic broadcast-era gain staging

Price: £16
Format: .gen (Genesis exclusive)
Availability: Download now via the AnalogX store

Broadcast Control With Teeth

The 418A Vintage Stereo Limiter brings a true late-1970s broadcast limiter into the Genesis ecosystem. This is not a modern brickwall limiter. This is an intelligent, program-dependent analogue level rider designed to make music sound loud, stable, and authoritative long before digital limiting existed.

Captured in full High Quality modelling, this pack delivers everything the 418A is known for: smooth density, forward motion, and when pushed, unmistakable analogue aggression. From subtle broadcast polish to full-on pumping crunch, the 418A remains one of the most characterful stereo limiters ever built.

This is old-school loudness done properly.

What’s Inside

This pack includes a comprehensive set of HQ stereo captures covering the full operating personality of the unit.

• Three release characters: FAST, MEDIUM, SLOW
• Multiple drive levels per release mode
• Left and Right channel captures for true stereo behaviour
• Additional CRUSH captures for extreme drive scenarios
• HF LIMIT captures on SLOW mode for classic high-frequency control

The SLOW release captures include HF LIMIT variations, faithfully modelling the original unit’s high-frequency protection circuit, which behaves like a dynamic low-pass filter when driven. This makes the 418A exceptionally good at taming harsh top end while increasing density.

A Brief History

Released in the late 1970s, the 418A Stereo Limiter was designed for broadcast environments where consistency, loudness, and reliability mattered more than transparency. It was created in the same design lineage as their early Optimod processors, which defined the sound of radio for decades.

Unlike modern limiters that rely on hard ceilings, the 418A achieves loudness through analogue intelligence. Its attack time is fixed at around 3 milliseconds, while the release is fully programme-dependent. Internal analogue control circuits continuously analyse the incoming signal and adjust the release behaviour in real time, producing smooth level riding that feels musical rather than mechanical.

Although often compared to FET classics like the 1176 and 1178, the 418A occupies its own space. It is less about punchy transient shaping and more about cohesion, movement, and density. When pushed hard, especially in SLOW mode, it can produce dramatic pumping and saturation that engineers have exploited for decades on drums, parallel buses, and aggressive material.

What started as a broadcast utility became a creative weapon.

Why It Stands Out

• True programme-dependent analogue release behaviour
• Smooth, musical loudness
• Can be clean and controlled or aggressively pump when pushed
• Unique HF LIMIT behaviour for taming harsh top end
• Excellent on drums, parallel buses, synths, stems, and mix bus
• Adds density, glue, and motion rather than static loudness
• HQ modelling captures subtle envelope movement and saturation

This is not a limiter you slap on at the end. It rewards gain staging, intention, and experimentation.

How To Use It

For clean, broadcast-style control:
Use FAST or MEDIUM release at lower drive levels.

For classic analogue density:
Use MEDIUM or SLOW around 0 dB drive and let the limiter ride the programme.

For creative destruction and movement:
Use SLOW at higher drive levels or the CRUSH captures and push into the limiter hard. Expect pumping, saturation, and serious attitude.

The HF LIMIT captures are particularly effective on harsh mixes, cymbal-heavy drums, or overly bright material.

Product Features

• High Quality modelling tier
• Multiple release behaviours captured
• True stereo behaviour via L and R captures
• HF LIMIT emulations included
• Designed for Genesis Core and Genesis Pro
• GPU-ready for high instance counts in Genesis Pro

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