Drawmer DL231
A dual compressor/limiter that turned up in studio racks and secondhand gear lists for the better part of two decades. The used market never quite stopped arguing about what it should cost.
Overview
The Drawmer DL231 is a two-channel dynamics processor in a single 1U 19-inch rackmount chassis. It does the two jobs most engineers reach for on a session: compression and limiting, per channel. Each channel runs independently through its own compressor and limiter. You can treat the unit as a pair of mono processors, or tie the channels together with the stereo link facility when both sides of a mix or a stereo source need to move as one. Balanced XLR and 1/4-inch jack connectors handle input and output on both channels. There's also an external sidechain/key input for triggering the dynamics from a separate signal.
The DL231's used-market story is well documented in the trade press of the day, and the prices never sat still. Drawmer's own marketing at the time positioned it as a dual expander/compressor offering "high performance." It appeared in dealer stock lists alongside the company's DS201 noise gate, DL221 compressor/limiter, and DMT 1080 multi-tracker, as noted in Studio Sound (July 1984, p.146).
Collectors now find it interesting for how sharply its secondhand value decayed over the following decade. Studios bought it, used it hard, and dumped it when the next generation of dynamics processors arrived.
Key Features
Two Independent Channels, One Rack Space
The core of the DL231 is its dual-channel layout - two fully independent compressor/limiter sections sharing a single 1U chassis. For a working studio that meant one rack space covering two channels of dynamics. That could be a pair of vocal takes, a stereo bus, or two unrelated sources in the same session. One channel can compress a bass while the other limits a room mic, with no interaction between them.
Stereo Link Facility
When the two channels need to behave as one, the stereo link ties them together so that gain reduction on one side is mirrored on the other. That's the standard requirement for processing a stereo mix or a stereo pair of microphones without the image wandering as the two channels compress independently.
External Sidechain / Key Input
The sidechain/key input lets the dynamics be triggered by a signal other than the one being processed. The classic use is ducking, where one source pushes another out of the way. It's present on both channels.
Per-Channel Bypass
Individual channel bypass means either side of the DL231 can be taken out of the signal path without disturbing the other. That helps when A/B-ing a setting, or when only one channel of the unit is in use.
LED Metering
Gain reduction and level are shown on LED metering rather than a moving-coil meter. The metering covers both the amount of compression/limiting being applied and the signal level, so the engineer can see how hard the unit is working.
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