Paul Tietze
12/07/2022

Excellent!

This is an extremely versatile and excellent sounding compressor. I bought this unit already assembled and could not be happier. It does the SSL Glue thing and much, much more. I like it even more than the original, More options and possibilities. Highly recommended!

Stefan
05/07/2022

my 2nd DIY-Module

This Module was my 2nd DIY build. After I learnd my lesson on my 1st build, what it means to organise all parts befor you start, It was a joy to build this EQ.
And in the end, the most important thing is, this module rocks!!! Compared to my UAD 1073 EQ the EQ curves are very similar and the sonic characteristics are very close, but through the hardware unit, the signal has more body, is more 3 dimensional. I really love this peace of gear. Next thing is building the MP573 an run the EQ through it...Thank you Jean-Pierre for these beautiful kits.

Tommy Hedin
29/06/2022

Love at first sight

I love everything about Soundskulptor.

The documentation i excellent, the kits are very well designed in order to be easy to build. And the products bring excellent value for your money.

The CP4500 is no exception. Every knob change the sound in a noticable way, and the result is almost always musical. This SSL-style buscompressor beats every plugin available (my opinion), and I use it on every song as a glue compressor in mastering.

I just wished I have ordered this product years ago.

Michael
15/05/2022

Great Kit

This kit is a 5 out of 5 in every category. Quality parts, great design, comprehensive instructions, all at an attractive price point. Instant mix bus glue. The unit sounds great and I couldn’t be happier. Highly recommended.

TP
10/05/2022

Very musical compressor!

Just finished assembling. Very fun and easy to build. Very musical compressor, can easily go 10+ GR without pumping. Unless the most software emulations of the 1176's on the market, with added highs when compressing, this compressor actually smooth out the highs a bit, which I really love in this digital era.

Lee Campen
20/02/2022

Incredible value and quality throughout

- Very high quality parts and components
- Extremely well packed and organized
- Excellent, detailed instructions
- Thoughtfully laid out and designed
- Fun to build if you have basic soldering skills
- Best price for this circuit
- Looks gorgeous!

As my recording and mixing skills have grown, I have become increasingly interested in outboard gear. I have a few pieces of 19" rack gear but I have wanted to get into 500 series for the space savings. The issue for me has been the astronomical cost for quality gear.

I have a good deal of experience building guitar effects pedals and amps so I was confident that I would do well building kits to fill my lunch box. After extensive searching I found Sound Skulptor and I was truly surprised to find this level of quality at a price that is realistic for me. The CP4500 really stood out to me as an almost too-good-to-be-true kit, so I took the plunge and bought it.

Shipping to the US was surprisingly fast and when I opened the box I was immediately impressed with the packaging. Everything was expertly sorted and perfectly fitted into the custom cut foam internal packaging. Small parts and components came sorted into zip lock baggies and larger pieces were well protected. There was not a single scratch on the faceplate, knobs or meter, and after laying out every part, there was absolutely nothing missing.

The PCBs are thick and of excellent quality. They are double sided and through-hole plated, and there were no discernible defects anywhere. The layout and space makes it very easy to solder. I never felt like I was at risk of a solder bridge or that the components were so close that I might melt the top of a cap etc. All of the IC sockets are the high quality mill-max style, which I greatly prefer. Resistors are 1% tolerance and they have nice thick leads. All box caps are WIMAs and all ceramic caps are MLCCs. There are NO poor quality passives in this kit. Everything is top notch.

I highly recommend following the advice in the instructions to lay out all of the resistors, measure one from each set and mark the ammo reel tape. Then lay them out in order of resistance so you are less likely to accidentally misplace one. I did all resistors for all three boards before moving on to the taller components. Populating the resistors was by far the most tedious part of the build, and loading all of the tiny MLCC caps isn't much fun either, but the build really clicks along once you get through that phase.

Setup and calibration was very straightforward and easy to do. All you need is some way to generate a 1kHz sine wave and a DMM. I have a function generator but you could use a synth from your DAW or look for the link in the instructions for an online resource.

At the end of the process I ended up with a perfectly working, quality piece of gear that I am proud to have built and that I expect to use on my mix bus for everything! Once I have the money saved up I plan to build a pair of the EQP501s to go with it. I can't wait!

So, is there ANYTHING not to like about this kit? I hate to admit that there is ONE sticking point. In my opinion, the control pots really let this kit down. Others have noted that they feel a bit wobbly, being that they are plastic shaft and the shafts are pretty long. I agree with that criticism. But not only do they wobble, they just don't have the silky smooth feel that I'm used to. Am I afraid that they might break. No. Do they perform their function? Absolutely. They just don't have the feel that conveys quality. If I were building this to sell to someone else I would consider drilling out the holes in the faceplate and panel mounting better feeling pots. Time will tell if this bothers me enough to change them. Honestly, I'll probably just keep them as they are.

When you consider the fact that this unit is about 1/5 the price of the "real deal" and that, apart from the minor issue with the control pots, this unit screams quality, I can't recommend this enough. If you have successfully built at least one guitar pedal or similar project, you can do it. If you have never soldered before or if you aren't good at paying attention to detail you may want to pass or just buy one pre-built. It's still a phenomenal deal.

Great job Sound Skulptor!

Kyle
11/02/2022

I love this thing

I was really struggling to get transparent level control of my vocal recordings. My La2a clone was just pumping too much and it sounded unnatural. This thing completely solved the problem. This compressor is awesome.

Cesar
24/01/2022

Highly recommended for desktop

The modules fit perfectly, the quality and finish of the cabinet, circuit design is incredibly good. Highly recommended for desktop.

Cesar
24/01/2022

Reminds me a lot of the LA3A

The extra functions in sidechaind are very useful. Premium quality in all components and the great sound reminds me a lot of the LA3A.

Audiolover
22/01/2022

Great piece of Hardware

Was not the best choice for my Neumann, but has found its place in the Master Chain as a Tube Saturator. And for that it is incomparable. Never again plugins! The setup was logical and finished in a few hours.