Preach on brother Falken 
Once you hear that sound you DO immediately recognize it from all the music you own...
Rest assured the plug ins don't do the 1176 justice..some of the high end ones sound good but they don't sound like the hardware..
The matched fets are only in there for the meter..one fet drives the meter, one does the gain reduction..as for the vu, I could care less if it tracks very accurately...do it with your ears man! Alot of "big boys" cover up the vu with a piece of paper and dial it in so they won't be influenced by the meter. I hear Sifams track pretty well although they are pricey...
Cheers,
Ray
Once you hear that sound you DO immediately recognize it from all the music you own...Rest assured the plug ins don't do the 1176 justice..some of the high end ones sound good but they don't sound like the hardware..
The matched fets are only in there for the meter..one fet drives the meter, one does the gain reduction..as for the vu, I could care less if it tracks very accurately...do it with your ears man! Alot of "big boys" cover up the vu with a piece of paper and dial it in so they won't be influenced by the meter. I hear Sifams track pretty well although they are pricey...
Cheers,
Ray