Romanian FX company Becos Effects has added the Pro Stella Compressor to its line of CompIQ pedals. The pedal is designed to provide an array of features – with rack unit-levels of tweakability – in a pedalboard-friendly format.
The CompIQ Pro Stella Compressor is built around a THAT Corp Analog Engine, the very same technology featured in rack-style compressors created by DBX, Presonus and the like. The circuit’s compression, limiting and harmonic distortion capabilities are provided by a true RMS-level sensor and a Blackmer voltage controlled amplifier (VCA).
The pedal’s crowning glory, as mentioned earlier, is its comprehensive control system. For its compression function, it features six main knobs and four switches:
Knobs: ratio, threshold, attack, release, tone and make-up gain
Switches: compression knee (soft/hard), side chain filter (normal/low/deep), timing (manual/auto fast/auto slower) and tilt-EQ frequency pivot (330Hz /1KHz)
The auto-timing circuit is worth mentioning here, because it can be set to respond to playing dynamics – handy when you don’t need to fine-tune timing settings.
Another highlight of the CompIQ Pro Stella Compressor is its analog tape saturation circuit. It features independent saturation and level controls, which work in tandem with a wet/dry mix knob to produce a wide range of tones. Lo- and Hi-cut filters add an extra layer of versatility to this circuit.
The CompIQ Pro Stella Compressor runs on either a 9V battery or power supply.
More information at becosfx.com.