CompIQ MINI Pro Compressor MK2

Audio compression mechanics on CompIQ MINI Pro MK2

The CompIQ MINI Pro Compressor MK2 pedal is great for guitar, bass, and any other electric instruments.

Here’s what’s happening inside: the audio signal first passes through a coupling plastic film capacitor placed in front of the Burr-Brown™ FET IC buffer; from there, the signal is split, with one part sent to the high-performance Blackmer® VCA and another to the Side Chain.

Out of VCA, the signal goes through the Dry/Wet Mixer, then through another coupling plastic film capacitor straight to the output. The signal path is kept as short and pristine as possible, ensuring no frequency loss or distortion, even with the strongest signal and regardless of settings.

The magic lies in the Side Chain: an RMS-level detector measures the signal amplitude in real time, creating the initial control envelope for dynamic processing. Several parameters can then be trimmed to preference:

  • Feed-Forward or Feed-Back compression?
  • Hard or Soft Knee compression?
  • How much compression the Ratio should apply?
  • When should compression Threshold be applied along the signal amplitude
  • How much recovery Gain is needed to restore the average output level?
  • How do you want to set the Auto Timing* to act, Fast (A & R) or Slower (A & R)?
  • How do you want to filter the Lows in the Side Chain: with cut or boost?
  • How much Dry signal you want to blend over the Wet signal?

Throughout, the 5-LED Gain Reduction Meter provides a visual indication of compression.

Truly, this is as state-of-the-art, especially within the MINI’s ultra-compact physical dimensions.

* On average, the Attack time is 10x faster than Release time on both settings, Fast or Slower. While the signal amplitude is above the threshold, a hold takes place, which makes this mechanism dynamically adapt to the audio content.