Product Description
Compadre - Dual Voice Compressor and Boos
YOUR DREAM TONE STARTS HERE.
Start your signal chain with the best possible version of your guitar tone. Treat your guitar signal to true studio quality analog compression with two distinct voices for smooth transparency or vintage squeeze. Hit the Boost switch to add clean boost or soft-clipped dirty boost, with the EQ curve of your choice. Mix in some dry signal for natural attack even with extreme compression settings. Feel the perfectly tailored dynamic response, feeding your amp and effects just what they need to sound their best.
YOUR EVERYTHING UPGRADE.
From pickups, tubes, capacitors, to speaker cabinets—the aspects of a rig that can be upgraded or changed are nearly endless. Plug in Compadre and you may find you already have everything you need for the tone you’ve been seeking.
Bring out your amp’s character in ways you never thought possible. Compadre’s Class A JFET input circuit, studio quality analog compression, and musically voiced analog boost circuits all work together to make your amp sound like it was just modified by a world-class boutique amp designer.
SUPER FLEXIBLE, SUPER EASY.
Compadre gives you everything you need to shape your front end tone, and nothing to slow you down. Auto makeup gain and auto threshold mean that all you have to do is turn up the Compression knob to dial in the desired amount. Compadre’s wide variety of tone shaping features are all designed to easily sound great across a wide variety of settings.
TWO DISTINCT ANALOG COMPRESSION CIRCUITS.
Choose between two compression circuits, each with its own unique character. Studio mode gives you the smooth, beautifully transparent compression typically found in the best vintage studio rack units. For a harder compression effect typical of classic guitar pedals, Compadre’s Squeeze mode is designed to deliver heavy compression with maximum sustain.
BOOST THE SWEET SPOT, CLEAN OR DIRTY.
Compadre gives you two distinct analog boost circuits: a clean boost, and a dirty boost that introduces soft clipping, characteristic of an overdrive pedal. The selectable boost EQ ensures the perfect compliment to any guitar and amp combination. Add sparkle and shine with a treble boost, fatten your tone with the midrange boost, or level up the full frequency range with flat mode.
EXTENDED CONTROL.
Connect an expression pedal to add premium VCA-based volume control. Add an optional MiniSwitch or MultiSwitch Plus to store and recall your favorite settings. Integrate Compadre into a MIDI pedalboard using our MIDI EXP Cable and access up to 300 preset locations.
FRONT PANEL
REAR PANEL
VINTAGE INSPIRATION, MODERN EXECUTION.
The Compadre design project started with a study of some of the finest analog compressors ever created, inspiring and guiding our circuit design process. Utilizing a VCA in the compression circuits allowed us to carefully tune the exact response and dynamics we desired for each voicing.
For Studio mode, our goal was to achieve the musical and transparent sound found within our favorite studio rack units and the best vintage studio console bus compression. Careful tuning of our detection circuit granted us exacting control over decay, especially important for Squeeze mode. With ample sustain on tap, we paid special attention to creating a completely smooth decay, with no unwanted pumping artifacts.
INDEPENDENT BOOST AND COMPRESSION
For maximum versatility, Compadre allows you to use its Boost and Compression either together or independently from one another.
In this way Compadre is truly two pedals in one. Put that together with the ability to store and recall presets using MultiSwitch Plus or MIDI, and the possibilities are limitless.
ANALOG OR DIGITAL? WE CHOSE BOTH.
From the Class A JFET input circuit, to the VCA-based compression, to the Clean Boost and the diode soft clipping Dirty Boost, every aspect of Compadre’s audio signal processing is fully analog, with premium quality components, design, and workmanship throughout. The audio signal is never converted to or from digital.
In Compadre, the digital aspect comes in the form of digital control and programmability. By converting digital control messages to analog control voltages, we can offer full MIDI control and recallable presets while preserving a completely analog signal path from end to end.
SPECS
Sound Design
Ins, Outs, and Switches
Audio Quality and More
- Premium analog VCA (Voltage Controlled Amplifier) compressor circuits
- Two voicing options: smooth studio compression and hard pedal style compression
- Independently controlled clean or dirty boost circuit with 3 EQ options
- Dirty boost option provides overdrive when boost is engaged
- DRY Knob lets you blend the dry signal with the compressed signal to preserve attack transients
Ins, Outs, and Switches
Audio Quality and More
All Strymon pedals are Designed and Built in the USA.
DO THE COMPRESSOR AND BOOST WORK INDEPENDENTLY ON COMPADRE?
Yes, the BOOST on Compadre will operate completely independently of the COMP. This allows you to engage the BOOST side if the COMP side is bypassed.
Also, the bypass state of each side is saved per preset if you use Compadre with an external MiniSwitch to recall a favorite preset, a MultiSwitc Plus to recall 3 presets, or when using MIDI to recall up to 300 presets.
HOW MUCH BOOST CAN I GET WITH COMPADRE?
The amount of total output boost from Compadre varies by the settings dialed in with the controls.
- With the BOOST side, when set to CLEAN with the BOOST EQ set to flat, you get +14dB of clean boost when maxed.
- With the COMP side, you can get an additional +6dB with the LEVEL maxed out if the COMPRESSION is turned all the way down for no compression. Turning up COMPRESSION will increase the output level with squeeze providing more output than studio mode when maxed.
HOW DOES THE DRY KNOB WORK ON COMPADRE?
The DRY knob on Compadre is used to blend in uncompressed (dry) signal from the input along with the compressed signal when the COMP is engaged. This allows you to preserve the attack dynamics of your playing while still enjoying the sustain provided by the compressor. The level of the compressed signal remains consistent throughout the range of the DRY knob.
HOW DOES THE VOLUME JACK ON COMPADRE WORK?
You can connect a TRS expression pedal to Compadre’s VOLUME jack to control the output volume of the pedal. We recommend using an expression pedal with a minimum of 25k Ohm potentiometer.
- NOTE: When Compadre is set to Buffered or Auto Bypass modes, the expression pedal will still function as a volume pedal even when both the BOOST and COMP are bypassed.
CAN I USE COMPADRE WITH A BASS?
Yes! Compadre has a full frequency response that does not filter out any of the low end. This allows you to use Compadre with bass or any other instruments that output low frequency audio signals.
HOW TO CONTROL COMPADRE WITH MIDI
MIDI CONNECTIONS TO COMPADRE
To begin using Compadre with an external MIDI device, connect the MIDI out jack from a pedal, controller, or computer interface to the FAV/MIDI jack on Compadre. The following devices can be used to send MIDI messages to Compadre:
- Strymon MIDI EXP cable (link)
- Strymon Conduit MIDI Hub (link)
- Compatible 5-pin MIDI to 1⁄4” MIDI Interface:
- Disaster Area Designs – DPC Gen 3 Series, DMC Gen 3 Series, MIDIBox
- Empress Effects – MIDIbox2
