Compressor Mk2

Empress Effects Bass Compressor provides unparalleled sonic accuracy and versatility; equipped with input and gain reduction metering, adjustable compression attack and release, a mix knob for parallel compression, and an external sidechain input with a variable high pass filter and two ‘tone + colour’ knobs. Create distinctive bass soundscapes with added harmonics and tone-shaping.

Input: sets the level entering the compressor circuit. Higher levels result in more compression.

Attack: controls how quickly the compressor will reduce the gain when an incoming signal exceeds the treshold. Attack time increases as you turn the knob clockwise. Range: 50μs - 50ms

Mix: controls the level between the dry signal and the wet (compressed) signal. All the way clockwise is 100% wet signal and all the way counterclockwise is 100% dry signal. Blending in the dry signal brings back the dynamics that can be lost during compression. This technique of parallel compression allows for added sustain without losing the life associated with an uncompressed signal.

Ratio: determines how aggressive the gain reduction is. 2:1 - good for gentle gain control. Very transparent. 4:1 - a great general purpose setting. Still transparent but offers a large range of compression. 10:1 - heavy compression. Close to limiting.

Output: sets the output level. This will not aect the amount of compression. Can be used to make up gain lost in compression or as a boost for soloing.

Release: controls how quickly the compressor returns to its initial level. Release time increases as you turn the knob clockwise. Range: 50ms - 1s

Side Chain High Pass: a variable high pass lter that lters low frequencies from the sidechain. The lter frequency increases from 20Hz to 400Hz as the knob is turned clockwise.

Tone + Colour: The left position is a mid range cut at 500Hz, while the right position is a upper mid range boost at 2kHz. Both positions engage the ‘colour’ circuit which adds a subtle touch of harmonic distortion. *

Sidechain connector jack: The sidechain connector jack on the back of the pedal allows you to alter the sidechain signal by inserting an external device, such as an EQ. You can also have an external audio source trigger the compression by sending audio in through the ring of the sidechain jack. The sidechain connector accepts a 1/8” TRS plug: Tip = send, Ring = return, Sleeve = ground.

• All Analog Signal Path - no digitals in here!
• Extremely Transparent - Add dynamic control without altering the original tone of your instrument
• 3 Compression Ratios - 2:1, 4:1 and 10:1 ratios offer lots of flexibility
• Attack and Release Control - allows for ultimate control over the compression characteristics
• Mix - Blend uncompressed signal in with the compressed signal for parallel compression, New York Style!
• Metering - Meter both gain reduction and input on separate meters.
• Tone + Color  - Adds mild harmonic distortion with a mid range cut or an upper mid range boost. 
  
• Sidechain Send/Return- 3.5mm TRS jack send and return for sidechain compression.  
• Sidechain High Pass Filter -  a variable high pass filter that filters low frequencies from the sidechain. The filter frequency ranges from 20Hz to 400Hz.
  
• Improved Low End Frequency Response - To handle those low low sounds, completely flat down to 20Hz.
• True Display LEDs - Bright multi-color LEDs always let you know what the compressor is doing.
• True Bypass - The Empress Compressor employs true bypass, so you can be sure that it's not affecting the signal when disengaged.
• Small Size - New enclosure approximately half the size of the original compressor, which is delightfully small when considering all the features packed into this unit.