After Strymon's fx artists have already caused quite a stir in the field of high-quality effect devices with their previous creations, the US-American company presents its latest trick with the Strymon Compadre . The combination of Dual Voice Compression and Boost allows precise control over the dynamics and strength of the signal, making the Compadre easy to integrate into existing effects setups. On the left side of the pedal is the boost circuit, which allows for a continuous signal boost of up to 14db and operates either in clean mode without clipping, or in dirty mode with a distinctive overdrive characteristic. Furthermore the sound of the boost can be colored by the Boost EQ switch , which provides additional treble in Treble mode , mid-focused sounds in Mid setting or an even boost of all frequencies in Flat mode . The compressor section, on the other hand, offers two switchable compression circuits , Studio and Squeeze . The former provides smooth vintage compression, while the latter provides hard dynamic compression in the style of classic effect pedals. The Strymon Compadre's compression remains organic and with a natural attack behaviour even on hard settings, when the dry signal is added to the overall output by means of a continuously variable Dry control .
Sounds great! Can go from pretty transparent to super squishy. Very clean sounding tonally. The volume pedal input might be a bonus for some, but for me it was a selling point. The boost works great ( I prefer the clean boost ) and the midi control and presets make this a no brainer. Usual Strymon build quality and design. Might seem pricey for just a compressor but its a compressor/boost/volume pedal. So well worth the investment.