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CIQ‐1 COMPIQ MINI ONE PRO COMPRESSOR PEDAL
MANUAL
Last modified: April 10, 2020
SPECIFICATIONS
Input impedance: > 1MΩ
Output Impedance: ~100Ω
Ratio: 1:1 to inf:1
SENSE Threshold: Lo: ‐40dBu, Hi: user settable from ‐40dBu to 10dBu
Make‐up gain: ‐6dB to +20dB
0dB input reference level: ‐20dBu (77.5mV)
Output noise: ‐95dBV @0dBV gain
THD: 0.05% for ‐5dBV input signal level @ 1kHz
Output frequency response: ‐2dB @ 40Hz; 0dB @ 100Hz ‐ 22KHz
Optimal Power Voltage: 9‐12VDC ±10% Center Negative Barrel
DC Power Plug Barrel: Ø 5.1/2.1mm, >12mm long
Power Consumption: < 25mAh
Product Size: Lenght: 39mm, Depth: 92mm, Height: 51mm
Product Weight: 163 gr.
Packed Weight: ~300 gr.
ADVICE, WARNING & CAUTIONS
‐ Read this manual and keep it handy.
‐ Do not exceed 12VDC (center negative) when powering this pedal.
‐ Use a DC Power Plug with a barrel Ø 5.1/2.1mm, 12mm long.
‐ Do not place the pedal & batteries in direct sunlight, in extreme
temperature and humidity conditions, or in dusty environment.
‐ Do not make modifications to the circuit and do not install the
pedal in any other way except as described in this manual.
‐ As we struggle to improve ourselves and our products, we may
change products specifications, design, and features without notice.
Likewise, this manual may be changed or modified without notice so
we advise you to download it from the website before using the
product.
INTRODUCTION
Thank you for choosing the CompIQ MINI ONE Pro Compressor as
your audio dynamic processing tool for your instrument.
CIQ‐1 CompIQ MINI ONE
is an all analog studio grade compressor
featuring
Ratio, Switchable
SENSE threshold (one fixed and one
user settable)
,
Make‐up Gain
manual controls,
Hard Compression
Knee
,
Dynamic Auto Attack & Release
timings with soft curves to
balance the hard knee, and
Dry/Wet Mix
control for a perfect blend
of processed and clean signal. A true
RMS‐level detector
constantly
measures input signal and applies accurate compression through a
transparent sounding,
high performance Blackmer® VCA
. The exact
amount of compression is indicated by a
5‐LED display
.
This compression circuit was designed with guitar and bass in mind,
but make no mistake, it can add warmth and dynamic feeling to
any audio signal, including string instruments, harmonica, brass
instruments, even vocals ‐ with an appropriate preamp.
EFFECT CONTROLS
1.
FOOTSWITCH ‐
When engaged, the switch routes the audio
signal through the circuitry, and Power LED is lit Green. When
pushed again, the signal is routed in
True Bypass
from Input to
Output, leaving the audio untouched. This routing is still
available even when pedal is not powered.
2.
RATIO
‐ This control sets how much the audio signal is going to
be compressed, after it passes above the set threshold. It has a
continuous range starting from
1:1
(for one unit of input signal
level you get one unit of signal output level; which means no
compression is applied) and up to
Infinite:1
. At
9'clock
, the
control corresponds to
2:1 ratio
‐ a mild, musical and very useful
compression, which delicately evens out signal level jumps. At
12'clock
it corresponds to
4:1 ratio
‐ usually set when more
compression feel is desirable, like when playing arpegiated
chords. At
3'clock
it corresponds to
10:1 ratio
‐ a rather
aggressive compression, which may be desirable when note
sustain is needed, or a country style music is played. After 20dB
amount of compression, the amplitude reduction tends to
behave like Inf:1 ratio, which corresponds to a
Limiting effect
.
When used as limiter, use Threshold control to set the level after
which compressor will act like a limiter, and set Ratio above 10:1.
Keep in mind that the more compression is applied, the more
make‐up gain is needed, which results in a normal increase of
noise.
At Inf:1 ratio, the sound will be squished quite a lot. At
this ratio, a lot of make‐up gain is needed to compensate the
reduction in volume. However, when high ratios are used in
conjunction with dry/wet mix control, the sound becomes very
pleasant and a lot of its initial dynamic is recovered while still
keeping the peaks on hold. This is a known studio trick, named
parallel compression or the New York compression style.
3.
SENSE THRESHOLD
‐ This control sets the signal level after which
compression is applied.
Compression is only applied to the
portion of signal that goes above the threshold.
The SENSE
switch has two pre‐set threshold levels. The
LO
setting (switch
down) is fixed at ‐40dBu and is suitable even for weakest
instrument's signal. In this setting, the compressor kicks in
immediately. The
HI
setting can be set by the user with the
inside trimmer, in a range from ‐40dBu and up to +10dBu. This
range can be used to accommodate higher output instruments.
By default, the HI setting of the SENSE switch was pre set at ‐
30dBu.
This is a very powerful control,
because it allows the
compression to affect only higher strokes of signal, while leaving
the meat and bone of audio untouched. This also translates into
a greater sound transparency and an increase in output level,
making some make‐up gain (or mixing Dry/Wet signals)
unnecessary, which, in turn, reduces amplification noise at the
output.
4.
MAKE‐UP GAIN
‐ Because compression means lowering the
output signal, some recovery gain is needed, to match output
with input level.
The more compression is applied
(higher
compression ratio),
the more recovery gain has to be dialed in
to compensate.
Be aware of the fact that at higher compression
ratios, the recovery circuit must re‐amplify a very low signal and
with amplification, more noise is introduced.
To overcome this,
we strongly advise using Threshold, setting lower compression
Ratios.
Ultimately, blend in some dry signal with the Mix control.
However, it makes no sense to over compress a signal at low
thresholds just to recover its gain afterward, and increase
output noise resulted from amplification.
