So this is actually a great little compressor pedal that I currently have on my board and it stays on. It was made in the eighties and has the pink paint job to prove it. I paid $45 bucks for it of the Fleabay and it works like a dream. The CP10 is basically a clone of the Famous Ross Compressor and the Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer (Ross OJ). It’s an all analog device. I’m sure if you’ve heard of this pedal and done any research of your own you have already discovered that the thing you have to watch for on the 10 series Ibanez pedals is the in/out jacks. They are soldered to the board, and can sometimes have cracked solder joints, which means an intermittent connection. If you find one with that problem, don’t fret, just reflow the solder and it’s good to go. I personally have had zero problems with mine.

First thing I noticed when I played through this pedal was that it’s super quite, no hiss, no fuzziness, totally silent. Second thing I noticed is that it indeed sounds quite similar to the old Ross compressors, which for $45 bucks is something to get excited about. It’s a three knob compressor: Attack, Sustain and Level. Dial the attack knob back for the faster attack time. Turn her up for longer/slower attack times (I have mine cranked almost full throttle). This is helpful for humbuckers or bass guitarists that want a very punchy tone. You can use the sustain control to give a sustain effect with almost no increase in noise or high frequency loss. Your level is just like any other level control, use it to match the bypass mode signal with the effected signal. You can also use this as a volume boost during solos. It provides the ability to overdrive your amp if you so choose. To use the compressor as a lead boost, simply turn the sustain all of the way down, and then use the level control to drive your amp into a pretty sweet overdrive tone. That’s not what I use mine for, but hey, to each their own.

Compressor/Sustainers, unlike distortion effects, do not force changes in your sound (distort it) to create sustain. Instead they hold the basic integrity of your original sound while adding subtle changes to the attack and sustain. Essentially you can use this pedal to “Squeeze” your tone signal, add volume and dynamic control or push the front of your amp. If you are mainly looking for the “squeeze” factor, you’re in business with the CP10. The CP10 gives PLENTY of squash, decent dynamic control and again, it’s quiet. I see them floating around on Internet auction sites for around $40-$55 and they sit around for days. In terms of popularity, it’s a bit underrated, but it’s a pretty darn great pedal.

If you want a Steely Dan type of guitar tone, or just want to squish the balls off your audience (squish the balls of your audience??) then this box is for you. It’s reasonably versatile too, if you just want to add a bit of Bluesy/R&B kick.

Submitted by Andrew L, Instagram

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