If you’re a fan of compression on your pedalboard, there’s good chance you’ve heard about the wonderful compressors being made over at Origin Effects. With a new lineup of smaller effects in their current arsenal, they have become a giant in the world of studio-quality compression for players throughout the world. Today, however, we’re going back to where it all started, with their Cali76 Standard Big Box Compressor Limiter, a classic in its own right, and one we were more than happy to send through the ringer.
Based on the vintage Urei 1176 classic studio compressor, the Cali76 STD sought to bring high-quality compression OUT of the studio and into the houses, garages and practice rooms of guitar nerds everywhere. Not only is it a no-hiss machine, unlike some pedal compressors, but it doesn’t suck your tone, either. A high-fidelity option with low noise and no signal degradation? Sign us up!
The Ratio control lets you adjust the amount of gain reduction applied for any given increase in guitar signal. At the lowest ratio-setting, doubling the input signal (an increase of 100%) will result in the output increasing by 19%. At the highest ratio-setting, the output would rise by only 3.5%, for the same increase in input signal. The latter case represents “Limiting”.
The Attack knob determines the time taken for the compressor to react to the presence of a signal, or the delay
from the instant when you play the note, to the moment the compressor actually reduces the gain. Release determines the duration of any gain reduction, measured from the time that compression is triggered to the point that the compressor has returned to its idle state.
The Output control simply varies the level of signal present at the pedal’s output jack, and the Input/Comp knob allows you to vary the gain of this preamplifier. Turning this control clockwise increases the overall gain of the pedal, and at the same time increases the amount of compression.
While it does take up a TON of real estate on your pedalboard, you’d be hard-pressed to find a finer example of studio compression that can even come close to fitting anywhere near your feet. Crafted on Class-A discrete path and FET transistors, the Cali76 Standard brings studio-quality compression to your guitar rig or home recording setup in a condensed package. These guys are discontinued, rare and getting on the expensive side, price-wise, so grab one if you see it – you’re not going to be disappointed. Be sure to check out the demo below to hear just what this puppy is capable of…
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