Analog Man Bi-CompROSSor Compressor – Rev5 circuit with MIX control is new 2017 version of the Bicomp with 5 knobs in a row (MIX and ATTACK knobs). This is pretty much the same as REV4 with the addition of a MIX control, which can go from full dry (no compression) to full wet (same as REV4). Mixing in dry gives you the attack of the note, which is compressed away normally, if you want to hear that. When set at full dry, the pedal becomes a clean boost/buffer pedal and makes pedals after it sound really great, with more presence.

The Analog Man Bi-CompROSSor Compressor are two very different compressors in one enclosure. The CompROSSor™, a hand made pedal based on the Ross compressor and the Juicer, a hand made Dan Armstrong™ Orange Squeezer compressor clone (old orange box).

The Ross compressor is a highly sought after pedal that has been out of productions for a very long time. It is considered by many to be the grand daddy of all compressors with vintage example costing big dollars. The Ross compressor was an improved circuit that followed the original MXR Dyna-Comp. The Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer has a very unique attack and is best remembered for players like Larry Carlton plugging in the little box into his Gibson 335!

UPDATE: I sent the Bi-CompROSSor Compressor back to Analog Man to have a RYCK switch installed. They turned this around in a few days and was only about $45 plus shipping. Honestly, I did not know about the RYCK switch when I bought this unit direct from Analog Man. I have been using the Jangle Box with my 12-string Rickenbacker 660/12 (like I did with the Danelectro 12-string I recently sold). The Jangle Box is a great little compressor that has a bright switch that allows you to dial in the old school Beatles or Byrds 12 string sound. Only issue is it is a simple two knob compressor and its a bit noisy.

The Keeley Compressor Plus also has a single coil/humbucker switch and sounds quite great on the 12-string Rickenbacker. Not quite as bright as the Jangle Box. Since the Analog Man Bi-CompROSSor Compressor is such a well made unit I thought adding the RYCK switch would give me a bit quieter option. After a few emails with Analog Mike I went for the quick mod. Adding the RYCK switch makes this compressor more versatile with humbuckers as well.

Roger McQuinn has said he used to run his 12-string Rickenbacker direct into the console and uses into two studio compressors to get that jingle-jangle 60s sound we all love. The Roger McQuinn 12-string Rickenbacker signature model (I used to own) has a built-in compressor not much different from the old Dyna-Comp circuit. Roger McQuinn uses a Jangle Box sometimes and even endorsed it.

Sound great with the Rickenbacker 12-string. In comparison to the Jangle Box, I would say not quite as bright, or as noisy. The Jangle Box tends to make the Rickenbacker 12-string sound a bit thin at its brighter setting. Where the Analog Man Bi-CompROSSor Compressor with RYCK switch allows for a bit more body and tweaking. Since the Bi-CompROSSor Compressor also has a Orange Squeezer compressor using both can be very interesting. The Bi-CompROSSor Compressor is a bit quite at its brighter settings. Running them on batteries also can sometimes help the noise level. Also if recording, you could always add a noice gate to the chain. All three compressors I mentioned here are great and work well.

Ryck toggle option
The Dynacomp and Ross circuit is not very bright, to keep white noise down. But sometimes it’s nice to have a bright trebly tone, as heard on Rickenbacker guitar’s built-in compressor. Looking at the Rickenbacher schematic, it’s about the same as the Dyna/Ross except it allows more treble for that jingle-jangle sound. We decided to offer this with a three-way switch so you can get just the amount of treble you want. One position is the exact normal Dynacomp/Ross value, for about the same tone as when the pedal is OFF, and low noise. The second position adds a bit more treble and just a touch of noise – this may be great to use all the time with a dark guitar like a Les Paul with high output pickups. The third position is twice as bright, close to the Rickenbacker setting, for a sound that really pops, with a bit of noise that you won’t notice till you stop playing. We can put this toggle on any of our CompROSSor or Dynacomp pedals when ordered, or we can add it later on which costs a bit more as it’s more work to add it after the pedal is built. See our MODFORM for sending in your pedal, there is a REV5 board option and the Ryck option, and both together for a price savings. The RYCK does not change the DRY sound on the MIX option, only the WET sound.

From Analog Man
The 30+ year-old original Ross Compressors are about impossible to find and VERY expensive. This led us to first come up with a clone which we made by modifying a Dunlop built MXR Dynacomp reissue, starting in 1999.

In the year 2000, there were no Ross Clones being made. So with the help of Alfonso Hermida (Zen Drive), we reverse-engineered an old Ross, and have been making our own version, the Analog Man compROSSor pedal, from scratch ever since. Our comprossors soon became extremely popular and had a long waiting list. So others came out with Klones of the Ross compressor, which is easier now, as all the info to build one can now be found online. But just building from a recipe will not give the same results as a cook who knows how and why to include or discard certain ingredients, and add the perfect seasonings. So we are staying a few steps ahead of the others, you will see the differences in quality and features below and can hear them even more. We came out with the ATTACK control in 2001, which one of our COMPetitors finally added in 2005 after years of saying it was not needed. But seems he only added half of an attack control- it only goes one way from the stock setting. Ours is able to ADD or SUBTRACT from the stock setting, which we put in the middle of the range. We also added the MIX control in 2016 to allow clean blend (parallel compression).

Way Huge had made the Saffron Squeeze pedal in the mid 1990s, which is a hot-rodded Ross compressor. These are very popular and tend to sell for even more than an original Ross compressor. Different transistors and a few different capacitors were used, and some capacitors are added. We were able to offer our comprossor with these specs by special request if you are familiar with the Saffron Squeeze. But the newfangled transistors used in the Saffron Squeeze are not as steady and smooth, so we prefer not doing 100% SS specs.

We have slowly been improving our Comprossor every year, and are using some of the Saffron Squeeze improvements in all of our comprossors now. This makes them a little more open and less squashed than the other comps on the market. We have also tuned the low and high end of the pedal, so as to keep your signal from being changed. With the MIX knob all the way down, you cannot tell if the pedal is ON of OFF, the sound is not changed at all.

We always use New Old Stock (NOS) CA3080E chips in our comps, I don’t think any other well-known brands are still using them. We have some original 1978 RCA chips that I have been saving for years, so I am putting them up as an option. I don’t think they sound much different, but they are the exact same ones used in the old grey Ross compressors so it’s pretty cool to have one in your pedal.

In April, 2013 we came out with REV4, which improved the COMPROSSOR (left side of BICOMP) circuit. Mike had been playing in a band for a few years, and noticed that SOME pedals on his board would not drive a load well, they would get dark and dull, due to a bad (high) output impedance. This is easily tested by running pedals into something like a low impedance volume pedal, with a switchable buffer between them. The ARDX20 with the delay level down is excellent for testing – when ON it’s a great buffer, when OFF it’s true bypassed. To test a pedal, simply turn the buffer on and off and listen for a change in tone. With most pedals, like our Chorus, Juicer, etc, there is no difference – they can drive the signal to your amp through long cables or volume pedals no problem. But the Comprossor sounded dull when the buffer was removed. The original Ross, Dynacomp, and all the other Ross clones do the same exact thing- they really need a buffer after them to sound good.

Also these pedals don’t have a very loud output, especially when you hit them hard, for example with humbuckers or a boosted signal. One other problem all these pedals have is phase reversal – they flip the phase of your signal when you turn them ON. This may not be a problem for most people, but if you split your signal and combine it, or run into two amps, the out of phase signals will cancel and you will get a VERY thin sound. Also, for use as a clean boost, there was too much compression even with the SUSTAIN pot all the way down. So we reduced the minimum compression amount, without changing the maximum amount. Now the pedal is more usable as a clean boost, and also sounds great left on all the time as a tone sweetener/buffer. It’s great stacked into dirt pedals, chorus, vibes, etc now. With these problems fixed, there is no need for a blend knob, you should be able to keep your pure tone without the need for additional circuitry.

New 2017 REV5 CompROSSor with MIX control for Parallel Compression now available!