CIQ‐2COMPIQMINIPROCOMPRESSORPEDAL
MANUAL
SPECIFICATIONS
Inputimpedance:>1MΩ
Outputimpedance:~100Ω
Ratio:1:1toinf:1inFeedForward,1:1to10:1inFeed‐Back
Thresholdrange:‐40dButo+10dBu
Gain:‐6dBto+20dB
0dBinputreferencelevel:FF=‐26dBu(50mV),FB=‐28dBu(40mV)
THD:<0.1%1kHz,0dBuin/out,600Ωload,24KHzBW,12VDCpower,
through6thharmonic
MaxInputLevel:+5.5dBu
MaxOutputLevel:+5.5dBu
Outputfrequencyresponse:‐2dB@40Hz;0dB@100Hz‐22KHz
Optimalpowervoltage:9‐12VDC±10%CenterNegative
DCpowerplug:Ø5.1/2.1mm,12mmlongBarrel
Powerconsumption:<38mAh
Productsize:Length:39mm,Depth:92mm,Height:51mm
Productweight:165gr.
Packedweight:190gr.
ADVICE,WARNING&CAUTIONS
‐Readthismanualandkeepithandy.
‐Donotplacethepedal&batteriesindirectsunlight,inextreme
temperatureandhumidityconditions,orindustyenvironment.
‐Donotmodifythecircuitinsideandavoidproductphysicalabuse.
‐Wemaychangeproduct’sspecifications,design,anditsfeatures
withoutnotice,includingthecontentofthismanual.
INTRODUCTION
ThankyouforchoosingtheCompIQMINIProCompressorasdynamic
processingtoolforyourelectricinstrumentandaudioproduction.The
MINIisanallanalogstudiogradecompressor/limiterfeaturingthetop
oftheline4320THATAnalogEngine®whichincorporatesatrueRMS‐
leveldetectorandahighperformanceBlackmer®VCAatthecoreof
apowerfulsetofcontrols:Ratio,Threshold,Make‐upGain,Soft/Hard
CompressionKnee,Fast/SlowAutoAttack&ReleaseTimings,anda
Dry/WetMixforblendingprocessedandcleansignals.Additionally,a
Side Chain selector sets for FeedForward(FF)orFeed‐Back (FB)
compression, both of which being served by a variable Side Chain
Filterthatcontrolshowtorespondtothehigher(orlower)amplitude
ofthelow‐frequencyrangeofthesignal.Theamountofdynamic
processing is indicated by a 5‐LED Gain Reduction Display. The
CompIQ MINI can be used with any electric instruments such as
guitars,basses,keyboards,electricviolinsandcellos,etc.,oracoustic
instruments like guitars, violins, cellos, or brass instruments like
trumpets, etc., and even for voice processing when used with a
microphonepreamp.
FOOTSWITCH ‐ When engaged, the switch routes the audio signal
through the compressor and Power LEDislitGreen.Whenpushed
again, the signal is True Bypassed from Input to Output, hard wired
and untouched. The mechanical switching is usually silent but
occasionallypops canoccur, dependingeither ifotherdevices inthe
signalchainareplacedbeforeorafterthecompressororifswitching
takesplacewhileplayingtheinstrument.
RATIO‐Thiscontrolsetshowmuchtheaudiosignalthatpassesabove
thesetthresholdisgoingtobecompressed.ForFFcompression,ithas
acontinuousrangestartingfrom1:1ratio(foroneunitofinputsignal
level equals one unit of signal output level and no compressionis
applied) and up to Infinite:1.At9'clocktheratiois2:1. At noon the
ratio is 4:1 and at3'clock it gets to 10:1 ratio,afterwhicha20:1or
infinite:1ratioisapplied.InFBmodewithFasttimingandHardKnee
thecompressioncanreachamaximumratioof10:1.
THRESHOLD ‐ This control sets the level where the input signal will
trigger the compression which is applied only to the portion ofthe
signalthatpassesabovethatthreshold.Itshighdynamicrangespans
from‐40dButo+10dBuandisintendedtoservebothinstrumentand
line‐levelsignals.Whensetverylow,itmakesthecompressionkickin
immediatelyevenforsmallinputsignals,especiallyinFBcompression.
Sethigher,itletsagoodportionofthesignaluntouched.Thisisavery
powerfulandresponsivecontrolbecauseitallowsthecompressionto
only affect the higher peaks of the signal while leaving the rest of
audiountouched.RaisingtheThresholdtranslatestoagreatersound
transparencyandanincreaseinoutputlevel,makingsomeMake‐up
Gain (or mixing Dry/Wet signals) unnecessary. This in turn reduces
amplification noise at the output. When combined with high Ratio,
FastTiming,andHardKnee,theThresholdcontrolisusefulforhard
limiting.SoftlimitingcanbeachievedwhencombinedwithSoftKnee
andSlowerTiming.ThepositionoftheThresholdcontrolgivesan
indication of the strength of the input signal. With line‐level signals
the Threshold will sit more CW, while with lower instrument‐level
signalsitmaybedialedupmoreCCW.BoostinglowsintheSCF
extends the thresholdfurther down to ‐55dBu, raising the perceived
sensitivityofthecompressor.
MAKE‐UPGAIN–Reducingthedynamicrangeofacompressedsignal
resultsinloweringtheaveragevolumesorecoverygainisneededto
match the output with the input level. The more compression is
appliedthemorerecoverygainisneededtocompensate,especially
in FF compression.Athighercompressionratiostherecoverycircuit
m
ustre‐amplifyaverylowsignal and with more amplification more
noise is introduced. The Make‐up Gain control has also a different
function.Bydesign,theFBsidechainemployedbytheCompIQMINIis
differentfromclassicfeed‐backsidechaintopology.Here,thevariable
Make‐upGainbecomespartoftheFBsidechaincircuitandisno
longerusedonlyforcompensatingthegainreductionbutalsotovary
thelevelofthefeed‐backsignalsenttothe RMS‐leveldetector. This
feature expands the range of compression adjustments which can
(and sometimes must) be combined with fine re‐adjustments for
Ratio, Threshold, Timing, Knee, Side Chain Filter and Mix to achieve
the desired dynamic feel along with balancing the average output
levelofthecompressor.Thinkcreatively.Outputlevelcanbeobtain
notonlybyamplifyingwiththeMake‐Upgainbutalsobylowering
the Ratio, raising the Threshold, filtering lows with the Side Chain
Filterwhichleadstoamplifyinglowsattheoutput,etc.
SIDECHAINFEED–TheFEEDswitchsetsthecompressor’ssidechain
topologyforFeedForward(F)orFeed‐Back(B)typesofcompression.
SomeFBandsomemilderFFcompressionsettingscanoverlapintheir
audible result in the sense that the compression effect may sound
similarforbothmodes.FBcompressionismoreaboutthe"feel"and
lessabout "precision",is smoother,less obvious,more airy,and less
punchy. In FB mode, Knee selection is less differentiated when
comparedtoFFcompressionwheretheHardKneeeffectismore
accentuated.FBcompressionmaynotbesuitableforlimiting.Slower
timing (plus Soft Knee) contributes even more to the smoothnessof
FB compression. Note! When maximum Gain is used in FB mode,
smallsignalsincludingbuzz,humorelectromagneticfieldscaptured
by instrument pickups and/or cables could trigger the compression
because the RMS detector is fed with a very hot signal.Thiscan
happen if the Side Chain Filter boosts the low frequencies of the
controlsignal,especiallywhendialedformaximumboost(fullyCCW).
You may reduce the sensibility of the FB side chain by loweringthe
Gain or/and Ratio, raising the Threshold, use Slower timing or/and
SoftKnee,trimminglowswiththeSCF,oracombinationofthese.
