For many players, the simple two-knob format of the MXR Dyna Comp is all they need from a compressor pedal. One dial for output, the other for sensitivity, set, forget, tweak if needed. But compression can be more, there are other parameters to explore, and Chase Bliss has just launched a pedal that takes this tone-sweetening, transient-taming effect over the horizon.
The Chase Bliss Clean is described as a “creative compressor” and presents players with a two stages of compression, both 100 per cent analogue, all rendered in full stereo.
And if you are familiar with the work done at Chase Bliss it won’t shock you to learn that there are dip-switches galore (16 of ‘em!) aligned across the top of the pedal to add to an already formidable complement of controls.
We love compression. Whether administered automatically by a cranked tube amp or deliberately dialled in on a stompbox, it can make the difference to your tone.
Oftentimes it is the always-on effect on your pedalboard. But that said, the words “fun” and “wild side” are not terms we’d use – or ever hear used – to describe what compression does. This, however, is what you are in for when you add Clean to your ‘board.
“Developed slowly and through a variety of experiments, Clean explores the wild side of compression and brings the interactivity of distortion circuits to a clean signal,” says Chase Bliss. “The idea behind this pedal is to make clean guitar as fun as overdriven guitar.”
What this means in practice is that you can dial in tube-like sag. No need to bother with a tube amp at all. There are a pair of swell modes that sound like they yield some very interesting musical possibilities for your instrument’s attack.
Clean also has a dynamic EQ section that is interactive, responding to what and how you are playing your electric guitar.
There is a physical modelling feature to introduce quote/unquote “organic instability” and that is where the rubber meets the road on a Chase Bliss pedal design; we need the demo videos to give us a taste of the pedal’s creative potential.
Even then, we are only scratching the surface. Back on the more familiar compressor tasks, Clean has an adaptive attack and release and a sidechain input for syncing with external instruments.
Helpfully, considering that even some of the best compressors introduce unwanted noise into your signal, there are emphasis filters for “cassette-style noise reduction” and an onboard noise gate.
Check out the demo video for an idea of how this sounds in practice. Maybe even take a read of the Clean manual in lieu of a purchase. Priced $469, Chase shops from 1 November. Head over to Chase Bliss for more info.
