One of the most important tools a guitarist can have- a Compressor/Limiter. Used "mildly" and your chords shimmer more, bass notes punch more, highs jangle more. True Optical- NOT a cheap digital effect! Dial in some more gain and you've got a super lead boost that keeps each string punching clean and loud. Crank the threshold up and you've got sustain dripping from your fingertips...infinite sustain is a reality, not just a dream
The CP-1 is a sweet optical compressor designed specifically for live performance. VR-2 is your "Speed" control- This will decide how fast the Compressor ramps up. Set it fully counterclockwise for a slow ramp- very nice for infinite sustain- just as the note begins to die the Compressor kicks in for a seamless singing lead. Turn it counterclockwise for a much quicker attack, making chords and finger picked lines crisp and clear with no sign of compressor "pumping"
J1 is the "Output Gain" mode. This decides how loud the final, compressed tone is. You've got a full 12db of clean gain available here- so it makes for a sweet gain boost as well as a nice way to make clean and crisp chords ring true. J2 is "Threshold"- this decides how much the input level must drop before the compressor dials in. Low settings mean the compressor kicks in only as the note dies quite a bit, and higher setting introduce compression very early.
The cool part of this circuit is the limiter, which keep all loud notes limited to a specific peak. This is especially useful if you have a rack full of pedal, or play with a loud drummer! Picking dynamics don't lose their feel and transparency, they just get a little louder, with virtually no change in tone.
SW-1 allows you to hook up a separate 100K pot to VR1 if that makes your installation easier. SW2 remains "ON" for correct operation.
You can choose from a push/pull on/off knob below, for true stealth performance, or a surface mounted on/off switch. Find a jack that matches what's in your guitar now and that's all you need.
J3 and J4 are your switch locations- the push/pull pot plugs into both, the Min Switch plugs into J4 for true bypass mode.
The DL-1 comes with a fully illustrated step-by-step installation guide.
