USER MANUAL
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost Table of Contents Controls and Connections Front Panel 3 Rear Panel 6 Power Up Modes Bypass Mode 7 FAV/MIDI Jack Options 8 External Control Volume Pedal 9 FAV Switch Setup and Compare Mode 10 MultiSwitch Plus Setup 11 MIDI Functionality Configuring to Use MIDI 13 Saving MIDI Presets 17 MIDI Specifications 19 Factory Reset 20 Features 21 Specifications 22 Appendices Power Up Modes Quick Reference 24 Signal Flow Diagram 27 Sample Settings
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost Controls and Connections – Front Panel BOOST EQ Selects the frequency shape for clean and dirty boost. treble: Tightens the bottom end by boosting mid to high frequencies. mid: Fattens tone by pushing midrange frequencies. flat: Full range frequency response. COMP TYPE Select the type of compression. studio: Smooth compression as found in vintage rack compressors. squeeze: Hard compression typical of classic guitar pedals.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost Controls and Connections – Front Panel (cont.) BOOST COMPRESSION Adjusts the amount of boost when the boost circuit is active. Typical boost ~14dB in Flat Clean boost. Turning clockwise increases compression by lowering the threshold. Fully counterclockwise, no compression is applied. DRY LEVEL Adjusts the amount of dry signal summed with the compressor output. Adjusts the output level of the pedal by -6dB to +6dB when the compressor is engaged.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost Controls and Connections – Front Panel (cont.) BOOST COMP Engages and disengages the variable boost independent of the COMP. The boost is post-compression. RED LED ON indicates that the boost is engaged. Engages and disengages the VCA compressor independent of the BOOST. RED LED ON indicates that the compressor is engaged. NOTE: When both BOOST and COMP are disengaged, the bypass is either Buffered Bypass or True Bypass depending on the selected mode.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost Controls and Connections – Rear Panel IN BOOST TYPE High impedance ultra low-noise discrete Class A JFET preamp input. Selects between a clean or soft clipping boost circuit. OUT Low impedance mono output. CLEAN: Boost circuit increases output level without introducing noticeable clipping. DIRTY: Boost circuit increases output level while introducing the soft clipping characteristic of an overdrive pedal.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost Power Up Modes – Bypass Mode Setting Compadre to Buffered Bypass mode preserves the high frequency response of your guitar signal through your pedal chain and long cable runs. 1 Press and hold the COMP footswitch while connecting power to the pedal. Once both LEDs flash, release the footswitch. 2 Turn the COMPRESSION knob to select one of the options below. The COMP LED will change color to indicate the current status as the knob is turned.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost Power Up Modes – FAV/MIDI Jack Options Select the mode of the FAV/MIDI jack for external control of Compadre. 1 Press and hold the COMP footswitch while connecting power to the pedal. Once both LEDs flash, release the footswitch. 2 Turn the BOOST knob to select the function of the FAV/MIDI jack. The BOOST LED will change from RED to BLUE to indicate the current status as the knob is turned.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost External Control – Volume Pedal Use a TRS Expression pedal to control the output volume. 1 Connect the Expression pedal to the VOLUME jack of Compadre using a TRS cable. NOTE: When Compadre is in Buffered Bypass or Auto Bypass mode, the pedal will still function as a Volume pedal even when both BOOST and COMP are bypassed. (See page 7 for more details.) We recommend using an expression pedal with a 25k Ohm minimum potentiometer.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost External Control – FAV Switch Setup and Compare Mode Connect MiniSwitch or other external latching footswitch with a TRS cable to store and recall your favorite setting. 1 Configure the FAV/MIDI jack for FAV mode. (See page 8 for more info.) 2 Connect an external switch with a TRS cable to the FAV/MIDI jack. 3 Dial in your desired sound. 4 To save your sound as the FAV setting, press and hold the BOOST footswitch for 2 seconds.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost External Control – MultiSwitch Plus Setup Configure Compadre and MultiSwitch Plus for remote access to three presets. 1 Press and hold the BOOST footswitch while connecting power to the pedal. Hold until both LEDs stop blinking. 2 Turn the BOOST knob all the way counter-clockwise to set the MIDI channel to Channel 1. The BOOST LED should be GREEN. 3 Turn the COMPRESSION knob all the way counter-clockwise to set the MIDI Out mode to On.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost External Control – MultiSwitch Plus Setup (cont.) Selecting and saving Compadre presets using MultiSwitch plus. Preset 1 Preset 2 Preset 3 NOTE: Footswitches A, B, and C on MultiSwitch Plus correspond to MIDI program changes 1, 2, and 3. 1 Step on a switch that is not illuminated to recall the corresponding preset. 2 Step on an illuminated switch to bypass Compadre.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost MIDI Functionality - Configuring to Use MIDI Using MIDI unlocks a set of tools that can be used to load any of Compadre’s 300 preset locations using a suitable MIDI controller or interface connected to Compadre’s FAV/MIDI jack. This requires a MIDI controller/interface with at least one quarter-inch output or a Strymon MIDI EXP cable. When using a Strymon MIDI EXP Cable, the MIDI OUT mode must be set to OFF. Check strymon.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost MIDI Functionality - Configuring to Use MIDI (cont.) Step 1 – Set FAV/MIDI Jack Mode to MIDI Mode 1 Press and hold the COMP footswitch while connecting power to the pedal. Once both LEDs flash, release the footswitch. 2 Turn the BOOST knob clockwise until the BOOST LED is BLUE. 3 Press the BOOST or COMP footswitch again to store the FAV/MIDI jack mode.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost MIDI Functionality - Configuring to Use MIDI (cont.) Step 2 – Set MIDI Channel: This determines which MIDI channel Compadre will use to send and receive MIDI data. To select channel 4-16, you will need to connect Compadre to a MIDI device. 1 Press and hold the BOOST footswitch while connecting power to the pedal. Once both LEDs flash, release the footswitch. 2 Turn the BOOST knob to set the MIDI communication channel. BOOST LED indicates status.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost MIDI Functionality - Configuring to Use MIDI (cont.) Step 3 – Set MIDI Output Mode Determines whether Compadre will send MIDI data out. 1 Press and hold the BOOST footswitch while connecting power to the pedal. Once both LEDs flash, release the footswitch. TIP: A simple way to check that communication is working is to send CC #27 with a value of 127 when the COMP footswitch is OFF. This will turn the COMP footswitch on if MIDI is properly connected and configured.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost MIDI Functionality - Saving Presets When in MIDI mode, the current state of the pedal can be saved to any of Compadre’s 300 preset locations at any time. 1 To enter SAVE mode, press and hold the BOOST footswitch. The BOOST LED will blink BLUE to indicate that it is waiting to receive a MIDI Program Change message. 2 Send the unit a MIDI Program Change message from the connected MIDI device.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost MIDI Functionality - MIDI Specifications MIDI PROGRAM CHANGES Compadre contains 300 preset locations, numbered sequentially from 0-299. Because MIDI Program Change messages have a maximum number of 128 (0-127) the presets are grouped into three MIDI patch banks.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost MIDI Functionality - MIDI Specifications (cont.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost Factory Reset Restores the pedal to factory power up modes and secondary functions and replaces all stored presets with the factory defaults. 1 Press and hold the COMP footswitch while powering up the pedal. Once both LEDs flash, release the footswitch. 2 Sweep the DRY knob from 0-100% and back two (2) times. The BOOST LED will change colors at the extremes of the knob range and blink RED to indicate when the reset is taking place.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost Features • Analog VCA (Voltage Controlled Amplifier) compressor • Two voicing options: smooth studio compression and hard pedal style compression • Independently controlled clean or dirty boost circuit with 3 EQ options • Dirty boost option provides overdrive when boost is engaged • DRY Knob lets you blend the dry signal with the compressed signal to preserve attack transients • Output VCA allows Compadre to function as a volume pedal when a standard TRS expression p
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost Specifications Input Impedance 1 Meg Ohm Output Impedance 100 Ohm Max Input Level +10 dBu Compressor Signal/Noise 109 dB typical Bypass Switching Selectable True Bypass (electromechanical relay switching) or ultra low-noise Buffered Bypass Dimensions 4.5” deep x 4” wide x 1.75” tall (11.4 cm deep x 10.2 cm wide x 4.4 cm tall) Power Adapter Requirements Use an adapter with the following rating: 9VDC center negative; 150mA minimum.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost Appendix 1 Power Up Modes Quick Reference pg 23
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost Power Up Modes Quick Reference Below is a list that details how to access all Power Up parameters that are adjustable from Compadre’s interface and do not have dedicated knobs or switches. Power Up functions persist through power cycles. Return all function defaults with factory resets. Press and Hold the COMP footswitch while connecting power to Compadre until BOTH LEDs start blinking to enter Power Up mode.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost MIDI Power Up Settings Quick Reference Below is a list that details how to access all Power Up parameters that are adjustable from Compadre’s interface and do not have dedicated knobs or switches. Power Up functions persist through power cycles. Return all function defaults with factory resets. Press and Hold the BOOST footswitch while connecting power to Compadre until BOTH LEDs start blinking to enter Power Up mode.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost Appendix 2 Signal Flow Diagram pg 26
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost Signal Flow Diagram DRY VOL LEVEL PEDAL IN COMPRESSOR BOOST LEVEL BOOST STAGE OUT NOTES: The audio processing in Compadre is completely analog, but it is digitally controlled. This allows you to save and recall up to 300 presets and have full MIDI control over the analog parameters. When COMP is bypassed, the compressor is completely removed from the signal path.
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost Appendix 3 Sample Settings pg 28
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost Sample Settings MIDI Program Change 0 MIDI Program Change 1 MIDI Program Change 2 MIDI Program Change 3 MIDI Program Change 4 MIDI Program Change 5 pg 29
COMPADRE - Dual Voice Compressor & Boost Strymon Non-Transferrable Limited Warranty Warranty Strymon warranties the product to be free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of two (2) years from the original date of purchase when bought new from an authorized dealer in the United States of America or Canada. If the product fails within the warranty period, Strymon will repair or, at our discretion, replace the product at no cost to the original purchaser.
