TRICKFISH VCA Compressor Bass Pedal Instruction Manual
- June 1, 2024
- TRICKFISH
Table of Contents
TRICKFISH VCA Compressor Bass Pedal
Congratulations on your purchase of the Trickfish VCA Compressor. The VCA Compressor pedal was born out of our desire to offer a compressor pedal that threads the needle between the transparent and accurate studio compression we love, and the tonal enhancement (aka magic sauce) that we all love in certain vintage compressors or beloved compressor pedals on the market. Our goal was to create a highly flexible, super accurate, and, most importantly, fantastic- sounding compressor pedal. We settled on a VCA (voltage-controlled amplifier) design with a smart and simple set of controls over the crucial compression parameters.
Using the VCA Compressor
Start by plugging a VDC adapter into the jack on the top of the VCA Compressor. Connect an instrument cable from your instrument to the IN jack and an instrument cable from the OUT jack to your amplifier. Press the ON footswitch to engage the compressor circuit. The footswitch LED will be on and you may begin adjusting the controls of the compressor.
- OUT: 1/4″ phone jack output
- DC IN: 9V DC power input, centre pin negative
- IN: 1/4″ phone jack input
- THRESHOLD: Sets the level at which the compressor engages
- LEVEL: Adjusts the overall output level
- RATIO: Adjusts how aggressively the gain is reduced
- BLEND: Sweeps between wet/dry levels
- ON: Footswitch toggles effect on/bypass
Setup
Start by plugging a VDC adapter into the DC IN jack on the top of the VCA Compressor. Connect an instrument cable from your instrument into the IN jack and another instrument cable from the OUT jack to your amplifier.
Engaging the Compressor
Press the ON footswitch to engage the compressor circuit. The footswitch LED will illuminate, indicating that the compressor is active.
Adjusting Controls
You can now begin adjusting the various controls of the compressor:
- THRESHOLD: Set the level at which the compressor engages.
- LEVEL: Adjust the overall output level.
- RATIO: Control how aggressively the gain is reduced.
- BLEND: Sweep between wet/dry levels for the desired effect.