SteveEmpress Effects Compressor MKII

A significant update to their 2010 Compressor, this MkII is the result of a direct interaction of the Canadian company Empress Effects with its users and their requests. It features the same circuit and sound but with a new tone knob, top-mounted jacks, side chain high pass filter built-in (with DIP switches that let you change the frequencies of the filter), separate LEDs for gain reduction and input level, and – of course – compact case!

The Empress Effects Compressor MKII was announced at NAMM 2020 and is now shipping, check out the videos, below.

When we released our original Compressor back in 2011, it quickly became a favourite among guitar and bass players alike who were searching for something more than the typical oversimplified controls found on most compressor pedals. Now, based on our users’ valuable feedback, we’ve taken everything great about our original Compressor and made it even better. 

On top of the full range of features and controls normally only seen in high end studio equipment, such as input and gain reduction metering, independent attack and release controls, a mix knob for parallel compression, and an external sidechain insert, we’ve now added a ‘tilt’ tone eq control, and a selectable sidechain high pass filter built into the Compressor’s detection circuit. Oh, and the whole package is now half the size and available in two snazzy colours!

Features
  • All Analog Signal Path – no digitals in here!
  • Extremely Transparent – Add dynamic control without altering the original tone of your instrument
  • 3 Compression Ratios – 2:1, 4:1 and 10:1 ratios offer lots of flexibility
  • Attack and Release Control – allows for ultimate control over the compression characteristics
  • Mix – Blend uncompressed signal in with the compressed signal for parallel compression, New York Style!
  • Metering – Meter both gain reduction and input levels on separate meters.
  • Tone – New tone knob, a “tilt” sytle tone knob centered at 500Hz to nail that perfect tone.
  • Sidechain Send/Return– 3.5mm TRS jack send and return for sidechain compresson.
  • Sidechain High Pass Filter – No need to add a high pass filter to the sidechain, now there is one built in that can be toggled off or set to 120 or 240Hz.
  • True Display LEDs – Bright multi-color LEDs always let you know what the compressor is doing.
  • Power On Bypassed or Engaged – For musicians that never want to turn their compressor off.
  • True Bypass – The Empress Compressor employs true bypass, so you can be sure that it’s not affecting the signal when disengaged.
  • Small Size – New enclosure approximately half the size of the original compressor, which is delightfully small when considering all the features packed into this unit.
  • Beautiful Case – It has a sparkle you can’t deny, in blue or silver!