Keeley and Compressors are often mentioned in the same sentence, and you’d be hard pressed to find a discussion about one without the other. Rather than shy away from this manner of typecasting, Robert Keeley has instead embraced the role and has returned with the Compressor Pro, a piece he’s been working on for years. To call the Compressor Pro Robert’s most ambitious undertaking in the compressor realm would be an understatement. Prior to the Pro, Keeley’s most full-featured box was his C4, a four-knob compressor. Now, over a decade after Keeley rolled his first compressor pedal off the line and into stores, the Pro is set to take over your pedalboard and your perception of compressors. The Pro is the rare compressor that transcends both the “as an effect” and the “always on” realm of compressors. It can be set as transparent as a player would like, and it can be set to pump with the best of them for an authentic “chicken pickin’” session. It can’t be set to absolutely flatline your signal, but, quite frankly, it’s just too good for that. Like a great studio compressor, it sounds good at literally every setting, and makes your tone sound like a polished would-be platinum record. Now for the nerdy stuff: The Compressor Pro is a VCA type, just like those you’d find in any premium studio rig. The internals utilize an ultra-high fidelity THAT Corp. 4320, which is audio royalty. Keeley puts the IC to work in a most pleasing way that provides sonic purity with as much squish as you’d ever need. The controls will sound familiar to anyone that’s used a compressor; Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Release and Gain round out the knob set. An interesting way of using the pedal is that of a boost pedal; with the Ratio set to 1:1, aka no compression, you can use the Gain control to add that certain special something. The Auto mode is new; it allows players to bypass Attack and Release knobs for a no-nonsense organic compressor experience. The Knee switch changes from hard compression (limiting, sustain) to soft-knee compression, which adds an overall “Sweetening” effect. Couple these together, and you’ve got a seriously flexible piece of kit. There’s also an LED meter to measure compression/gain reduction in real time, as well as a Threshold bi-color LED to know when the signal is clipping. Basically, if you’ve thought of a feature you’ve wanted in a compressor, it’s in here. Keeley Electronics Compressor Pro Features VCA type compressor with high-fidelity THAT Corp. 4320 Hard and Soft Knee switch Unique Auto mode switch LED meter on front face Threshold LED True Bypass Standard 9v center-negative power Hand made in Oklahoma, USA
