Caline CP-45 Pressure Point Bass Compressor: Technical Review & Teardown

For the non technical thoughts on this pedal, skip to 7:03.

First, a big thank you to Caline Technologies for sending me the schematic for this pedal. I got them in hopes to finding solutions to the common issues I've read in the reviews of this pedal. Not only was able to accomplish that, but I also gained a better understanding of how the pedal works and how to set the controls. This pedal does not come with any manual unfortunately. v3.1 is the PCB is the latest version available now. Earlier versions had PSU noise issues and bad buzzing problems, all were addressed previously before I bought the pedal.

- The pedal is an optical compression type architecture. Very common yet effective controlling dynamics.

- the click/pop sound when you engage the pedal is all from the switch itself. This is because of "switch bounce" and can be greatly reduced with a soft touch latching 3DPT switch. There are bleeder resistors on the decoupling caps at the input/output, they look to be tantalum type. PSU circuitry is straight forward with basic reverse polarity protection.

The switch located here is a good option, though requires some soldering work. For an inexpensive pedal that would either always be on or off. I can live with the popping sound, but for those that are so inclined, here ya go....

https://www.amplifiedparts.com/produc...

- There are two compressor/limiter stages. Each one has an attack/release setting of 10ms/100ms. Compressor ratios are also fixed. Estimating the 1st stage is 20:1, 2nd stage is about 6:1 maybe 8:1 ALL THESE ARE SET VALUES AND CANNOT BE ADJUSTED.

- Description of each control:

GAIN - Input pre-gain stage
VOL - Post Effect Gain Stage (this is basically "make-up gain", but IMO could use more gain)
COMP - Overall signal level to the side chain circuit for the two compressor stages
ATTACK - Level to 1st compressor/limiter stage, essentially a peak limiter
SENSE - Level to 2nd compressor/limiter stage, a familiar bass compressor feel.
***the more CW you turn these knobs, the lower the threshold for the stages to engage compression/limiting.

I'm not a fan of the "Attack" and "Sense" labels in my opinion as they are a bit confusing. You are not actually adjusting the attack time, only the threshold level to the compressor/limiter stages. It is because of the fixed attack/release settings, the pedal does not sound as "squishy" as other bass compressors like the MXR and others.

Aside from that and the pop sound from the switch, the pedal is overall a great value for around $40 USD. It gives you basic dynamics control over your bass signal, and for many this will be more than adequate. Other advanced users will want to have more control over the settings like ratio, attack/release times, etc.

Any questions please let me know. Thank you for watching!


Caline's Youtube Page and Social Media Contact Info:
   / @calinetechnology  
Follow us on facebook: caline.technology
Instagram:calinetechnology
Check more on our website: www.calinemusic.com