Chase Bliss’ latest original pedal design, Clean, delivers an all-analog, two-stage stereo "creative compressor." I've been obsessing over pedals as creative outboard tools for some time, using them in a dedicated setup with the Radial EXTC-Stereo [Tape Op #146] effects re-amper connecting my balanced patchbay to my stereo guitar pedal chain. This configuration works great, but as an effects send, I don’t really have an end-of-chain stereo mix compressor that I was happy with. My effected signal path usually comes back into my interface and then feeds into a compression plug-in as a "finisher."
Hence, Clean found an immediate place in the ever-growing studio pedal rig as an end-of-chain mix compressor. And would this be a set-and-forget application, you ask? Well, no, because Clean wants to be manipulated, tweaked, and, in some sense, played like an instrument. Clean isn't based on existing compressor designs or tonalities and, in many ways, is one of the more innovative compressors I've ever used. Like all Chase Bliss pedals, it has deep modulation options, most of which center around the configuration possibilities available via the 16 Control and Customize DIP switches located on the pedal’s rear panel.
After grasping what Clean was capable of (courtesy of Chase Bliss' stellar video manual on YouTube), I was eager to try it as a front-end solution during tracking or in non-traditional, even “non-compressor” scenarios. Using a Morningstar Engineering ML10X stereo reorderable loop switcher allows me to patch my connected pedals in different signal paths with just a few button clicks or MIDI commands so that I can try Clean in a variety of experimental combos. Though I'll save some of the tonal discoveries and solutions for a future column on pedals we're working on, I have a couple of highlights for you: Clean has a 3.5 mm sidechain signal input that I found super useful, not only for the standard compressor ducking you'd expect but also to manipulate other controls, such as Clean's Dynamic (volume) Swell effect. This can be similar to ducking but is a more radical affair with secondary function knobs to control the attack and decay of the swell. I like to use a vocal signal here as the sidechain, with a reverb patched in after Clean for a weird, swelling reverb gate effect that I can blend back in with the vocal. Engaging the Spread DIP switch adds stereo processing, and the swell, EQ, and compressor itself are all processed in different ways, in endless combinations, which often result in weird and wild stereo widening, even with mono signals.
Clean's sweepable Dynamics knob controls the compression ratio up to “infinite-to-1” at the 12 o’clock position. With no detented or marked ratios or thresholds, this compressor forces us to use our ears (which is a specific benefit with outboard gear, IMO). After the 12 o'clock position, Clean transitions smoothly to hard limiting, starting with a feed-back compression style. Turning the knob further blends in aggressive feed-forward limiting. I don't know of many other $400 hardware compressors that can smoothly blend between feed-back compression and feed-forward limiting.
Counter to its name, Clean can get nasty. The last quarter turn of the Dynamics knob enters the sag zone, where the pedal simulates an overloaded tube (but without the distortion) in ways that are highly responsive to performance dynamics. There's also a DIP switch for Dusty mode, which introduces overdrive to Clean's second-stage limiter, turning the pedal into an unleashed, clipping, decaying monster. I love Dusty mode on DI'd bass guitar, but again, the possibilities here are endless.
The Physics switch is another unique feature that introduces subtle or drastic instability based on the 3-position toggle and the other compressor settings, notably the Sensitivity (threshold) knob. Physics models the physical response of a coil spring, which can introduce either consistent or semi-chaotic disruptions to the attack and release envelope followers. Physics is a feature that responds well to playing into the pedal, with a lot of interactivity in its response.
Clean can be fully MIDI controlled via a TRS MIDI cable and a MIDI box (we'll cover how to do this soon in the column mentioned earlier). Every single feature is physically accessible on Clean using the six knobs, six switches, and DIP switch panel, but MIDI helps unlock some of the hidden features by allowing for instant, simultaneous parameter control – and I could see MIDI automation in a DAW allowing for some truly bonkers, tempo-synced stereo modulation.
At this price point, Clean is a proper studio “ace in the hole,” and a future classic. The degree of (stereo!) analog character available in this pedal’s sound, paired with the depth of modulation options available, sets this compressor apart from far more expensive rack-mount studio options. I'd happily pay double if there were a rack-mount version, of course – wink.
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