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

Рет қаралды 3,987

Bassguitarist1985

Күн бұрын

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

Пікірлер: 68

@alexhuber4395 Жыл бұрын

I've had this pedal for years and now I'm able to finally use it! Thank you dude this video is so great! I use this pedal not just for bass but also vocal compression so far it works pretty damn good and it is a lot quieter than any other pedal I've tried

@Bassguitarist1985 Жыл бұрын

Glad I was able to help out!

@AAzzKaa Жыл бұрын

OMG, I didn't expect to find a such detailed video, because of the pedal price range. You did a terrific job explaining everything. I have a very specific question, not regarding this compressor but for bass compressors in general, I guess. I'm trying to find a multiband compressor, whether it is a rack or pedal for bass that could do the job as the GT-10B multiband compressor, I haven't found anything that comes near, regarding the sound and the price (T.T), do you have any suggestion on this, can I find a standalone effect that can do this?

@Bassguitarist1985 Жыл бұрын

thank you for watching. Multiband compression for any instrument is going to be pricey. I have a dual band Digitech Bass Squeeze that works very well. You can adjust the cross over frequency where the compression happens. The EBS Multicomp is another good one but doesnt allow you change the xover settings. the Boss BC-1X is another option, but again no way to adjust where the Low/high split happens. Any other multiband compressor, say more than 2 will be prohibitively expensive and would be more economical as a VST plugin.

@eringabrielle8932 Жыл бұрын

I bought this last year and returned it since i cant get enough compression i need, and i dont understand the knobs at all. I decided to swap it to an overdrive. Now that you explained it, i think there is indeed a nice idea behind the design. However, beginner players like me who would mostly buy this pedal wont be needing that much controls. Thanks for this video!

@Bassguitarist1985 Жыл бұрын

Glad I could help!

@gabrielizumi5211 2 жыл бұрын

Great vídeo!!

@Bassguitarist1985 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for watching!!

@earlgarcia9824 Жыл бұрын

I got this pedal in 2021 and couldn't figure out what the controls did results varied with different amps and basses ,always had good effects with the joyo dyna comp and kokko compressor but know that I've seen this video the caline cp-45 will not be going to the Ewaste collection facility thanks for the detailed information so glad I found it.😄👍

@Bassguitarist1985 Жыл бұрын

Glad I could help out. It's an inexpensive compressor. It gets the job done for the price. More expensive comp pedals will do more, but considering the build quality and the circuit design its pretty decent for what you pay for it.

@earlgarcia9824 Жыл бұрын

@Bassguitarist1985 great info passing along the info to my bass playing colleagues.👍

@Bassguitarist1985 Жыл бұрын

@@earlgarcia9824 appreciate that thank you!

@robdelabassist Жыл бұрын

Not gunna lie but after watching this finally finding out what it actually does, I'm tempted to buy one

@karuv6267 2 жыл бұрын

Hello! Thanks for the complete info :) Im waiting for this pedal for try it, is really a good bass comp or i can use an guitar comp with bass eq?

@Bassguitarist1985 2 жыл бұрын

Its a decent bass compressor. Doesn't have a lot of adjustability like more expensive compressors but it does the job! You can use a guitar compressor but vhances are you may not like the sound. Not many differences with a bass vompnvs a guitar comp except the bass comp has a wider bandwidth to handle the lower frequencies better. Worth trying though!

@jameshorne1547 Жыл бұрын

Great video, I’d just bought this and was very confused as to what everything did?!

@Bassguitarist1985 Жыл бұрын

I was confused too. It's an original circuit design from Caline's engineer in Japan. It's not the most full featured circuit like say the MXR but it works well given the price point.

@-47- 7 ай бұрын

This was a very informative video. Any plans on doing similar pedals like the Joyo Scylla?

@Bassguitarist1985 7 ай бұрын

Hey thank you for watching! No not at this time but I'll keep it in mind for a future video idea

@-47- 7 ай бұрын

@@Bassguitarist1985 Thanks for your insanely quick response. I'll keep an eye on your channel.

@chrisfit 2 жыл бұрын

In terms of bass compressor vs guitar compressor is there a big difference? Could you use this on guitar? What makes it specific to bass I guess. Thanks so much for the info and details. Learning a lot from these please do more!

@Bassguitarist1985 2 жыл бұрын

Not really any major difference other than the circuit for bass needs to be adjusted to handle the lower frequencies. Bass tends to be more peaky than guitar so headroom is also a consideration. Caline has a compressor for guitar called the pressure tank. Maybe try that out?

@jethroviloria18 Жыл бұрын

I tried maybe its better for guitar it kindda squish a little bit

@techbass9440 3 ай бұрын

I bought this pedal and I did get a popping noise whenever I engaged the pedal. I tried everything to stop the popping noise but nothing worked. I took a chance and grounded the pedal switch and it worked. Not sure why it worked but it did. I paid 30 for the pedal so figured I would take a chance and if it didn't work, oh well. Lol

@Bassguitarist1985 2 ай бұрын

How did you ground it?

@svawarbass5834 2 жыл бұрын

Man, you did a better job! Thanks!

@Bassguitarist1985 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for watching! Better job than who/what? I dont think anyone has done a teardown of this pedal yet from what Ive found.

@svawarbass5834 2 жыл бұрын

@@Bassguitarist1985 Forgive me for my English)) I wanted to say thank you for making this video!

@Bassguitarist1985 2 жыл бұрын

@@svawarbass5834 you are very welcome!!

@johnmarkbetes3966 Жыл бұрын

So, I'm new into playing bass and bought the Caline CP-45 Bass Compressor. I currently don't have an amp but I have it connected to my PC using an audio interface (M-Audio Air 192-4 if that matters). So what happens is when the compressor is off, no sound is coming out. After pressing on the footswitch, sound comes on but no light on it. Knobs doesn't do anything on it. Volume, gain, nothing at all. It feels like I'm playing the bass without it. I've seen a couple of youtube videos about it, I can see that there's power light right when they push the switch. I don't know if this is only happening because I'm not playing on an amp? I already contacted the seller and hoping for a reply tomorrow.

@Bassguitarist1985 Жыл бұрын

Hey. Sounds like a malfunction. I'd return it and get a replacement

@SAAV3DR4 6 ай бұрын

I play bass, which is better between Caline Pressure Point Bass Compressor (CP-45) vs Caline Key West Overdrive Compressor (DCP-05)? Thank you

@Bassguitarist1985 6 ай бұрын

CP-45

@cypresshill5723 2 жыл бұрын

How to fix the humming problem of this pedal? Tnx

@Bassguitarist1985 2 жыл бұрын

What I found on these pedals is the metal collars that make up the quarter inch output and input. You need to scrape away some of the paint surrounding it so that the washer can make contact with the metal casing and make a solid ground. Once I did that the buzzing went away. Keep in mind that it may not be the pedal itself but possibly a power supply ground loop issue, or something in your amplifier. Many factors...

@cypresshill5723 2 жыл бұрын

thanks a lot sir.

@vince8081 2 жыл бұрын

I can understand that a pedal called Pressure point is hard to activate. :)

@Bassguitarist1985 2 жыл бұрын

The irony!

@mattveyy Жыл бұрын

Hello! Don't have a Caline CP-47 schematic? Good compressor, but overloaded by a strong attack on the strings ((((((

@Bassguitarist1985 Жыл бұрын

Hey Matt, whats your whole setup? I don't have a schematic for that particular pedal but I can certainly ask if there is a particular flaw in the circuit design. I've only heard good things given the pedal at its price point. If you can tell me your entire signal chain maybe I can pinpoint the issue which if I had to guess was more of a setup issue and not a design flaw in the circuit of the pedal. I could be wrong though.

@mattveyy Жыл бұрын

@@Bassguitarist1985 Even just a guitar and a compressor. Clipping appears if you unscrew the equalizer to the low frequencies or increase the compression. Clipping does not depend on the volume knob of the pedal.

@Bassguitarist1985 Жыл бұрын

@@mattveyy what type of guitar? Active or passive pickups? Single or double humbucker?

@mattveyy Жыл бұрын

@@Bassguitarist1985 Stratocaster HSS. Passive. On singles, almost everything is in order. And the humbucker is always overdriven. I also tried bass (jazzbass, passive). The more low frequencies, the more distortion.

@mattveyy Жыл бұрын

The least distortion is when the equalizer knob is turned to the high frequencies.

@guimeloy8160 Жыл бұрын

Does this pedal use parallel compression?

@Bassguitarist1985 Жыл бұрын

hey, more like series compression. High compression ratio first then lower compression after that stage. the dry signal is not reintroduced into the signal

@guimeloy8160 Жыл бұрын

@@Bassguitarist1985 Hi! But doesn't the dry signal split between output and compression?

@Bassguitarist1985 Жыл бұрын

@@guimeloy8160 hold up let me grab the schematic I'll get back to you in a few minutes

@Bassguitarist1985 Жыл бұрын

@@guimeloy8160 so the dry output pregain stage is being controlled by the side chain. The side chain controls the opticoupler which will then reduce the pre gain stage of the dry signal chain. So essentially the side chain is a control circuit. It is most definitely a sidechain compression circuit and not parallel compression. Typically this method is only done in the studio or obtained via a plug-in on a DAW by use of a mixer and multiple compression units.

@guimeloy8160 Жыл бұрын

@@Bassguitarist1985 I understand now, thank you for explanation!

@jethroviloria18 Жыл бұрын

This is a weak bass compressor

@Bassguitarist1985 Жыл бұрын

Agreed it is not the best. Some of the fixed parameters like attack and release should be adjustable.

@jethroviloria18 Жыл бұрын

@@Bassguitarist1985 i set everything full except the volume just to feel something

@Bassguitarist1985 Жыл бұрын

@@jethroviloria18 try turning the comp and sense all the way up, attack at 2:00, Volume at 10:00 and gain at 2:00. Again you will not be able to adjust the attack and release parameters which is the worst part of this pedal unfortunately. Sense and attack are simply volume knobs to the two gain stages that have fixed ratios. It's a good circuit design but not implemented properly in my opinion when you compare it to other compressor pedals that allow more flexibility in adjustment. It's a budget pedal, it gives you basic function which may or may not be usable depending on your application.