Hiwatt Compressor

An optical compressor in a pedalboard enclosure with the retro Hiwatt look: squash for chicken picking, long sustain, and a clean boost, from a circuit Hiwatt kept deliberately simple to use.

Hiwatt made this one because its own amplifiers are uncompressed by design, so a compression pedal in front of them is heard rather than fought. That is why the players who use Hiwatt amps reach for a comp, and why the company eventually built its own.