Lone Wolf Flat Cat Jason Ricci

ABOUT
Jason Ricci, arguably the best modern harmonica player today, asked me to build a compressor pedal. He specified that it had to be distortion-free and include a VOLUME control; plus he wanted a modern style to the pedal, a cool color, and cool graphics. The result is the Flat Cat, a distortion-free optical compressor.

What does a compressor do? A compressor "compresses" the signal your microphone produces and equalizes the dynamic range. The benefit of a compressor lies in that every note played will be at nearly the same amplitude, and therefore nearly equal in volume. This will help equalize tones that are sometimes lost in the mix because of complex overtones, and it will result in a more articulate sound. The Flat Cat is an optical compressor, which makes it distortion-free. The addition of the VOLUME control allows the user to make up volume lost through compression. The Flat Cat is great for rock and blues rock. Sometimes it is hard to tell it is on, but you will miss it when it is off.


POWER
The Flat Cat operates off of a 9V battery or a 9V DC power adapter. The AC adapter requirements are a 9V DC with a minimum 100mA output and a 2.1mm x 5.5mm connector with a negative center surrounded by a positive outside. The battery is switched OFF when an external power supply is used, and the unit is always powered whenever the mic is plugged in. The power adapter is sold seperately.


FEATURES

1. Clean tone, no distortion
2. VOLUME control
3. SQUASH (compression) control
4. True bypass foot switch
5. 9V DC input (barrel a with negative center)
6. High impedance buffered input
7. Bypass ON/OFF LED
8. Reverse voltage polarity protection
9. 9V battery operation