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NAMM 2015: Seymour Duncan releases the Vise Grip Compressor

The Seymour Duncan Vise Grip Compressor
The Seymour Duncan Vise Grip Compressor

NAMM 2015: Seymour Duncan will unveil its new Vise Grip Compressor at Winter NAMM. While the unit is perhaps aimed primarily at guitarists, the company states that it's also useful for keyboardists, mandolin players or other musicians who work with extremes of dynamic range.

From press release: The Seymour Duncan Vise Grip Compressor is a studio-grade soft-knee compressor designed for guitarists who want to take control of the dynamics of their sound, from a subtle smoothing-out of peaks and valleys to the most squished and pinched extremes and everywhere in between.

The Blend knob lets you add as much or as little of the original signal as you like to the compressed sound, while the Mid/Full/High lets you choose the character of the blended signal by deciding what frequency range of the dry signal is blended in with the wet. The Sustain knob determines how long your notes will ring out and the Attack control regulates how quickly the compressor reacts to your initial pick attack.

Higher settings give you a late attack that lets your picking dynamics come through before the compression kicks in. And the Volume control does more than just let you match the output with your bypassed sound: you can also use it as a boost while taking advantage of the Blend and Mid/Full/High controls.

The Vise Grip can give you a simple dynamics adjustment - like a subtle or extreme increase in sustain for country "chicken pick'n" or a little extra clarity, body and volume for a clean solo - or you can use it for more intense effects like a classic 'squished funk' rhythm scratch or to introduce a lo-fi, treble-heavy edge which is perfect for a garage-band vibe. Then you can blend in just the right amount of the uncompressed signal and let the Mid/Full/High switch restore sparkle to the high end, fatten up the uncompressed signal for increased harmonic overtones, or simply make sure your effected sound remains consistent with your bypassed guitar tone.

For more information, visit Seymour Duncan.