The BOSS CP-1X is a compression pedal intended for use with electric guitars. At first glance, the pedal looks like a familiar BOSS compressor stompbox with familiar BOSS controls: Level, Attack, Ratio, and Comp are on hand to help you dial in your sound. However, BOSS has employed proprietary MDP technology, which ensures that these controls will interact with each other in a sophisticated manner, giving you multiband compression that is musical, transparent, and effective.

Indeed, the pedal is designed to preserve the expressive actions of your playing while facilitating the dynamic evenness necessary to make compressor stompboxes successful in their operation. Thus, arpeggios, fast solos, heavy riffs, and chicken pickin’ licks can be heard in all their glory, with each note individuated, yet controlled. This kind of multiband approach also serves seven- and eight-string guitars, as it can control the upper register without sacrificing the punch of the low end. With a separate level control, the pedal also can be used to achieve an overall volume boost.

The CP-1X offers buffered-bypass circuitry to preserve your signal’s tone over long cable runs and complicated pedalboard setups. It will operate on a single 9V battery for up to three hours of continuous use, though you can also use the pedal with an AC adapter (available separately).