Geek Speak: How does an optical compressor work? It alters the dynamics of audio signals with a light element and optical cell. An increased audio signal increases the amplitude. When that happens, the light element gets brighter which makes the optical cell attenuate the amplitude of the output signal.

What happens in layman’s terms; the signal gets squished, shimmery, pumped, sustained, boosted or limited depending on how you have tweaked the compressor.

A Different Kind of Animal
I just got hold of the new Joemeek FloorQ optical compressor pedal for evaluation and it’s not what I anticipated. The only time I have ever used an optical compressor was in the recording studio so I was thinking it might still sound somewhat like other VCA-based compressor pedals. Wrong. FloorQ is different kind of animal.

This was in fact quite a departure from other compressor pedals I have tried, including the Carl Martin compressor/limiter I have used for the last several years. If you are looking for a tremendous change in your sound, go buy another pedal. However, if you dig the sound you already have, then this pedal will only enhance it.

First Impressions
Like a child on Christmas morning I was panting with anticipation as I opened the sturdy box the FloorQ came in. Ah, the smell of new gear. As I extracted the pedal from its box I understood why the packaging was so heavy-duty. This British racing green-colored pedal is built like a tank and it has a moderately sized footprint. Although not huge, it’s not Keeley-small either. I was thinking that it had better sound great to chew up my valuable pedal board real estate.

The case is heavy and the knobs feel high-quality when you turn them. I like the slight incremental click the controls make as you turn the dial. Details like this instill confidence by exuding quality before you plunk your first note.

Get Tweaked
Here’s what the knobs do:

Input: Sets the gain pre-amp
Slope: Sets compression ratio to applied signals above threshold
Compress: Sets the threshold above which the signal starts to be compressed
Attack: Sets how quickly the compressor responds to peaks above the threshold
Release: Sets the time taken for the signal to return to normal size after compression

Tone Tour
The best way to describe the tones the FloorQ produces are “audiophile” and “transparent”. Aside from the obvious input and output knobs, this pedal works it’s magic subtly. You might not be that aware when it is on, (aside from the very-cool blue LED), but you can sure tell when it is off.

This could be used as a set-it-and-forget-it pedal, because the FloorQ sweetens up your sound without monkeying with it. I stopped thinking about it as an effect pedal and began to think of it as a stealthy sound-enhancement device.

If you turn up the compress knob to 10, you still don’t kill your dynamics. The attack knob does not dull your sound when turned up fully either. The FloorQ really performs like a beautiful rack compressor built into a pedal just as Joemeek claims. I played around with various settings and could NOT get the FloorQ to sound bad. The unit loves guitar frequencies.

The Cool Stuff
This pedal is not picky about what kind of power supply you use either. If it gets juice, it’s happy. It comes with a regulated 12VAC power supply, but I plugged it in to my T-Rex Fuel Tank and I was ready to go. You can also use this pedal for line input matching and to overdrive a tube amp. I already have various overdrive pedals, but the idea of a high-end pre-amplifier built into an optical compressor is very appealing. The pre-amp is low-noise, Class-A, super high-quality and is always working, even when the pedal is off. This pedal is quiet as a church mouse and you can’t say that about most compressors.

Like any high-quality compressor, the pedal worked well with my other pedals. The sound of my Gibson ES-335 going through my 1966 Blackface Fender Princeton Reverb with the FloorQ, Fulltone Choralflange (set to a frosty chorus setting) and then through a touch of TC Electronic Vintage Delay was heavenly. It sounds great without the FloorQ, but it sounded even better with it. Really delicious.

Final Take
The FloorQ is quite different from most of the other high-quality compression pedals out there. Would I buy one? Well, I told the folks at PMI Audio Group (the manufacturer) I can’t send it back. It’s already been velcro’d to my pedal board.

The Floor Q has a Gotta-Guit-It Rating of: 5 GUITARS

Gotta-Guit-It Rating System:

Rating System: From 1 to 5 Guitars

1 Guitar: Toss it into the dumpster
2 Guitars: Back to the drawing board
3 Guitars: Adequate… and that’s about it
4 Guitars: Pretty cool gear
5 Guitars: Purchase without hesitation – Gotta-Guit-it