ISP Technologies

The name ISP stands for intelligent signal processing, the name under which the company has sold its audio products². For most guitar players, though, the company means one thing above all: the Decimator noise gate family, which spans full-size pedals, micro pedals, and rack-mounted units.

The story: three decades of intelligent signal processing

ISP Technologies was established over three decades ago, and the company says its passionate team of audio engineers and designers has dedicated itself to creating "state-of-the-art Pro Audio solutions for discerning musicians and sound engineers worldwide"¹. Its products are manufactured in the USA⁵.

The company's engineering depth is the through-line of its history. ISP states that its products are based on 30 plus patents in the audio arena, a figure the company repeated in its 2017 press releases around the Theta Pro DSP². That patent portfolio sits behind the noise reduction the company is known for, and it also underpins its preamp and DSP products.

Known for the Decimator noise reduction

The Decimator line is the heart of the catalog: a family of noise gate and noise reduction pedals that ISP has refined across several generations. The company describes the Decimator II as a noise gate guitar pedal that "ups the ante over the original Decimator design to give you even better noise"⁶.

The range covers several formats:

The G String versions are the key distinction within the line. As ISP puts it:

That means the gate follows your picking dynamics rather than the processed signal further down the chain. The DECI-MATE pedals shrink the same circuit into micro formats, with ISP describing the DECI-MATE as "a full implementation of the world renowned Decimator circuit with new tracking improvements"¹⁰.

The line's development across generations runs:

1. The original Decimator, the noise reduction pedal the later pedals are built on¹⁰¹³.
2. The Decimator II and Decimator II G String, second-generation noise reduction pedals⁶⁷.
3. The Deci-Mate, a mini-pedal that downsizes the Decimator noise suppressor into a smaller format¹⁴.
4. The Decimator X, a pedal featuring linearized Time Vector Processing⁸.

Patents behind the products

ISP Technologies has been awarded multiple patents for the Decimator Technology specifically¹⁰, and more than 30 patents in audio signal-processing technologies overall¹. The company's own press releases state that its products are based on 30 plus patents in the audio arena².

That patent work extends beyond noise reduction into the company's preamp and DSP designs¹⁵²:

• The Empyrean preamp pedal, announced in May 2024, was developed through a collaboration between ISP Technologies and Michael Sweet of Stryper, and includes a built-in effects loop¹⁵.
• The limited edition Michael Sweet Theta Pro DSP signature pedal, introduced in February 2017².
• The Theta preamp pedal in the company's Theta line⁴.

On the Empyrean's effects loop, ISP says it:

Support and contact

ISP Technologies is based at 5479 Perry Dr, Waterford Twp, MI 48329, United States of America, and lists a phone number, (248) 673-7790, for contact⁴.

The range (20)

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