Ashdown Engineering makes The Tourniquet/Aspirin, a high quality compressor pedal designed for bass1. The maker's product page introduces it with the line "Straight from Dr Greens surgery comes The Tourniquet/Aspirin"1. Like other compressor pedals, its job is to even out a bass signal: Ashdown says it will "help to provide a consistent and even tone/volume by compressing loud signals and boosting s[ofter ones]", with no loss of low end1. It sits alongside Ashdown's other bass effects, such as the Ashdown Dr. Green The Aspirin and the Ashdown Triple Shot, in the company's bass pedal range.
How it works
The pedal uses the Input control to drive the amount of signal, and then automatically processes the compression once the ratio is set; the Output pot sets the level going to the amp1. In practice, that means the player sets how hard the pedal is pushed and how much compression results, then matches the output level to the rest of the rig.
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Input | Adjust input gain level1 |
| Ratio | Dictates how much the volume is reduced versus how far above the threshold the signal is1 |
| Output | Adjust output gain level1 |
Build and bypass
The Tourniquet/Aspirin features true bypass switching, so the pedal is removed from the signal path when off1. It is housed in a custom designed steel casing that, in Ashdown's words, "will stand up to being stomped on night after night"1.
Sources (1)
- The Tourniquet/Aspirin, Ashdown Engineering
