Becos CompIQ Twain

The Becos CompIQ Twain is a dual-band / stacked compressor pedal with two independent analog VCA engines, made by Becos FX. At the flip of a switch it works either as a dual-band compressor/limiter with a variable crossover point, or as two stacked compressors with separate controls for each engine¹. RockBoard's PedalPedia describes it as an advanced tool for analog dynamic processing of bass, guitar and keyboard signals¹, and it sits in the CompIQ series of VCA compressors as the larger, more bass-oriented model alongside the compact CompIQ Stella Pro MK2¹.

The current version is the Mk2, announced in July 2024 as a refined and improved model over its predecessor, with changes inside and out, hand-assembled in Vienna, Austria². The original CompIQ TWAIN Pro Compressor was announced in February 2020 after almost two years in development³.

Dual-band or two stacked compressors

The Twain's defining feature is that it holds two compressors and lets you decide how they relate. In dual-band (DB) mode, the signal is split at a variable crossover and each frequency band is routed to its own compressor before the bands are mixed back together. Switching to stacked (STK) mode sends the signal through each compressor in series instead⁶. On the Mk2 a push button on the side of the enclosure selects between DB and STK².

The Mk2's crossover is a 70Hz to 1kHz Linkwitz-Riley type, so the split point can be placed anywhere in that range². Each engine has its own knee, threshold, ratio and make-up gain controls⁴, and each can be set to hard or soft knee independently³. The practical difference for a player: dual band lets you, for example, clamp down on low-end peaks on a bass without squashing the attack of the highs, while stacked mode gives you heavier, cumulative compression through two stages in a row.

Guitar.com's reviewer put the pedal's character in perspective:

The Mk2 also adds a selectable Feed Forward / Feed-Back / Combined compression mode⁵, a choice that changes whether the control circuit reacts to the signal before or after the gain cell. A Dry/Wet mix knob provides parallel compression in either working mode⁵³.

The controls

Both VCA engines carry make-up gain, ratio and threshold controls⁶. The Mk2's front panel and switches break down like this:

The original pedal also carried low and high saturation controls that act on the dry signal, post crossover, to simulate tape compression, intended to fatten the sound with harmonics when blended with the compression signal and prevent bass fuzziness. High- and low-cut filters can likewise be applied to the dry signal to help the saturation blend in and compensate for frequency anomalies the compression may induce⁶. The side chain filter switch works on the lows, with three settings to match guitar, bass and the extended depth of five-string basses⁶. Timing switches offer fast and slow attack and decay times, with adaptive auto attack and release timing presets⁴⁶.

Power: 9 to 18V

The Mk2 runs on a 9 to 18V DC external power supply, center negative, with a 5.1/2.1mm barrel plug that needs to be 12mm long; the supply is not included²⁵. The maker's listing gives the operating figures as 9V DC, center negative, drawing 95 mA¹. The original TWAIN was specified for 9 to 12V DC external power operation³⁴.

History and versions

Becos hails from Romania's Black Sea coast and specializes in, in its own words, "exquisite musical tools for the professional musician"⁶. The original CompIQ Twain is a dual VCA compressor pedal with true-bypass switching, made in Romania, listed at €299⁶. It was available for preorder beginning March 1⁴.

The Mk2 is described as a refined and improved model over its predecessor, with serial changes inside and out². It is hand-assembled in Vienna, Austria, in a road-ready, durable, black-powdered aluminum enclosure (Hammond), and carries a 3-year warranty direct from the manufacturer that is international and transferable².

The optional DITOS Transformer-Coupled Balanced Output DI is available as an add-on board, pre-installed or added later by the user⁸. On the Twain Mk2 it brings the weight from 275 g to 395 g and adds a 10KΩ balanced output alongside the ~100Ω VCA output².

What reviewers said

Guitar.com's review described the original as a dual VCA compressor pedal with true-bypass switching, made in Romania, priced at €299⁶. Its tests began with the mix control, which blends the dry and compression signals, set to 100 per cent dry⁶. The review also detailed the pedal's hard and soft knee operation switches, and its low and high saturation controls, which act on the dry signal, post crossover, to simulate tape compression⁶.

Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson found the Twain "excels in particular for Bass applications, and getting more snap into those lower frequency ranges"², and in his 2024 roundup called the Mk2 "a fantastic Dual Band / Stacked compressor, particularly brilliant for Bass"⁹¹. He also places it in the wider CompIQ range as the larger mid-size dual band / stacked variant, more intended for bass players, with hard and soft knee options on both channels¹⁰.

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