Dinosaural OTC-201

The Dinosaural OTC-201 Opticompressor is an optical compressor pedal designed by Dan Coggins, the chief engineer and circuit designer for Lovetone. Aion FX describes it as an all-original optical compressor¹. It was made by Dinosaural in very small numbers between 2013 and 2016, and those units remain exceedingly rare today¹.

What it does

As an optical compressor, the OTC-201 uses a light-dependent element to control gain, the approach associated with the compressor pedal category. The pedal's Direct/Blend switch sits on the face of the enclosure, letting a player blend compressed and direct signal². Aion FX, which traced the circuit, noted that the trace was complicated owing to the on-board hardware and hybrid SMD design, a hybrid surface-mount build with on-board hardware².

History and afterlife

The OTC-201 circuit was originally traced by Aion FX in 2019¹. The original pedal used buffered bypass¹. Those who own one tend to hold onto it: as one review put it, "It's considered a bit special and unlikely to be given up by those who have one."³

The pedal was designed by Dan Coggins, the chief engineer and circuit designer for Lovetone, and made in very small numbers between 2013 and 2016¹. It remains exceedingly rare today¹.

Questions