Strymon OB.1

The Strymon OB.1 is a discontinued compressor and clean boost pedal from Strymon, first released in July 2009¹. It was the first effect pedal released under the Strymon name², and it put an optical compressor circuit inspired by high-end vintage opto studio compressors together with a transparent clean boost in one box³. Strymon discontinued it in March 2020¹.

The pedal is fully analog, with a low-noise all-analog signal path and true bypass³. Its optical compression uses Light Dependent Resistors as the sensing element⁴, the same approach as the vintage studio units Strymon drew on. The compression section provides greater than 20dB of gain-compensated compression, and the integrated clean boost adds up to 10dB of full-frequency, mid or treble boost⁵.

An optical compressor and clean boost

Strymon launched the OB.1 as an Optical Compressor and Clean Boost pedal, describing it as taking "the greatest qualities of high-end, vintage opto studio compressors and made them available in this" pedal-sized format³. The analog design was done by Gregg Stock, an analog engineer and co-founder of Strymon³; in a later Strymon interview, sound designer Pete Celi noted that "Gregg did the analog design, because OB.1 is a fully analog pedal"⁸.

The compression side is optical: a Light Dependent Resistor reacts to the signal and controls the gain reduction, the same element found in the vintage studio compressors the circuit is modeled on⁴. Strymon rates the compression at greater than 20dB of gain-compensated compression, meaning the output level is raised alongside the compression so the perceived volume stays consistent⁵.

The boost side is a transparent clean boost that Guitar.com described as designed to "supercharge" an amplifier⁴. A three-way toggle selects a treble-focused, mid-focused or full-range boost⁴, and the boost delivers an extra 10dB in whichever of those modes you choose⁵. Inside the pedal, DIP switches let you fine-tune where those boost frequencies sit⁹:

The standard version of the pedal was also voiced for guitar specifically: Strymon says it "was designed to start rolling off bass frequencies at about 80Hz, for optimal interaction with high-gain guitar preamps and drive pedals"¹⁰. That high-pass filtering keeps the low end tight when the pedal feeds overdrive, distortion or fuzz circuits.

Using it as a pure clean boost

The compressor and boost sections are not fully independent. Strymon's support article is direct about the limitation: the BOOST requires that the BYPASS switch is enabled to affect the signal, so the boost cannot run with the pedal bypassed¹¹. However, you can use the OB.1 as purely a clean boost pedal by turning the compression knob down to its minimum position while engaging the BOOST¹¹.

On bass

Because of the 80Hz high-pass filtering in the standard version, bass players lose some low end through the pedal. Strymon offered a Bass Guitar Modification that removes the high-pass filtering, expanding the low-end range for bass use¹⁰.

Power and connections

The OB.1 is one of the few Strymon pedals that runs on a battery. Because it is all analog, its power requirement is much lower than Strymon's digital pedals: 9V DC with a current draw under 20mA, and it can be powered by a 9V battery⁶. It is also excluded from the mono or stereo connection ability of Strymon's digital effect pedals¹².

What reviewers and players said

Premier Guitar published a review of the OB.1¹³. Strymon's own pedalboard feature on Ethan Tufts lists the OB.1 as "always on" in his guitar signal chain¹⁴.

Why Strymon discontinued the OB.1

Strymon announced the discontinuation on March 13, 2020, explaining that it had been unable to maintain a consistent supply of Light Dependent Resistors, the optical element within the OB.1, and had not been able to build pedals in regular quantities¹. Guitar.com quoted the company's statement directly⁴:

Gearnews reported that Strymon said these components are no longer available, making the product no longer feasible to offer². At the time of the announcement, Strymon had no quantity of OB.1 available in its online store and directed interested buyers to authorized dealers for remaining stock¹.

MusicRadar later summed up the situation: "the optical parts became hard to source and so it was back to the drawing board"¹⁵.

What replaced it

The gap left by the OB.1 was filled by the Strymon Compadre, a compressor and boost pedal from the same maker¹⁵. The Compadre moves from the OB.1's optical circuit to a VCA compressor, and like the OB.1 it pairs compression with a boost section¹⁵.

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