Strymon OB.1 Compressor & Clean Boost

The Strymon OB.1 Compressor & Clean Boost is a discontinued analog effects pedal that paired optical compression with an integrated clean boost in a single bright orange enclosure. Launched in July 2009, it was the first effects pedal released under the Strymon name, and press coverage at the time of its retirement described it as the analog product that helped put the company on the map¹.

What the OB.1 does

The OB.1 offered what gearnews.com's Jef described as "a transparent analogue optical compression and clean boost"¹. Guitar.com's Cillian Breathnach characterized the pairing as a compressor with a transparent clean boost designed to "supercharge" an amplifier⁴. In practice that gives a player two jobs from one box:

• Compression: evening out dynamics and adding sustain, by way of an optical circuit
• Clean boost: pushing the amp harder with a boost that leaves the core tone alone
• Tone shaping on the boost: the extra gain can be applied full range, or focused on the mids or treble⁵

The boost side is flexible on tone. Strymon's own support guidance states: "With the integrated clean boost, an extra 10dB of full frequency, mid or treble boost can be achieved"⁵.

Using it as a pure clean boost

A player who wants only the boost can bypass the compression entirely. Strymon's support article explains: "you can use the OB.1 as purely a clean boost pedal by simply turning down the compression setting to its minimum" knob position while engaging the boost⁶. That makes the pedal usable as a straightforward boost on a board that already has a compressor, or as a way to try the two functions separately before combining them.

The optical compressor circuit

The compression side is an optical design, meaning the circuit relies on Light Dependent Resistors, described in press coverage as the optical element within the OB.1¹. When Strymon introduced the pedal in July 2009, the company said it had "taken the greatest qualities of high-end, vintage opto studio compressors and made them available" in the pedal⁷. Premier Guitar's review, reposted by Strymon, used the same description of the design's lineage in vintage opto studio compressors⁸.

Strymon's customer support manager Hugo, writing in the company's power supply guide, confirmed the circuit type plainly: "Our (discontinued) OB.1 compressor/boost pedal is all analog"³.

Why it was discontinued

Strymon announced the end of production in March 2020, with Ethan Tufts stating on the company's site: "we have made the decision to discontinue the production of OB.1"². The reason was component supply. Guitar.com reported Strymon's explanation that the company had "been unable to maintain a consistent supply of Light Dependent Resistors, the optical element within OB.1"⁴. gearnews.com reported the same cause: the components were no longer available, making it no longer feasible to offer the product¹.

The first Strymon pedal, and what came after

The OB.1 holds a specific place in Strymon's history: Ethan Tufts described it on the company's site as "the first effects pedal that we ever released under the" Strymon name², and gearnews.com dates that release to July 2009¹.

The OB.1 Compressor & Clean Boost holds a particular place in the Strymon lineup: it was the first effects pedal the company released under the Strymon name, back in July 2009². Its compression circuit relied on Light Dependent Resistors, the optical element within the pedal¹. The pedal has since left the current lineup, and the last B-Stock units at Thomann appear to have sold out¹. Players who want to know how the OB.1 compares with compressors in current production will find those covered on their own pages:

For a wider view of the category, see the site's pages on compressor pedals and boost pedals.

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