Wilson Effects Compressor V.2

The Wilson Effects Compressor V.2 is an analog compressor pedal that Wilson Effects describes as "a faithful recreation of the vintage Ross compressor with an added clean blend and other features to sculpt your compression"¹. In the maker's words, it delivers "a squish that no other compressor circuit can provide"¹. It is built by hand in the USA, sells for $155.00 USD, and runs on a 9VDC power supply with no battery option¹.

What sets the V.2 apart from a straight clone is the extra shaping: a clean blend to keep some untouched signal in the mix, an Attack control, and a Clipping/Gate control that can push the release toward a gated effect¹².

A Ross-style compressor with a squish

The Ross compressor story explains what the V.2 is recreating. General Guitar Gadgets, which sells a Ross Compressor Replica Kit, notes that the Ross "was copied from this compressor," meaning the MXR Dyna Comp, "and is treasured by many players as being 'the one' compressor"³. Aion FX's technical write-up adds that the Ross "has better power supply filtering and thus lower noise, but is otherwise very similar to the Dyna Comp"⁴. So the V.2's core is the classic OTA-based Dyna Comp/Ross design, the same lineage behind pedals like the Keeley Compressor, which its own documentation traces to "the classic Ross OTA compressor"⁵.

Wilson Effects goes further than a copy. The maker calls the underlying circuit "the best analog compressor circuit ever made" and says the Compressor V.2 "has expanded on this classic circuit"². The additions are what a modern player expects from a Ross-style build: a clean blend so the compressed signal can be mixed with your dry tone, plus attack and release shaping that the original two-knob Ross never had¹².

The Ross sound still has a following on its own. Reviewing the Ross Audibles Gray Compressor, Pedal of the Day wrote that "there's nothing quite like a Ross Compressor"⁶. MusicRadar's Trevor Curwen, reviewing the Way Huge Saffron Squeeze Compressor MkII, described that pedal's "natural squash and sustain" as "derived from the Ross/Dynacomp" design, the same family the V.2 draws from⁷.

The controls

Wilson Effects documents three controls beyond the core Ross-style compression controls. Each shapes a different part of how the pedal grabs and lets go of your signal¹².

The Clipping/Gate control is the unusual one. On most compressors the release time is fixed or switchable between a couple of settings; here you can dial the cutoff point continuously, from a natural-sounding release all the way to a gated effect that chops the tail of the note. Players who want that clamped, country-style squash can find it, and players who want a subtler squeeze can back off¹.

The Attack control matters most for picking dynamics. A fast attack clamps the initial transient of each note for an even, smoothed-out level; a slower attack lets the pick attack through before compression kicks in, keeping articulation while still adding sustain².

Power, bypass and build

The Compressor V.2 runs on a 9VDC 2.1mm center-negative power supply, the standard pedalboard connector, and there is no battery option¹.

The pedal uses true bypass switching, which Wilson Effects says "keeps your signal pure when the pedal is off"¹. That is an improvement over the original Ross compressor: Pedal of the Day notes that the first Ross models were not true bypass⁶. The enclosure is described as compact and pedalboard friendly, built to "fit seamlessly into any setup," with premium components "built with top-quality parts for superior sound and durability"¹. Each unit is handmade in the USA¹.

Buying information

Wilson Effects sells the Compressor V.2 direct for $155.00 USD¹. The details around the purchase:

• Warranty: one year, covering parts and labor¹
• Returns: accepted within 7 days of receiving the pedal; shipping costs are not refunded and return shipping is the customer's responsibility²
• Shipping: all items ship via USPS Priority Mail²

How it compares

Against other compressors in the same price range, the V.2's pitch is circuit fidelity plus flexibility. A straight Ross clone like the General Guitar Gadgets replica kit gets you the original design, but as a DIY project you build yourself⁸. The Way Huge Saffron Squeeze MkII covers similar Ross/Dynacomp territory as a finished pedal⁷. Where the V.2 differs is the clean blend and the Clipping/Gate control, which the original Ross circuit and most straight clones do not offer¹. Optical designs like the Poison Noises The Vacuum Optical Compressor V2 work on a different principle entirely, using a light-dependent element rather than the OTA gain cell of the Ross family.

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