electro-harmonix Black Finger

electro-harmonix Black Finger compressor

The electro-harmonix Black Finger is an optical compressor pedal featuring an all-valve signal path using two 12AX7-EH tubes, designed for guitar or bass.

Optical compressors work by treating an incoming signal with an optically controlled attenuator (a type of volume control) comprised of a fixed resistor and a shunt opto-coupled photocell. This kind of attenuator is ‘passive’ (as opposed to the more common ‘active’ compressor circuits) which means it doesn’t add electronic signature to the signal, thus preserving the tone and character of the original sound.
Some gain is needed to adjust the output level so that it matches the original level and this is accomplished with an all-tube fixed gain pre-amp circuit.

Operation of the Black Finger is straight forward. You have control over the amount the pedal compresses you sound, the attack of the compression (squash or norm), pre-gain (the amount of gain that hits the attenuator), post-gain (to bring your overall level back up). The Black Finger has one more not-so-common switch for selecting the ‘light source’ - Lamp or LED. LED is very fast and flat in frequency content, this is ideal for straight forward compression and sustain. LAMP is for a slower attack and reduced compression, this is great for chord playing, keyboards or even vocals.

Comes with Power Supply