Ibanez: CP10 Compressor/Sustainer pedal

For a recent mix, I wanted to blend a crushed-and hopefully slightly damaged-version of a vocal in with the original. Conventionally one might use a Spectrasonics 610 or MXR Mini-Limiter for this purpose, but I lacked convenient access to either. Fortunately, I did find this pedal on my shelf of guitar effects and connected it through a Reamp. The salmon-colored pedal only has three knobs: attack, sustain, and level. The attack and sustain controls confused me at first, as they set relative volumes, not times. Once I found the appropriate settings, it achieved the desired effect. The vocals returned with very little dynamic range, but with their basic sound intact. The bit of distortion contributed to the cheap transistor radio feeling that the pedal provided, and when mixed back with the original vocal, it sounded great. The CP10 can help compress a drum machine at line level, and I've used it on bass, between the instrument and the amp, where one would conventionally use a pedal. The pedal definitely isn't for all purposes; its unconventional interface can make it a bit drastic for subtle effects and can produce some weird sounds that are typically undesirable. It works well in enough situations that it feels like a bargain for the $25 that I paid used. Like other pedals in this Ibanez series, the battery foolishly rests against a piece of foam that does not age well, but the CP10 can use AC power with a conventional adapter.