PRS Mary Cries Optical Compressor

The PRS Mary Cries Optical Compressor features a remarkably simple and intuitive user interface that comprises just two control knobs. One of the potentiometers solely serves to adjust the amount of compression that is applied to the signal. An adjacent LED lights up as soon as the fixed threshold is exceeded and compression is engaged. This is where the particular strength of optical compressors comes in, since they allow compression to be set to a very high level without affecting the definition or clarity of the tone. The second control knob is used to set the output gain. What is more, the pedal’s through-hole design makes it particularly robust to handle and play.

Paul Reed Smith Guitars is an American manufacturer of top-of-the-range electric guitars. Based in Stevensville, Maryland, the company was founded in 1985 by Paul Reed Smith, who had already been making guitars on his own since the mid-1970s as part of his music degree. PRS Guitars owes its breakthrough to guitar legend Carlos Santana, who liked the guitars so much that he soon ordered custom-made instruments from the firm. Since then, the product range has grown to include basses, acoustic guitars, and amplifiers. The list of PRS artists is abundant with big names: John Mayer, Mark Tremonti, Alex Lifeson, and Mark Holcomb are just a handful of the signature artists who testify to the quality of PRS instruments.