ok im just going off of what the video showed me and i did notice the gain knob was 4 or so that will add some grit (AKA) distortion to the signal. id back off the gain and add more output to make up for the volume loss.

so im gonna ask did you get the pedal to just add some tube warmth to the input?

 

I picked it because I wanted an optical compressor and it had the Tone knob that is essential for me.

I am not sure what you refer to as Gain knob, but if you mean the knob titled: Input - that knob doesn't affect the distortion concerned. You can turn down that knob to the point where no compression is happening, and the distortion is already there. And the amount of distortion doesn't change if you start turning the Input knob clockwise. So the signal is already distorted when it gets to the point in the circuit where the knob is.

 

That's why I proposed a clean buffer to attenuate the signal going into the pedal. Otherwise, without schematics, everything is pure speculation.

 

Noted, but you see when some members write about the adjustments as a source of problems I have to make the situation clear. It was not the answer to you but to evolasme.

 

However if you indeed would like to help, and you think a schematic would be a game changer, let me ask you to check the Keeley Compressor schematic then:


This pedal distorts as well, much more than the Optivalve. And as you see the schematic is available. Maybe it shows something that could serve as a clue for the Optivalve as well. Though i know they are different type of stuff.

 

Does your Keeley Compressor Plus distort even if you turn the "Blend" pot fully down? If so, the gain of IC2B may be a little high or your guitar signal is too hot for just 9 volts power supply. If it only distorts when dialing in compression it's most obviously the LM13700 OTA circuit which is known to have quite high THD.

 

It starts distorting after you start turning the blend, dialing in compression. But from the moment you turn just a little, the distortion is already there. So it is not that you can turn the blend, but only the extreme setting results in distortion.

This way it is different than the Optivalve, becuase in that one the distortion is present in case of the Input being set to the '0' position already.

 

At least we now know that the problem is NOT that your guitar signal is too hot for standard 9 volts powered circuits in general because with "Blend" turned down, the pedal is nothing more than an op amp buffer. If you are happy with the clean signal coming out of it, we can build anything with standard 4558 or 4580 op amps and be fine.

As you can see in the schematics the Keeley (like many other circuits) has no way to attenuate the input signal going into the VCA/OTA circuit, you can only mix the compressed signal to the clean signal. And you can adjust the behaviour of the compressor with the "Sustain" pot and "Single Coil/Humbucker" switch to change attack/release time constants.

And that's why a simple buffered attenuator before the pedal (as I mentioned it before) can be very effective. This way you can attenuate the input without getting unwanted noise like when turning down your guitars passive volume pot.

 

What do you mean by "we"?

 

Any people that might want to help you or have similar issues, but you seem to do anything to prevent that.

 

What happened to you that you want to help an audiophile? Drank to much on New Years Eve? Ehhh?

 

Thanks!