Introducing the Polyend Press

Polyend is proud to introduce the Polyend Press. Press is the first premium analog stereo compressor pedal with features and control never combined in a pedal before. It is a versatile device designed for end-of-chain mastering, limiting, making a guitar or keys sit perfectly in the mix or creating a sidechain pumping effect. Press features all the controls expected on a studio compressor and more. It is compact enough for pedalboards and live performances while maintaining the highest sound quality for studio use.

● The first of Polyend’s pedal products
● Unparalleled control of an analog compressor pedal
● A focus on advanced sidechain compression with sidechain control never in pedal form before
● Premium analog sound quality with extremely high headroom and an ultra-low noise floor
● Stereo compression that can be placed anywhere on a pedalboard, after a drum machine, or in a studio mix.

Polyend is making a pedal?

Over the past ten years, Polyend has created some of the most engaging music hardware on the market. Now we’re looking at best-in-class gear that helps producers combine that gear in their studio and inspire guitarists. Press is our first product in this new range.

Piotr Raczyński, Polyend’s founder on the creation of Press:

“Press is the compressor we always wanted but couldn’t find. Whether for guitars, keys, or live electronic performances, we need a flexible analog stereo compressor that handles sidechain duties without clipping or distorting. We want that same analog sound quality of premium studio rackmount devices, coupled with deep control inspired by our favorite VSTs. It’s a straightforward, powerful tool that fits perfectly into any setup for studio use or live performance.”

Unique Sidechain Compression

Press goes beyond the basics of sidechain compression with flexible control and I/O dedicated to sculpting a dynamic pumping effect tailored to your needs. Stereo 1⁄8” input and output sidechain jacks make it easy to route an external sidechain source through the compressor. High and low pass filters for the level detection can shape the response of the gain reduction without altering your dry signal. These filters are active on the input’s level detection if the external sidechain is not active. Use the low pass filter to avoid compressing a bass guitar on high notes or a high pass filter to stop over-compression from the boom of your kick on a drum machine.

Studio Quality Sound

Press is designed with a focus on using the highest quality components to create a premium compression. Noise is a common complaint about analog compressors but a carefully crafted analog design ensures the noise measures at less than 0.001%, making Press one of the quietest compressors ever.

With headroom to run a DAW’s output or an ear-piercing fuzz into the compressor, the Press remains transparent without coloring your tone, allowing professional-sounding compression in situations not previously possible in a traditional pedal.

End of Chain Performance Tool

Press is an ideal performance tool to add control to any live setup, or glue together all your devices for a cohesive, professional sound. Always know what your compressor is doing with the LED gain-reduction metering. Deep knob-per-function control allows for quickly changing settings to address problems in real-time. Adjust to a band’s sound or control peaking frequencies on stage as they happen.

Get more information about Press

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Woop woop! The beast in action right now:

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congrats guys, hope it sells like hotcakes :fire: :fire: :fire:

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Amazing! Feature-packed and oh my does it ever look beautiful. Big props to the design!

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WOW the sidechain thru is such a good idea! I feel like this is the major shortcoming of most hardware compressors - you have to devise a way to make a copy of your sidechain source. I also love the built-in sidechain filter, which I usually have to do with an external EQ pedal.

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You got it exactly! I never had a good experience trying to do sidechain compression with hardware before this pedal. And the sidechain filters work on the audio input too so you can avoid overcompressing things being compressed like boomy bass, or big reverbs that have too much high end info, etc.

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Yeah this was always my frustration using the Digitakt master compressor - you can sidechain to the kick track but then you crush the kick!

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Just when I was thinking about getting a hardware compressor… I think Polyend is tapping my calls. :eyes:

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Nice, this will come in handy for live performances, especially as room is always tight in the DJ Booth.

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A couple other video examples of Press (Stazma’s is awesome too! Love the crazyness at the end)

Jay showing sidechain skills with drums!

And a great example after fuzz by Collector//Emitter

Ian uses it the way I like to a lot - using the sidechain input and out to route the clean guitar before going into a fuzz and then into the compressor, so the sidechain is triggered by the clean guitar not the fuzzy sustained tone but you get the benifit of compression after fuzz. This one is designed to handle it but a lot of compressors would break up or clip at that point.

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And I ordered a few weeks ago a Platform :sweat_smile: Tempted to return it…

Someone was joking somewhere about other companies spying here, but the CB Clean pedal release time could not be better orchestrated :smiley: Same price range too but I think that targets to a different demographic. It seems that it supports sidechain too and has full analogue path.

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is this what i think it is?? does the sidechain thru mean i can shape the sidechain signal using the filters…then send that filtered sidechain signal out??
I use the digitakt 2 for drums…and i want to isolate the kick from digitakt so i can send it to my eurorack voices as the sidechain source. if that is what that means then sign me up!?

Hi there @johnbaptistemusic. Great to have you join us here on Backstage.

I’m not sure if this answers your question, but my understanding is that the Sidechain input is routed directly to the Thru output (much like a MIDI Thru).

An example would be to send a kick drum to the sidechain input, send the Thru signal into some effects like distortion, reverb etc, and then send the kick with all the fxs into the input. That way it’s only the sidechain input that triggers the compression rather than the kick with all the fxs on it.

The thru also solves a major problem of sidechain inputs because often a person will have to duplicate their signal somehow as we rarely create a signal uniquely to feed a sidechain.

Hope that helps! :slight_smile:

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Thanks for that response. ok it doesn’t do what I was thinking. I understand how that would be useful, but doesn’t seem to do what I want unfortunately. An extra sidechain output post filter would have made this thing ultimate. So close! bummer

This notification from YouTube got me really, uhm… Curious about Press:

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i mean… it does compress and limit after all …

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hell yeah, not changing it.

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looks cool too but there’s no indications of the amount you are compressing afaict. Despite doing audio stuff for over a decade there’s no way I’d want to be compressing blind - even with trained ears it’s the thing that’s the easiest to over-cook.

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Yep! I noticed that too. I guess that is more of a expressive compressor than one you would use for precise operation. Two different animals. But curious that they released at the same time…almost like the DT2 and Tracker+ releases.

The Platform will arrive in some weeks let’s see how it performs…might jump ships if it doesn’t convince me much :)…that Press looks nasty good.

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