Origin effects Cali76 Compact Bass compressor metering weirdness

[smeet]

So I just bought this off Reverb, used in excellent condition. It sounds great, but the metering light switches from red to yellow instead of fading. So it kind of works, but it's not acting correctly.

I hate to return it, so I'm hoping somebody has encountered this and has an easy/cheap fix...? As I said, it sounds great, it's just the metering that is weird.

 

[xroads]

Mine does that as well - if compression is strong, it stays on yellow. Can you try and set it to lightest compression (i.e. low input) and see if the light alternates between
red and yellow?

 

[smeet]

It's either full red or full yellow, and it clearly "switches" between the two colors, at all inputs, ratios, attack settings, and at both 9v and 18v. It seems to switch at the right time, but there is no in-between. If compression is strong, it stays on yellow for a long time, then when the input is low enough it switches to yellow.

I've sent a query to customer support at Origin, hopefully they will have a quick fix.

 

[smeet]

The jewel light cover unscrews and I can see three LEDs surface-mounted to the circuit board. The first two are red and yellow. The third one is probably orange and it doesn't light up. Unfortunately they are SMD so I can't just replace one.

 

[Killing Floor]

Don’t they all do that? I have a compact and a stacked and that’s what they do.

 

[smeet]

They should have three colors - red, orange, and yellow. This one skips orange and just has red and yellow. I kind of don’t care, but it might indicate a more serious problem down the line. That and the metering is bad enough with 3 colors, let alone 2.

 

[el murdoque]

I thought that the metering works remarkably well for the fact that it's a single light bulb doing it all.
Mine goes from red to orange when it engages and more and more towards yellow the stronger it gets.

I can see if it's on, if it's working and if it's working hard. That's all I need.
The Empress MK2 has the best metering I've seen on a compressor pedal, but comparing these two, I can live with the one light metering because I like the sound way better.

 

[ahbass2500]

Don’t they all do that? I have a compact and a stacked and that’s what they do.

^This. Metering on the Cali76 CB is basically useless IMO. Yeah the light changes colors, but telling what it is doing beyond just on/off is pretty much impossible. Still a great comp, but it falls in the tune it with your ears category to me.

 

[joel the bass player]

Mine was just changing from orange to yellow, never returning to red (like it did when it was new). Google returned someone with a similar problem and which internal pot was used to adjust the light, literally just breathed on it and it returned to normal operation (just a slight twitch and return). Sounds like it could be a similar issue but I'm no expert.

 

[smeet]

Mine was just changing from orange to yellow, never returning to red (like it did when it was new). Google returned someone with a similar problem and which internal pot was used to adjust the light, literally just breathed on it and it returned to normal operation (just a slight twitch and return). Sounds like it could be a similar issue but I'm no expert.

Origin said to try that, so hopefully that will fix it.

 

[HolmeBass]

That’s what mine does. The intensity of the amber light varies slightly - very slightly.

 

[smeet]

OK, my problem was indeed fixed by adjusting the trim pot. I actually had to turn it more than one full rotation before it was responding correctly. Now the amber/orange light changes intensity and if I really crank things up I sometimes will see a yellow.

Thanks all!

 

[five7]

Where is the internal pot located?

 

[smeet]

This is a screen grab from the email:

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Hmm, now I have to try mine to see if it's working correctly. I would love if the Cali76 CBC and Boss BC-1X would have a baby and we would have a small box Cali76 with a real meter.

 

[Origin_Effects]

This is a screen grab from the email:
View attachment 4953146

Sorry for jumping on an old thread, but want to make a note:

We recommend people reach out to us before performing this, so we can assess whether performing this meter calibration is appropriate. Please do not adjust the internal trimmers without talking to us first.

You can reach us at [email protected]