The Ross Compressor

This story makes me almost as happy as the fact that Phish will soon be playing live again. It's a beautiful story called...The Ross Compressor:

In early December, a conversation began on my favorite Phish discussion board, PhantasyTour.com. Fans were discussing the evolution of Trey's guitar tone since the days before the band returned from their hiatus in 2002.

Trey's rig has changed over the years. He's added and subtracted various components that shape his signature sound. Two noted changes have been the removal of his old cabinets and the Ross compressor pedal from his bag of tricks.

Compression applied to any instrument limits the highs and lows of its sound to create a more evenly distributed tone. If you know Trey's work, you'll remember those lonnnnngggg sweet sustains that would frequent the Squirming Coils and YEMs of the 90's, and you can thank the Ross for every one. Trey sequences his pedals differently than many guitar players: he places his compressor pedal AFTER two tube screamers in his effects chain. This allows him to grow the size of his licks while maintaining clarity and building sustain -- a key element to the intricate compositions of Phish.

Tom Marshall, Phish's lyricist, occasionally contributes to discussions on Phantasy Tour. He was interested in our talk of The Ross, and said he would ask Trey about it the next time they met. Tom returned to the board with a riveting message from Big Red himself: apparently Trey had just been thinking about revisiting the Ross for the upcoming shows — if he could only find it.

That was all the encouragement we needed. Christmas was coming, and our guitar hero needed his pedal. No problem! Immediately after reading Tom's post, a group of 50+ fans joined together as PFACT: “People for a Compressed Trey”. Scott Gray took the initiative and purchased a vintage Ross Compressor pedal from an e-bay auction. The rest of us chipped in a few bucks. We voted on a quote to be engraved on the bottom of the pedal: "And When The Moment Comes..." (but that's another story)

Scott spearheaded the logistics of acquiring the Ross, having it engraved, carefully wrapping the pedal in Christmas paper, and shipping it off to Tom Marshall who promised to deliver it to Trey at some point during the holidays.

I know I'm not alone in saying that the excitement I felt about this surprise was almost too much to contain in the weeks leading up to the day when Tom would finally deliver the news of a successful mission. We couldn't wait to hear Trey's response! Imagine being able to give an ultimate gift to your favorite guitar player -- not a t-shirt, not money, not even art. A tool to demonstrate our unbridled desire to hear that sound that we all fell in love with back in the day!

The anticipation built like the force of a Phish jam itself, finally climaxing two nights before the band officially announced their summer tour dates. Our spirits were high: Tom finally delivered the present to Trey on the evening of January 6th and posted pictures to prove it.

I still can't stop looking at these. Some say you'd be hard pressed to find a similar story that compares to this one in the history of rock and roll.

Here's to your triumphant return Trey, and Thanks For Everything!