Garbage IdeasFK Comp 500
Series Peak Limiter & Saturator
The Garbage Ideas FK Comp 500 is a brutally expressive FET peak limiter and saturator designed for engineers who aren’t afraid to push sound to its limits. Built around an aggressive FET topology and a Class A line amplifier, it delivers unmistakable character and impact. With two distinct modes, FK Comp moves effortlessly from controlled, gritty compression to raw, unapologetic drive. Comp mode adds punch and attitude to dull or lifeless sources, while Drive mode removes the sidechain entirely, allowing the +30 dB line amp to be driven hard for rich, musical saturation. Crucially, the circuit is carefully tuned to preserve high-frequency detail, ensuring clarity even under extreme operation.
The FK Comp 500 pairs an aggressive FET peak limiter with a Class A line amplifier, designed to inject character, weight, and edge into otherwise lifeless sources.
Two Modes, One Mission
Comp mode adds punch and personality through controlled FET compression, while Drive mode disengages the sidechain entirely, unleashing up to +30 dB of raw Class A gain for unapologetic saturation.
Musical Even When Pushed
Careful tuning of the line stages preserves high-frequency integrity even under extreme drive, ensuring cymbals and transients remain musical rather than collapsing into harsh noise.
Videos
Testimonials
Tom TapleyBruce Springsteen, Sugarland, Mastodon, Pearl Jam
“Holy compressor heaven! The guys over at Garbage Ideas have truly hit a grand slam with the FK Comp. The moment I started running drums through it, I fell in love. Simply put, this thing makes big sounds even bigger. If you’re looking for something bombastic and exciting, look no further. I love that it has just three knobs yet can handle anything you throw at it. Instant sound. Thanks for designing something awesome and ridiculously easy to use!”
Joseph ChudykKane Brown, Ghost, Teddy Swims
“A pair of these live as a parallel drum crush in all my mixes, but I’ll print a pass of almost every source with them. The drive mode is unreal. It’s hard to put into words what these can do, direct or in parallel. You can’t get this sound with a plugin.”
Ben H. AllenAnimal Collective, Gnarles Barkley, Soccer Mommy
"I’m using my FK comps all the time during both tracking and mixing. They’ve got an insane amount of variability from extremely subtle to extremely not subtle. Garbage Ideas really nailed it with a compressor unlike anything else on the market right now.”
Ben EtterDeerhunter, Kaiser Chiefs, Hazel English
“I’m not really interested in tools that are subtle, and FK Comp is anything but. I prefer circuits that can be pushed for heavy-handed parallel processing and FK transforms pretty much any source you throw at it. Particularly good as a stereo pair!”
