The Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio is a Crazy Tube Circuits compressor pedal. Close alternatives include the Strymon Compadre Dual Voice Compressor and the Origin Effects Cali76 V2 FET Compressor. It pairs well with the Marshall Super Bass and the Fender Deluxe Reverb.
Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio
Crazy Tube Circuits · pedal
The Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio (Phi) is a dual-engine compressor pedal featuring separate FET and optical compression circuits in one enclosure with a switch to select between them. The FET engine delivers crisp, punchy compression while the optical circuit provides warm, fluid compression. The pedal essentially delivers two distinct compressor voices in one unit. Built in Greece by Crazy Tube Circuits with boutique quality components.
What stands out
“The Golden Ratio delivers two distinct compressor characters in one pedal by combining separate FET and optical compression circuits, with the FET engine providing crisp, punchy limiting and the optical circuit offering warm, fluid dynamic …”
— from the community notes
“Its standout strength is the two-engine design that covers FET crisp-punch and optical warm-fluid compression from one pedal”
— from the community notes
“Use-case wise it suits players who want both punchy studio compression and warm vintage optical compression”
— from the community notes
“FET engine crisp-punch and optical engine warm-fluid cover the two most desirable compressor aesthetic poles”
— from the reviews
“The FET engine delivers crisp, punchy compression while the optical circuit provides warm, fluid compression”
— from the listing
- compressor
- optical
- optical compression
- fet
- punchy
- punch
- warm
- studio
Genres the Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio is commonly used in
- Alternative Rock
- Country
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
Amps that pair well with the Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio
Marshall Super Bass
Marshall
29% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (warm → bright)
Where this leans warm, Marshall Super Bass answers back bright
Comes later in the signal chain
Fender Deluxe Reverb
Fender
29% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (warm → bright)
Fender Deluxe Reverb's bright balances out the warm tone
Comes later in the signal chain
Revv Generator 100P MkIII 3-Channel Head
Revv
23% matchshapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain.
Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio leans toward tight, and that's a real, usable character to pair with
Comes later in the signal chain
Vox AC30 Guitar Combo Amp
Vox
21% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → warm)
Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio leans toward tight, and that's a real, usable character to pair with
Comes later in the signal chain
Marshall JCM800 2205 50-Watt Amplifier Head
Marshall
19% matchshapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain.
Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio's own tight character is the real reason this is worth trying
Comes later in the signal chain
Engl Savage 120 Mark II E610II 120 Watt 4 Channel Tube
Engl
19% matchshapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain.
Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio leans toward tight, and that's a real, usable character to pair with
Comes later in the signal chain
Krank Krankenstein
Krank
17% matchshapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain.
What Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio brings here leans toward tight — that's worth building a pairing around
Comes later in the signal chain
PRS DGT 15
PRS
17% matchshapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain.
What Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio brings here leans toward tight — that's worth building a pairing around
Comes later in the signal chain
See all 58 amps that pair with the Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio →
Pedals that stack with the Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio
Tech 21 SansAmp
Tech 21
32% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (warm → bright)
Tech 21 SansAmp leans bright right where the warm tone needs it
Comes later in the signal chain
Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster
Dallas
32% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (warm → bright)
The Rangemaster's warm germanium treble boost gives the Golden Ratio's punchy optical compression a brighter signal to shape.
Comes later in the signal chain
Death By Audio Octave Clang
Death By Audio
26% matchshapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain.
Run the Golden Ratio's punchy optical compression ahead of the Octave Clang so its wild octave fuzz tracks more consistently instead of spiking unevenly.
Comes later in the signal chain
RHC Rat Turbo Rat Distortion
Rhc Audio
24% matchshapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain.
Run the Golden Ratio before the Turbo Rat to control dynamics before its aggressive clipping exaggerates every pick attack.
Comes later in the signal chain
Mooer 008
Mooer
24% matchshapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain.
Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio leans toward tight, and that's a real, usable character to pair with
Comes later in the signal chain
Ibanez Pentatone Preamp
Ibanez
23% matchshapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain.
The Golden Ratio's punchy, optical FET compression evens dynamics before the Pentatone's own direct-recording preamp.
Comes later in the signal chain
Walrus Audio Ages
Walrus Audio
23% matchshapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain.
Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio's own tight character is the real reason this is worth trying
Comes later in the signal chain
Tone City Holy Aura
Tone City
22% matchshapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain.
Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio's own tight character is the real reason this is worth trying
Comes later in the signal chain
See all 95 pedals that pair with the Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio →
Alternativessee all similar tone character →
Strymon Compadre Dual Voice Compressor
Strymon
65% similarityShared character: compressor, punchy, studio
Origin Effects Cali76 V2 FET Compressor
Origin Effects
60% similarityShared character: compressor, punchy, studio
Aphex Punch Factory Compressor
Aphex
57% similarityShared character: compressor, punch, studio
Keeley Classic Keeley Compressor
Keeley
54% similarityShared character: compressor, alternative, studio
J. Rockett Jrad Squeegee Compressor
J Rockett
54% similarityShared character: compressor, punch
Carl Martin Classic Opto-Compressor
Carl Martin
53% similarityShared character: compressor, signal chain, warm
CNZ Audio SCP-20
Cnz Audio
53% similarityShared character: compressor, signal chain, warm
ThorpyFX The fat general
ThorpyFX
53% similarityShared character: compressor, warm, studio
Greer Lamplighter Optical Compressor
Greer
52% similarityShared character: compressor, alternative
Mooer Dyna Compressor
Mooer
51% similarityShared character: compressor
Wampler Cory Wong
Wampler
51% similarityShared character: compressor, punchy
MXR Super Comp M132
Dunlop
51% similarityShared character: compressor, studio
See all alternatives to the Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio (cheaper + boutique) →
Questions people ask
What are good alternatives to the Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio?+
The closest matches in character are the Strymon Compadre Dual Voice Compressor, the Origin Effects Cali76 V2 FET Compressor, the Aphex Punch Factory Compressor.
What pairs well with the Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio?+
Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Marshall Super Bass, Fender Deluxe Reverb, Revv Generator 100P MkIII 3-Channel Head — Where this leans warm, Marshall Super Bass answers back bright.