LocoBox CM-01 Choker early 80's Japan

Uber rare Loco Box CM-01 Choker early 80's in excellent condition.

Controls

• Level - controls the output level

• Sensitivity - controls the amount of compression

"The Choker uses the same chip as the original Ross compressor which is also used in the MXR Dyna Comp and more recently the Keeley Compressor but the Choker is voiced differently than these examples. It sounds more Hi-Fi. The dynamics of the note are compressed while the frequencies are all there as well it may be adding some of its own. It's the only vintage compressor pedal that I know of that sounds great as an outboard studio compressor as well. You can use it on vocals, drums, pretty much anything. The Loco Box Choker may well be the perfect compressor pedal, so why is it such a secret?
"The Choker uses the same chip as the original Ross compressor which is also used in the MXR Dyna Comp and more recently the Keeley Compressor but the Choker is voiced differently than these examples. It sounds more Hi-Fi. The dynamics of the note are compressed while the frequencies are all there as well it may be adding some of its own. It's the only vintage compressor pedal that I know of that sounds great as an outboard studio compressor as well. You can use it on vocals, drums, pretty much anything. The Loco Box Choker may well be the perfect compressor pedal, so why is it such a secret? "

The History of Locobox

Information about the origin of the Locobox effects pedals is few and far between. In the beginning in the late '70s, all the pedals were handmade in a small factory in the city of Urawa, in Saitama, Japan. There were virtually only three men (the president, the designer and his boss) as well as six or seven women part-time jobbers. They did all the R&D, construction, testing, and even the silkscreening themselves.
They started out selling their pedals to Arai Boueki (Aria), and these had the brand name "Locobox." The main brand name was Locobox, but they did make a few small runs of other brands that are exactly the same pedal.

When the pedals switched to a more generic ABS resin casing in the early '80s to save money, they also changed the circuitry. So, the '80s compressors are not the same as the original Chokers...for instance. They made the same exact pedals with the Locobox brand and other brands such as Cutec, Pearl, Gig, Powervoice, Studio Series and even some Yamaha pedals. They simply changed out the brand name sticker on the pedal. Later on they were acquired by Aria (from what I can tell) and made pedals, rack gear and guitar and bass amps with both the Locobox and Aria brand names.

Quoted from someone that is blocked away ;
" I was reading an article in  magazine about Jason Falkner, member of the Grays, Jellyfish, etc., and he made a comment about gear he used to make his home recordings sound amazing. He said that he used a guitar effect pedal made by a company in the '70s called Locobox. The pedal was a compressor called The Choker and it just made everything sound great."