Here's what Nux Says about the pedal:
Booster and Compression Pedals are the gigging guitarist’s secret weapon. Both pedals are now available in one convenient metal housing, and it comes with selectable signal routing. The Boost Section comes with Boost Level, Drive, and Hi-Cut controls. The Compressor Section comes with Komp Level, Sustain, Blend, and Clip controls.
NUX Masamune is a sound-crafter pedal. It forges your dry-signal, enhancing your sound before sending your signal to your amp, and/or any effects unit. The Booster adds beneficial color to your signal, and, if necessary, after you adjust the boost & drive levels, you can cut high frequencies on your Input signal with the Hi-Cut Toggle Switch.
Masamune’s Kompressor does a remarkable job managing and enhancing your signal: Komp Level knob adjusts the final Output level for the Compressor, perfectly balancing your Input and Output signals. Sustain knob adjusts the compression ratio, and increases sustain. Higher sustain levels will squash your signal harder when you hit the strings and creates a longer, richer sustain. Blend knob adjusts the compressor transparency from 50% to 100%, so you can dial-in the exact amount of compressed dry-signal blend you want.
Clip Toggle allows you to choose the clipping range of your Input signal. The Toggle-UP position will squeeze the signal for voluminous sound, and Toggle-DOWN will open up more space on your clipping range.
NUX Masamune Booster & Kompressor has inside routing with 3 Functions:
1_Use both effects in parallel connection.
2_Choose which effect you want to come first on your signal chain.
3_Toggle-UP the MUTEX to engage only one effect at a time.
NUX Masamune has an external foot-switch jack Input. You can add Masamune to your pedal chain, and/or you can operate the pedal by using an additional remote switch.
Conclusion
$160 is not an insane amount of money for a nice pedal, but NUX has made a name for its self as being an affordable direct from China. It would be hard to recommend this pedal when there are similar pedals made much closer to home (or rather, assembled here). There is a big difference between buying a cheap Chinese pedal for $20 and buying a $160 pedal from a company halfway across the world. What happens if it breaks? How's the customer service? There is an inherent risk of buying a pedal like this and the high than average price tag takes away one of the strongest advantages to buying from a Chinese manufactorer.
