The closest thing I have to an always on peddle is my Effectrode Leveling Amp. I use it with the compression barely on. It adds a sweetness and clarity, a round harmonic smoothness, to anything I plug into it. Its off when I want a simpler tone. It also tends to make my mod pedals more intense sounding—at first I thought this was an effect of having the buffer there, but even when I have other pedals in between the LA-1A and the mod pedal, the change in intensity is still there.
The Tso is in the same style, and I prefer it to the Origin units I’ve tried. I think the last pedal I bought was the Unit 67, which has only minimal compressor controls, but if I was going somewhere and only wanted to take one pedal with me, there’s a good chance it would be that one. (I love the voicing on the boost, and the way the controls interact. If I were still buying pedals, I’d want to sample more of Drybell’s designs.)