Thoughts on the compressors you've played?

[lv]

Interested to hear thoughts on the various units you've played. Overall I like comps that do not soften/darken the top end or add a lot of noise. I need enough compression that when I put a wah in front of the comp, it ckeeps the signal from overdriving the front end of a clean amp.

MXR '76 RI (analogman modded) - one of the best I've played, quiet, doesn't darken the top end, great feel, makes everything sound and feel better, clean and overdrive. A little pricey.

MXR Custom Comp - as much as I tried to dial it in to sound like the '76, it was always noisier, and never quite the same, shaved a little top end off. Nice for the price. Not sure if Analogman's mods make the '76 just overall quieter, but I found the custom comp a bit too noisy for me.

Retrosonic - too dark for my taste, built well.

Aya R-Comp - great feeling comp, but definitely shaves top end and it not the quietest. Did something really special when pushing ts style overdrives though, the extra tone/feel was worth the noise.


BJF Pine Green - great sound and feel, quiet, can be subtle, one of my favorite units.

Mad Professor - I had both the hand wired and the pcb, and the pcb is my favorite compressor. I have not played a compressor that is quieter, and the tone knob can make it a little brighter, a little smoother, just great feel. I don't turn it off.

Keeley - I know guys like these but I found both the 2 knob and 4 knob dark and noisy.

Durham Sexdrive - I wouldn't recommend this to anyone looking for a real compressor as it is pretty subtle, but damn great sounding anyway.

FX Engineering Mirage and Tumbleweed - both subtle, but man what great sounding/feeling units. Not enough actual compression for me, but quiet, clean, top end comes through.

Whirlwind Red Box - Offers a lot of the pleasing qualities of the '76 RI, though to my ears it does take away a bit of top end, and wasn't as quiet as my analogman modded '76, but still pretty quiet. Best bang for the buck comp imo.

[Debonair0806]

Thanks for the help and insight...will help in my comp decision

[Stratobuc]

Ross - good, but noisy

Boss CS-2 - noisy, and dark, way too much squish

DOD - a piece of junk, totally useless

Keeley - great overall unit, quiet, tunable

RAF Mirage - the best I ever used. I will NEVER leave a pedal on all the time. This is the only one I've ever been tempted to. It makes everything sound better.

[Rusty G.]

I happen to use the Keeley to bump the front end of my amp for solo work.

You know, people look for ways to bump up the front ends of their amps without adding alot of grind. . .Like a Dumble style amp. If that's the sound I'm going for, what I do is set my Two Rock Jet's lead channel to low gain, then turn the guitar's volume down to 4 and hit the front end with the Keeley Compressor. Adds a little boost and sustain to the sound without a lot of grind. It's there if you hit the strings hard, but soft picking is almost clean, yet it retains that "strained" sound.

[pipedwho]

Barber Tone Press - Ross style compressor with parallel path for the dry signal.

[mcdes]

Keeley compressor - didn't like it.... Seemed too dark, and tended to kill my tone.

AYA R-comp - really liked this pedal! It was one I could leave on all the time, and enjoy everything with it. Kinda like having my cake and eating it too!

Bearfoot PGC - I got the glow in the dark, and tho gimmicky, I like it.... As for the compressor itself, it's awesome! It's like 3 pedals in one! A clean boost, a compressor, and an EQ pedal! And it isn't totally in your face! I mainly just use it for clean or to jump up in a solo, and man it is a tone sweetener all right!

[Realfi]

Really liking the Bearfoot PGC as a leave on most of the time thing - and I've NEVER done that with a comp before.

I am curious about the Effectrode.

[Paul Conway]

I've got the Rothwell. Very transparent and doesn't affect feel but IMHO a little too bright with a strat, and perhaps not quite enough squish.

[NakedInTheRain]

Boss CS-2 - noisy, and dark, way too much squish.

i have to disagree with this one. i hated squishy compressors to the point where i went optical or nothing. the cs-2 is the only non-optical compressor that i've ever liked.

[lux_interior]

Most of the ones I remember playing, with comments: http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showpost.php?p=8360838&postcount=24

[Stratobuc]

i have to disagree with this one. i hated squishy compressors to the point where i went optical or nothing. the cs-2 is the only non-optical compressor that i've ever liked.


Which ones have you tried?

[NakedInTheRain]

Which ones have you tried?

dyna comp reissue, philosopher's tone germanium, diamond comp, cs-3.

[Stratobuc]

I suggest you try the non - optical RAF Mirage, and you will see how much darker, noisier, and closed sounding the Boss is in comparison.

[DrNugget]

JHS Pulp N Peel - nice sounding compressor but the noise is unbearable (at least for me). Returned the pedal for refund.

[zosozep7]

Ive pretty much have tried them all and my favorite has been the Diamond. The Effectrode was awesome too but i found it to ne noisy when using with dirt pedals. On its own though i thought it was the best comp ive tried.

[melodiusthunk]

I like my Diamond because it is quiet, and because the compression-sustain it adds does not dominate the character of my playing. A good compressor for someone who doesn't generally like either aggressive compression or a lot of "extra knobs" on their pedal units.

[anth202]

analogman mini bi-comp : too squishy on both sides

maxon cp101 : too squishy

maxon cp9 pro+ : very good, felt great

boss cs-2 : not bad, not great

dod milkbox: had a nice vibe going on, not that transparent

empress compressor: o baby this one is good. this is the one I currently use.

[zosozep7]

The Diamond was great with Les Pauls and Strats.

[Heady Jam Fan]

I am a Ross comp fan - I have owned the Barber TP, Analogman, Keeley and I currently have a Retro-Sonic. They are really similar with slight differences in noise, tone, headroom and how quickly they get really squished on the sustain knob.

I also have a Philosopher's Tone now - the amount of compression (and the feeling of it) isn't too far from a Ross, with a quick attack and being pretty squashed even from the start. The bloom is different though. The PT is also tonally flat while a Ross is midrangy.

The only other comp I had in the past year was a CP9pro+ which was awesome for those who like subtle compressors.

The Boss CS2 was one of the first pedals I owned, and one of the first pedals I hated.

[Madison]

DOD- useless
Boss C3- too squishy and noisy
Boss/ Allum- big improvement over stock, smoother & less noise
Carl Martin- okay. At the time the best one available
Keeley- pretty good, used one for 4 years
Barber TP- didn't keep it long, although I generally love anything Barber
Diamond- one of the best
Ego- I loved the performance, but couldn't dial out the bright
Forest Green- very smooth compressor, better @ sustain setting-still own
Empress- the best so far with lots of options for tweaking-still own
Bi-comp- tbd, coming in tomorrow

Yeah I like compressors! Probably missed a few in the list.

[erksin]

Seems I like the extreme ends of the spectrum when it comes to Comps. Never liked the 'standard' comps like the DynaComp or CS-2 that I've owned.

I *love* the Diamond - does the best job of giving some leveling and punch without killing my pick attack. I use this pedal way more than I ever thought I would.

For really extreme squish, I haven't played anything better than the Celmo Sardine Can - ridiculous levels of compression and it has a dirty quality to it at certain settings that kills for lo-fi stuff.

Another cool one for lo-fi cheese is the Arion SCO-1 - really great sounding pedal.

[Dbwalker]

I'm not big on using compression as an effect, DynaComp I'm looking at you!

But I have a JoeMeek FLoorQ, always on, after dirt, short attack, long release to time the level should I turn on the FuzzFactory or whatever and cause a huge spike in level.

It's transparent, can be over the top if adjusted to use an an effect, with separate attack, release and sensitivity knobs you can dial it in to what you need it to do.

The MXR Bass Comp looks interesting, all the controls are there as with the JoeMeek.

[kevinhifi]

A good tip on the Orange Squeezer inspired comps is to put a nice strong buffer in front of it, or a subtle boost. Those circuits can cause that drop in the high-end sparkle on the attack the OP mentioned. A buffer up front can bring it all back and make the compressor so transparent that it really just sounds like your "dry" signal with more sustain. YMMV of course.

[AceBSpankin]

1. Philosophers Tone= Weird and mechanical.
2.76 Reissue Dyna= Cool, a little to squishy, no LED, switching batteries sux!
3.Ego Comp by Wampler= I stopped looking after I got this one! Everything I wanted out of a comp and more. Like the blend and the tone knob.
I still want a Orange Squeeze cause Mark Knophler kicks azz!!

[crawz]

The best I know from personal experience is this:

FX Engineering's RAF Mirage ---> Montez Aldridge

... great guy to work with! Can't recommend him more highly.

[Rumble]

Marshall ED-1 here. It's a funkified looking thing and the settings are hard to see. But I like what it does.

[gpro34]

Interested to hear thoughts on the various units you've played. Overall I like comps that do not soften/darken the top end or add a lot of noise. I need enough compression that when I put a wah in front of the comp, it ckeeps the signal from overdriving the front end of a clean amp.

MXR '76 RI (analogman modded) - one of the best I've played, quiet, doesn't darken the top end, great feel, makes everything sound and feel better, clean and overdrive. A little pricey.

MXR Custom Comp - as much as I tried to dial it in to sound like the '76, it was always noisier, and never quite the same, shaved a little top end off. Nice for the price. Not sure if Analogman's mods make the '76 just overall quieter, but I found the custom comp a bit too noisy for me.

Retrosonic - too dark for my taste, built well.

Aya R-Comp - great feeling comp, but definitely shaves top end and it not the quietest. Did something really special when pushing ts style overdrives though, the extra tone/feel was worth the noise.


BJF Pine Green - great sound and feel, quiet, can be subtle, one of my favorite units.

Mad Professor - I had both the hand wired and the pcb, and the pcb is my favorite compressor. I have not played a compressor that is quieter, and the tone knob can make it a little brighter, a little smoother, just great feel. I don't turn it off.

Keeley - I know guys like these but I found both the 2 knob and 4 knob dark and noisy.

Durham Sexdrive - I wouldn't recommend this to anyone looking for a real compressor as it is pretty subtle, but damn great sounding anyway.

FX Engineering Mirage and Tumbleweed - both subtle, but man what great sounding/feeling units. Not enough actual compression for me, but quiet, clean, top end comes through.

Whirlwind Red Box - Offers a lot of the pleasing qualities of the '76 RI, though to my ears it does take away a bit of top end, and wasn't as quiet as my analogman modded '76, but still pretty quiet. Best bang for the buck comp imo.

Nice review Lou!

[JacksonCarter]

ive had the following...

dyna comp- pump, squish, not enough headroom, repeat.

cs-3-noisy clicky but a must for that 90s nashville sound. i really like this pedal where it shines.

cs-2 -organic, dark, and not so good for the twangy stuff. i think of this one more as a clean "overdrive" bc of what it does to the tone and feel.

keeley- it does something weird with the low end to me... too beefy.

diamond- i love this pedal. it can get more compression without pumping and squishing than any other pedal ive found.

wampler ego comp- just got this a week ago. so far im in love. it can do all of the things i love about the listed pedals. great pedal.

the diamond or the wampler would be my top recommendations.

[jordiesaenz]

EMMA TransMORGrifier

It's freaking great. It only got really noisy with my Danelectro, but gave me the jangliest tones.

[cas29]

I had a philosophers tone and liked it. It was a really nice sounding comp and had insane sustain. I wish they took the grit control off it as even with the grit all the way down I still heard a feint bit in the background and so I sold it.

I have an empress comp now, and while I typically against expensive pedals, I have to say this thing is quite amazing. I see leaving this as an always on because it just sounds great.

My only gripe with it is the cost (but I still bought it) and the red lettering on the blue box is a pain in the arse to read even in light.

But the sound is there. Its damn amazing.

[batsbrew]

got to a-b a Keeley compressor against a Barber tone press

:D
both of these, are guitar player magazine editor's choice award winners.

my luthier, bought a keeley comp.

i bought a Barber tone press.

we got together last night and a/b'd the two-- same rig, same guitar, same settings, etc.

gotta say, they're both amazingly good sounding compressers.

both are pretty transparent.

both are dirt simple to operate.

both have true bypass. you don't hear them in line at all, when the effect is off.
all other compressors, i've ever tried, sucked tone when off.

both have led's to show when the effect is engaged.

both are made very well.

the barber is bigger, and a bit heftier, than the keeley. i like heavy, myself, but if it was an issue of fitting a smaller pedal on a pedalboard, the keeley has the upper hand.

http://www.12stringbass.net/Keeley1x.jpg
$219

the keeley, is based somewhat on the mxr dynacomp.
i had a dyncomp, til about a month ago, so i'm well versed in the feel of that classic comp.
the keeley, is more transparent, and not quite as noisy, as the original mxr dynacomp.
the keeley has more aggressive settings on the sensitivity, and gets pretty noisy when dimed (completely understandable with high settings of ANY compressor).

-but the middle settings sounds really nice, and even at really low settings, you can get very transparent compressor settings. Still, you can hear a certain amount of 'pop' at the harder pick attacks, and this is very much in line with the classic dynacomp sound....and it still sounds 'squished' to my ears...... it's more obvious that this effect is on, even on mild settings, than what is achievable with the tone press.

it has an 'attack' control, inside the box, that can be tweaked to a degree, but is somewhat a nuisance to get to and mess with...
we left this set on the factory setting for this test.

the barber Tone Press, can do this same sound, but has a completely other side as well....

it can do "Parallel compression".
and it works.

website defines it best:
Barber developed a one-of-a-kind and quite proprietary continuous “blend control” circuit and combined it with a discrete “Class A” FET mixer circuit to allow you to continuously blend the natural signal of your carefully selected guitar with a “phase-corrected” classic compression circuit.

basically, i can dial in the amount of compression (sustain) i want, then take the blend knob and dial in the straight, dry unaffected guitar signal along with the compressed signal.
this allows me to set the compressor so i get exactly the amount of 'attack' i want, and it comes through without being squished.

when i first plugged it in, it almost seemed like the compressor was not doing anything...
because you hear all of your original attack, and with typical compressors, you hear the compressor working on the signal right away. i had to leave that session, come back later with a different mindset, before i really became aware of how this thing really works.

--with the tone press, it's very subtle how it's working, and doesn't mess with the basic tone and dynamics as much, based on how you set the blend control. but you still get all the compression you want, it's just way more dynamic.

it seems to enhance the tone as well, meaning, it doesn't 'take away' any of the treble or bass response. you can turn the blend all the way to the right, and get the 'dynacomp' sound if you want it.

but i'm finding, the unique sound of this compressor has allowed me to dial in a much more natural sounding effect.

it sounds perfect for strats.

i back it down a bit for humbuckers....... which is as easy as just dialing the 'blend' knob back a notch or two.....

a side benefit of this pedal...
you can use it as a class A 'clean boost'.......... with 8 db of boost, and the blend all the way to the left.

there is a 'color' trim pot inside the box. you can tweak this to give a more round vintage sound. i like it in the factory 'full on' setting.

http://www.barberelectronics.com/images/Tone_Press_front.jpg
$139.95

for the price, i think it's a no brainer.

YMMV

[BrewDrinkRepeat]

Absolutely adore the Mad Professor Forest Green in sustain mode.

[Madison]

An update to my earlier list, since I received the Analogman Bi-comp yesterday. At first it seemed to be too powerful a compressor, and I certainly couldn't kick in both sides for a boost without going way over the top..one reason I was attracted to the Bicomp. Then I went inside and turned the attack trim pot up, and outside turned the compressor knob all the way off. Set the OC volume at 1:00 and Ross at 2:00. BAM...that is the setting! In this way you can run the OC always on, and kick in the Ross for a boost. The amount of squish is subtle, the sustain endless, and there is something going on with the clean tone that is very appealing. Real nice when playing with fingers only.

I'm runnning it into a KOT, which of course makes everything even better. Gotta love the quality of Analogman stuff.

[Stratobuc]

Really baffled why more people do not seem to want to try the RAF Mirage.

[firebrand]

Another nod to the Wampler EGO comp here. It won out over a half dozen (Keeley, MXR, Boss, Vintage ROSS) other comps to be my main one. I have a germanium modded Philosopher that I use for Gilmourish textures. It's a lot like a BOSS without the noise floor.

[natethegreat12]

Keeley Compressor: Full. quiet. Adds pristine fullness to signal without changing original tone. If you're searching for that "Always On" compressor.

MXR dynacomp: Chimey top end. Kills your lowend. noisy. Excellent for "Chicken Pickin"

MXR custom comp: very balanced. full sounding. fairly quiet. keeley clone

Boss CS-3: IMO completely alters the original guitar tone. Not an "Always On" compressor pedal. noisy. Heavy Squish. Think RHCP, funky tones

Barber Tone Press: balanced. good tones. fairly quiet. fair price.

Demeter Compressor: transparent. quiet. IMO more of a limiter than compressor. pricey
"
Pigtronix's Philosphers Tone: IMO higher fidelity Boss Compressor clone. Unusual gain/distortion knob adds "hair" to signal. med quiet.

[playthecray]

Me too. My RAF Mirage is always on.



Really baffled why more people do not seem to want to try the RAF Mirage.

[Stratobuc]

I never ever leave any pedal on all the time. The Mirage is the only one I've ever been tempted to do this with.

[semi-hollowbody]

boss cs-2 = ok...
visual sound route 66 = very good
barber tone press = great

[thesooze]

Here's a few recent thoughts from me:

Empress Compressor: Definitely wins on versatility. Almost to a fault. So many compression settings in here, it's easy to get a little lost when trying to pull up a compression setting. This has the flattest EQ of the bunch. VERY transparent when you want it to be. Has the mix knob, which is great for subtle. Also, I found the ratio toggle great for getting a little more/less compression on the fly without turning knobs. This pedal can also introduce some gain/drive into your signal, which the others would not do. This has the most level boost too (db), and can get crazy loud. This is one of the top two contenders after the comparison.

Wampler Ego Compressor: This one wins on easy-to-dial in great sounds. Most positions of the knobs yielded good sounds. In other words, hard to get a bad sounding comp out of the Ego. The knobs had a more drastic effect when moved, compared with the Empress. I felt that it was more intuitive-- move this, hear the change immediately. I think this comes from the Attack being out of the circuit until the Mix is maxed out, and there being no Release function. Feature-wise, this is basically a Tone Press with a tone knob (unless the Mix is maxed-- then you get attack). For me, this is the other top two contenders. I was able to do more with the Empress, but for the sounds I'm looking for, this might be an easier to understand/dial-in pedal for me, while also taking up less real estate.

Bearfoot Pale Green Compressor: The PGC is a nifty little box if you're looking for subtle. You won't get crazy squash from this one, but just a nice tone-enhancing oomph to your signal. Even with the comp dimed, you still don't have a ton of difference in your playing dynamics (especially when compared with the other three comps). The tone knob is quite different than the Wampler-- although it doesn't seem to get as bright. There's more of an upper mids shift to my ear, whereas the Wampler is adding back highs. The PGC can also get much darker than the Ego Comp when fully CCW. This would be a great clean boost as well as a slight even-out-er for lead parts and rhythm strumming... but for me, it wasn't enough of a compression effect as I am looking for.

FX Mirage Compressor: My least favorite of the bunch, due to it's dark nature. Two knobs, so it is what it is. Everything sounded duller than the other three pedals, by comparison. There's a covered quality to it I didn't like, and after using the Empress and the Wampler, I got used to dialing back the mix for a more subtle comp sound... I missed that feature a lot with the Mirage. This is a good, simple, fitting box for simple squish - especially with a bright setup. I can see the Wampler being a little bright for some, but with my it was just right and this was a little bit of a blanket-over-amp experience for me.

----

I also experimented with the compressors before and after my Caroline Wave Cannon, to get a feel for how they react with a drive on. All the characteristics above really rang true with the drive on-- just more of it! The Empress was flattest-- it sounded just like the Wave Cannon, just louder and more compressed (go figure). The Wampler sounded killer as well, but added in a certain highness/brightness that was pretty pleasing actually. You definitely can hear when the Ego is on more than when the Empress is on (it's a more in-your-face compressor). The PGC added a little too much of it's EQ into the drive that I didn't care for. It's much better on it's own than stacked with the Wave Cannon (at least in my rig). The Mirage made things very dark/wooly again.
Not my fave of the bunch, for sure.

So there you have it! One guy's gear musing on one day through one dude's rig! :rockin Hopefully it will give you a small insight into these stompboxes.

[GAT]

I've had lots of great compressors and I've realized that I just do not like them at all. I know I'll never buy one again.

[XXTwighlight]

Pulp N Peel was the least noisiest comp pedal I've tried. Others are much noisier.

But the be all end all for me is the G-Lab comp. Almost noiseless. Hardly any pump n breathe. Very well built and 2 channels of compression. I set one for always on and the other as my vol. boost pedal. If you can swing the $250,...get it!

[Rod]

The Diamond was great with Les Pauls and Strats.

My vote as well. Incredible comp. I have owned many comps and hated them all. Until i got my self a Diamond. truly in a different league. I leave mine on all the time. Makes everything fuller warmer sparklier. Its amazing and built in Canada

[seltaeb]

I really love my Janglebox. It works very well with all of my guitars, but especially my Rickenbacker 360-12 and my AC30. Match made in heaven!

I've also tried a Boss CS-3, and to me, that pedal took away too much of the guitar's natural tone.

[Andy cowman]

Just ordered a strymon ob1. My word these things fly under the radar!