1976 Dyna Comp vs. Keeley Compressor

[Boytbpc]

I'm ordering one of the two. I've played the Dyna Comp and liked it, but the keeley comp is known to be amazing. Which one would YOU choose?

[Jim Moulton]

I like the tone of the 76 reissue a lot better, but it was noisey in my set up, most folk said it was not noisey, so I would go for thr 76 MXR
J

[man_mars]

I have the '76 as well. It's a wonderful sounding pedal. You'll love the tone. Never tried the Keeley, so can't comment on it.

[BillyK]

Between those two? The MXR RI. No contest.

[LSGoCards7]

The Keeley colors the tone a lot! MXR or Whirlwind Red Box.

Tells you who is who, WATCH FIRST: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_Ln_dIKCkw&fmt=18

Better comparison: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcWHOjfZcSM&feature=related&fmt=18

[lifeinsong]

Depends what you're looking for...the Keeley is built better, runs quieter, and it colors your tone in a good way. The Dyna Comp has been a standard for years.

[Muzzy]

I love keeley pedals but, For a comp I would go with the Dynacomp.

[Boytbpc]

K, that was how I was leaning anyway. Now, should I wait until xmas or not? :)

[B_of_H]

byoc 5 knob. :)

[Stratobuc]

Keeley

[this1smyne]

keeley above and beyond. my buddy has an old script dyna and its practically unusable live. the reissue ones are supposed to be good, but i've got no interest, the keeley does it all.

[Unadan]

keeley above and beyond. my buddy has an old script dyna and its practically unusable live. the reissue ones are supposed to be good, but i've got no interest, the keeley does it all.

That seems a bit hard to believe especially since the old script models have been used in live situations for literally decades.

[Andre357]

If your talking the limited edition ( they only have a limited amount of the " metal cans " ) handwired 76 Dyna comp - re-issue, i would go for one of those....

It really does have a certain mojo and magic that is hard to describe. It really is a tone enhancer.

While the keeley is very good it seems to cut the highs or boost the lows a small subtle amount so you get that blanket over the rig effect IMHO...

The re-issue dynacomp does not cut the highs AT ALL...and in that sense is more transparent.

Once i got mine I finally realized what the vintage dyna comp hype was all about and it replaced a keeley 4 knob compressor off my board...

I'm not sure if the recent re-issues are even available any more.... the regular Dyna comp is very different from the handwired re-issue and not as good as the Keeley...

[this1smyne]

That seems a bit hard to believe especially since the old script models have been used in live situations for literally decades.

we've got it here in its vintage glory, its decent, but the noise floor is HIGH, too much i think. maybe the one i've played through has got some issues or something.... maybe not used to being run on adapter? (9v tail through the bottom of the plate).

[Unadan]

The 76 dyna is still available:

http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?page=products/pip&id=387&pmh=products/p_and_e

[Supertgtr]

I would highly recommend you trying the Whirlwind Red Box. It IS the original curcuit of the dynacomp. They're at a very good price too.

[embrionic]

Hi there, kinda new here... when should I stop saying that? ;)

The whirlwind is indeed a very good compressor, but imho it does not sound like the real '78 Dyna I compared it to. We had a bit of a compressor shoot-out at the studio the other night and they ranked the following way:

1. Vintage '78 dyna comp (not a reissue) - Clear, clean, very responsive, no high end loss, adds a certain sparkle and dimension to the sound. Just works in a pedal set-up and gigging etc.

2. 1984 Dyna Comp with Monte Allums Mods - Clear, creamy, only slight high end loss, quieter than stock and not too noisy at higher compression settings. Even though this was a "vintage" circuit it exhibited some of the symptoms of #4 below before it was modded. This mod is pretty cool and now its awesome.

3. Whirlwind Red Box- About the same as the '86 Allums, but just seemed a little less clear in the high end. This might be because I didn't spend 2 hours modding it! But i think there was slight difference. A little more midrange perhaps causing a masking effect on the sparkle I hear on 1 and (a bit) 2? Have not tried this one in a band situation yet, so it is possible it might hold up a little better when competing with other instruments.

4. Dyna-comp M102 - umodded- Not for me. Low end distortion, too much squash, noisy.

I have not heard the '76 reissue. As a matter of personal and professional policy I never comment on something I have never heard/owned. If I can get my hands on one I would be happy to compare it to the original.

My real test for a compressor is, at zero compression, might I consider leaving it on all the time? The only one that passes this test for me is still the orginal dyna. I wonder how the Diamond fares in this regard? *

One final note. That whirlwind is really nice. If I did not have the Allums mod, I would keep it as my backup. But I want to set the record straight since there has been much speculation... The whirlwind circuit, on visual inspection, was more similar to my Rochester vintage 84 with LED, as opposed to the earlier script logo. But this particular '84 compressor is a weird "transition" pedal for MXR anyway. Vintage circuit board, but with LED, and no oil-can? I think this may be just a couple of component changes from the script to accommodate the different chip? Again, I am talking visual inspection here, it may indeed be an identical schematic and part values other than the "chip".

Anyway the whirlwind did NOT have the oil can op-amp, as has been rumoured - it is a CA3080A standard IC chip. The original oil-can op-amp may be the key to the sound of the original dyna-comp. But the whirlwind does sound great.

Hope this is helpful.

Cheers.

* edit for clarification:That's not the way I actually use my compressor in my personal rig (well sometimes). What I meant was this... I think even stompboxes, when dialed to minimum or no effect if possible (unity gain - about 3 o'clock- and sensitivity at zero in this case) should either be transparent or at least do something to the tone that you really like. Then you can dial in what you want from there. Not sure I made that entirely clear the way I said it above.

[Jim Moulton]

I thought the Whirlwind was tonally ok, but not much compression, evern maxed out. I LOVED the 76 RI, i think that you are right, the oilcan ic makes a difference, The tone in the RI is incredible, but mine was incredibly noisey, so noisey , that it was unusable. How can that issue be fixed?
Jim

[Boytbpc]

Anybody know the cheapest place to order the Dyna Comp from in Europe? Shipping from the states is going to be around $30 and I want to save my pennies. ;)

[jtw]

Just wanted to jump in and say I purchased a '76 Dyna Comp RI last week and have done 3 gigs with it so far. This thing is great...and that's coming from someone who was a devout "no compressor" guy for years.

[Andre357]

I thought the Whirlwind was tonally ok, but not much compression, evern maxed out. I LOVED the 76 RI, i think that you are right, the oilcan ic makes a difference, The tone in the RI is incredible, but mine was incredibly noisey, so noisey , that it was unusable. How can that issue be fixed?
Jim


Mine is not noisey. In fact it's less noisy than many other compressors I've used, including a couple of " boutique " ones " .

All compressors inherently increase any hum that's already present in your rig, ( 60 cycle hum from single coils or a bad cord or something ) but if yours seems really noisey I would send it to dunlop for service.

Did you have it modded at all ?

[Ocelot]

I love the Keeley. It's hard to imagine a better sounding compressor pedal. I like the way the old MXRs color the tone, especially for slide playing, but they're just too damn noisy for my tastes.

[Jim Moulton]

No, I sent it back and was told by the guy who sold it, it was like all of the rest, I have a single coil compressor friendly pup, would true bypass help?
JIm
PS- Keeleys do not all sound the same or I would have one, I had one that blew me away, but tried 3 others and they were disappointing

[StompboxMan]

The Keeley Comp has 4 controls and a longer sustain then the Dyna Comp.

[Jim Moulton]

The last 4 knob Keeley That I had, clipped and the tone was poor

[sanhozay]

Four years ago, the Keeley Comp was the one to beat. Time passes and we have more options to get excited about. I presently use the '76 DC ri, great pedal! I used and also like, the Keeley .The '76 has no led, no power jack and that's a bit of a PIA - my biggest gripe. It's also not TB, so getting overly ginned about hoping in the wayback machine 33 years might set you up for a head scratcher, especially compared to the present orientation regarding pedals {& your specific board}.

I'm loving the '76 ri but it can get congested and spitty if set too loud, or used with another dirt pedal, but so can the Keeley. The Keeley has some modern trimmings that are imperative to some players and sounds wonderful, if not {at times} too articulate & hi-fi sounding. Great pedal and easily one of the best in class compressors. '76 ri is a work of pure art and passion. I'd get both.

[BillyK]

Sanhozay:
Agreed. The '76 RI is wonderful. So is my modded CS-3. These two have been my go-to's for a while now.

I got the Nova Dynamics a month/two ago and it continues to amaze. It does everything the Ross-based circuits do, everything the opto comps do - and that's just the start. Beyond that, there's studio multi-band compression that is unbelievable when you want "subtle". Impossible to turn off.

Plus it's the best noise gate on the market, IMO (I've owned a few!)

Plus, the price is the same/less than the MXR or Keeley!!

If you can live with a dedicated wall wart and if you understand compression and gating (and can therefore manage the controls), nothing comes close to the Nova.

[gatordoc]

I thought the Whirlwind was tonally ok, but not much compression, evern maxed out. I LOVED the 76 RI, i think that you are right, the oilcan ic makes a difference, The tone in the RI is incredible, but mine was incredibly noisey, so noisey , that it was unusable. How can that issue be fixed?
Jim

I think I would just try another 76 RI. Mine is pretty quiet at the standard DC 3:00 and 9:00 settings and dead quiet at 2:00 and 9:00. Also quiet at 12:00 and 12:00. If I was to run it at 3:00 and 3:00 then it would be really noisy but I can't see myself ever doing that. For one thing, the volume would blow me away! I'm using a G&L S-500 and the single coil pickups are higher output but still a bit quieter than in a Strat just for reference.

[Boytbpc]

Resurrecting my old thread to update:

I picked up a '77 DynaComp that has the '76 circuit, script logo on the back, and block on the front. It sounds great and it is quickly becoming my 'always on' pedal.