NPD: Diamond Compressor

[Abandoned]

Originally Posted by telepunk

The Diamond will not and can actually add high end

Good to know thanks!

[Abandoned]

Originally Posted by vibrostrat43

I thought they just subtracted a little low end to make the highs stand out more? That's what "trim" is typically used for on other compressors (though I know it's not called that on the Diamond). I think what you seem to not like about it Abandoned is that they can slow the pick attack down...great for blues licks, and slow melodic solos, but not so much for chords or faster playing...it has a similar effect on our ears as cutting off some high end when run this way. The good thing is that compressors can make the attack MORE pronounced if you want them too, and that helps me with even my mediocre MXR Custom compressor to get a more clear sound when I have my amp cranked.

Thats great info - thanks man!

Do you know how the MXR & Diamond differ?

For what it's worth I don't want the typical compressor squash effect. I just want a tone sweetener, and a pedal to help even things out but not squash or take away chime or any original sound of my tone that I like. Can the MXR do this? Or maybe the diamond?

[blackba]

Originally Posted by Abandoned

Thats great info - thanks man!

Do you know how the MXR & Diamond differ?

For what it's worth I don't want the typical compressor squash effect. I just want a tone sweetener, and a pedal to help even things out but not squash or take away chime or any original sound of my tone that I like. Can the MXR do this? Or maybe the diamond?

Sounds like the Diamond is the pedal you want, it doesn't compress as much as a typical Dnya comp and seems to add a sweetness to your tone.

[SillyWabbit]

Originally Posted by Csapo

Great description and I love mine too. Whenever I change out my board, the Diamond Compressor is the one pedal which stays.

Here is my recent...




Bonus is the first class customer service and support from the guys at Diamond. I've had to reach out a couple of times to them and always a quick, thorough and friendly response.

Ya can't go wrong with products from Nova Scotia!!!





My Top 5 Nova Scotia "MUST"s...
5. - Great at midnight, after a few too many Keith's. Otherwise, stay away...



4. Nothing better than getting a Lobster Roll & fries from the drive-thru



3. - Just the best beer in the land...


2. - One of a kind. Well worth the trip to Bedford...



1. Y'all know who is #1...

Wow. That green/blue comp. is sexy.

[Csapo]

Originally Posted by SillyWabbit

Wow. That green/blue comp. is sexy.

Surf green, done for Humbucker Music...

[SillyWabbit]

ok I'm getting a little confused here. So half of my pedals have volume knobs. How do I go about knowing where I want each pedal's volume to be? Does the volume knob of each pedal basically control how much of the translated signal goes on to the rest of the chain? I was messing around with the red muck pedal (Fuzz) and was boosting with the diamond compressor and voodoo lab sparkle drive and it got pretty friggin loud. Like loud enough to where I was a little concerned I might blow my speakers.

[jason41224]

^usually, volume means output volume. this is different from mix, or blend, which is how much of the wet signal is effecting the dry signal. usually volume is set to unity (same volume if you turn the pedal on or off), but depending on your setup it might be beneficial to push the volume and use the pedal as a booster to overdrive your amp a little. i use my compressor in this manner to push my amp a little bit harder.

and you won't have to worry about blowing your speakers from simply boosting your guitar.

[SillyWabbit]

Originally Posted by jason41224

^usually, volume means output volume. this is different from mix, or blend, which is how much of the wet signal is effecting the dry signal. usually volume is set to unity (same volume if you turn the pedal on or off), but depending on your setup it might be beneficial to push the volume and use the pedal as a booster to overdrive your amp a little. i use my compressor in this manner to push my amp a little bit harder.

and you won't have to worry about blowing your speakers from simply boosting your guitar.

Thank you! This is exactly what I'm going to do--unitize every pedal besides the diamond which I'll use as a boost. Now I'm liking the EQ at just about 2 o'clock. I feel like I lost a tad bit of vox chime on the high strings but adjusting the EQ not only brought it back, it enhanced it.

[jbd3]

Originally Posted by vibrostrat43

I did have a question for those of you that own the Diamond though. I like to run my compressors before my drives because then it evens out the volume of my playing going into the drive and I get a more even amount of distortion coming out (I play rhythm mostly). The problem is that in doing so my drives also boost the noise brought up in the compressor. Running the compressor after solves this problem, but then I get more varying amounts than if run before so I lose that. The question is: Is the Diamond quiet enough that I can run it pre-dirt boxes without introducing too much noise?

In short, yes, you sure can. I was playing with some other guys tonight, and had my Diamond Comp before a Rockbox Boiling Point, and any extra noise--if there was any--disappeared once everybody was playing. And this was with a Tele, which hardly has quiet p'ups.

Comp before drive is basically orthodoxy (I've never thought it sounded right any other way) and the Diamond works great this way.

[jbd3]

Originally Posted by SillyWabbit

Literally just got done trying out my new diamond compressor. WOW. I went into this being very vary of the need for this pedal but all doubts were destroyed in about 30 minutes. I thought having a Vox AC30C2 that my tone might have already been compressed enough. Also, I want everyone to know I absolutely love my clean tone and if the Diamond would have muddled this in any way I'd already be on my way to return it.

This the best way I know how to describe what the diamond does: it makes my tone feel more alive. All that smooth clean sound with the signature vox chime became more full and distinct. It's beautiful. As of right now I'm loving everything at 12 o'clock.

I play mine with a Carr Rambler, and the overall effect is the same--it just seems to bring out the best in an already great amp. I got some compliments tonight on my tone from some guys who were much better than me, and it was just Tele into Diamond comp into amp, set reasonably clean. When I'd turn off the compressor, it didn't sound nearly as good. So maybe it's "all in the fingers," but my own fingers seem to sound about 20% better with that pedal on!

[jbd3]

Originally Posted by Abandoned

Thats great info - thanks man!

Do you know how the MXR & Diamond differ?

For what it's worth I don't want the typical compressor squash effect. I just want a tone sweetener, and a pedal to help even things out but not squash or take away chime or any original sound of my tone that I like. Can the MXR do this? Or maybe the diamond?

The MXR is great, but for different things. Like a Boss compressor, it adds a lot of tonal squash, which the Diamond won't do unless you dime the compression.

The Diamond is built waaaaay better (which makes sense, given that it's an order of magnitude more expensive), and is much quieter than the MXR.

If you don't want that stereotypical old school compressor tone, don't buy an MXR, they pretty much defined that tone! I think MXRs are great, but their range of applications is much narrower than the Diamond. And subtle tone sweetener is definitely not one of those things. For that, try a Diamond, or maybe an Xotic EP-Booster.

If you're curious, an MXR is a very cheap experiment, tho. But you'll probably end up using the Diamond a whole more. The Diamond is built like the proverbial brick shithouse, too.

[Abandoned]

Originally Posted by jbd3

The MXR is great, but for different things. Like a Boss compressor, it adds a lot of tonal squash, which the Diamond won't do unless you dime the compression.

The Diamond is built waaaaay better (which makes sense, given that it's an order of magnitude more expensive), and is much quieter than the MXR.

If you don't want that stereotypical old school compressor tone, don't buy an MXR, they pretty much defined that tone! I think MXRs are great, but their range of applications is much narrower than the Diamond. And subtle tone sweetener is definitely not one of those things. For that, try a Diamond, or maybe an Xotic EP-Booster.

If you're curious, an MXR is a very cheap experiment, tho. But you'll probably end up using the Diamond a whole more. The Diamond is built like the proverbial brick shithouse, too.

Cool - thanks again!

[omaht56]

been using the diamond for a month now and i love it on my clean makes everything alive as been stated by many before me. The only thing ive noticed is that when i kick my ocd on my signal doesnt stand out as much anymore. Im having to turn my ocd way up from where it used to be before i had the compressor.
Any thoughts?

[Abandoned]

This thread is really making me want one of these pretty bad... but in my scenario there is still competition with the PGC.

[SillyWabbit]

Some initial thoughts after my first full practice with the Diamond:

1) Solos with overdrive/distortion - WOW. It just make notes sound so much clearer. Amazing. I will always have it on in this situation. It adds a nice sparkle to your high end while at the same time getting rid of the rasp that can sound like shit. One criticsm I've had with the voodoo lab sparkle drive is that the more you add in the clean tone the more it sounds like your playing two separate guitars (one clean and one over driven) at the same time. The diamond maintains all that beautiful distortion. This tone will sound incredible with ambient delays. Can't wait to dive more into this!

2) Improves my Keeley Phaser drastically!!! So before the Diamond I noticed that my signal lost a slight bit of punch when I had the phaser engaged. This isn't a knock on Keeley. I just think due to the the nature of what the phaser does, how it swooshes your signal, you run the risk of sounding a little quieter. Well the Diamod blew that away. I usually still like having everything at 12 o'clock but when the Phaser is engaged I put the compression at 2 o'clock. I find this gives the swooshes so much more depth and body. These two pedals together are a match made in heaven.

3) I remember some of you all talking about this but when I played a fast rythm lick that consisted of bars of three notes played over and over I felt like the low end got muddled a little bit. It was a radiohead song (Weird Fishes). I would love for someone to tell me why compressors can do this when you play really fast notes over and over.

4) I still really love my clean signal so there's going to be some times where I won't have the diamond engaged. Mainly blues solos where no other pedals are on. This isn't a knock on diamond but a praise of my amp guitar. Sometimes it just sounds better with a little grit in the mix.

Consensus after day 1: The amazing improvements this pedal gives my distortion, drive, and phaser is enough for me to keep this thing. And once I consider all the ways I'll be able to utilize it with my clean signal I start thinking it's going to be one of the best in my chain.