What's your favorite ”DIRTY” Comp?

[sleejay80]

I'm looking for a ”dirty” comp but by dirty I mean some high/low roll off, tone coloration, saturation(even to a point of slight breakup maybe) and of course smoothed out dynamics.

So I guest I'm leaning toward a Dyna/Ross direction, Opposed to transparent optical comps like Diamond/Strymon.

Are there any comps out there that's known for being somewhat dirty, and has control over how dirty it gets?

 

[Black_Label]

I'm far from being a comp expert but I've owned quite a few. For that sort of sound, I like my script Dyna.

 

[coltonius]

Came here to suggest the Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone, but it's dirty- not "dirty."

 

[sleejay80]

Came here to suggest the Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone, but it's dirty- not "dirty."

wow this one looks interesting.
I'll check it out!

 

[gearscrubs]

I prefer my Bogner Harlow at more subtle settings, but it can really crunch it up when you want. On the cheap, DynaComp is great, though

 

[ilyslue2]

I have owned one dirty compressor.......the Durham Sexdrive......Its a really great pedal

 

[erksin]

Check out a Celmo Sardine Can - really cool pedal. The old Arion SCO-1 is cool too.

 

[skunx]

Fairfield accountant does the dirty comp thing well. Neat little pedal.

 

[ummohyeah]

The Wren and Cuff Gold Comp. Best "dirty" compressor I've tried. I think it, honestly, blows all the other compressors that have gain on tap away.


I traded it out for the Telenordia TK-23 which sounded amazing, but did not add as much hair to my tone as I had liked. I'd also like to state that I had the Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone and thought it was incredibly noisy and sucked tone, I could not live with it. I had an MXR Super Comp that added a bit of hair as well and thought it sounded much better than the Pigtronix.

 

[coltonius]

The Wren and Cuff Gold Comp. Best "dirty" compressor I've tried. I think it, honestly, blows all the other compressors that have gain on tap away.


I traded it out for the Telenordia TK-23 which sounded amazing, but did not add as much hair to my tone as I had liked. I'd also like to state that I had the Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone and thought it was incredibly noisy and sucked tone, I could not live with it. I had an MXR Super Comp that added a bit of hair as well and thought it sounded much better than the Pigtronix.

Interesting. The Philosopher's Tone (and King) were among the quietest I've tried. Is it possible you had a defective unit?

 

[ummohyeah]

Interesting. The Philosopher's Tone (and King) were among the quietest of I've tried. Is it possible you had a defective unit?

Someone else told me theirs was very quiet. I doubt it was defective, its squish was good and the sustain it offered was great (though I found its dirt tone leaving much to be desired), but it could be that it raised the noise floor in my already noisy rig too much, but I didn't have that issue with a several other compressors (Empress, MXR, Wren and Cuff, Telenordia) and most of my pedals that make "noise" are still there, so I'm not sure. I've had two Pigtronix pedals now and neither did it for me... I really wanted to like their stuff, too. :/

 

[ES330]

Not a comp expert... but always thought the Diamond works best with OD pedals...

 

[DaveKS]

VFE White Horse, built in MOSFET drive and bass cut.

 

[flantrax]

Tortenmann/Telenordia Germanium Kompressor...killer freakin pedal...

 

[Stratobuc]

VFE White Horse, built in MOSFET drive and bass cut.

Yes - the drive circuit and bass EQ knob will do what you're looking for.

Bass knobs adds, not cuts bass. All the way off, its the straight tone coming in. As you go clockwise, it ADDS bass. Not a cut control.

 

[DaveKS]

Yes - the drive circuit and bass EQ knob will do what you're looking for.

Bass knobs adds, not cuts bass. All the way off, its the straight tone coming in. As you go clockwise, it ADDS bass. Not a cut control.

Directly off the VFE webpage....
"Sets the pre-gain bass cut. Due to the way the human brain hears different frequencies, it is often helpful to cut a touch of bass in compression. Crank it to the max for a flat bass response."

 

[Blues Lyne]

Orange Squeezers style compressors can add a bit of grit in a really cool way. They also sound good boosting an OD or a tube amp.

 

[fenderjapan]

Regular dyna comp.

 

[Stratobuc]

Respectfully, Dave, My White Horse has "response" and "bass" controls. I've had it a couple of years. While I don't dispute what you say the site says, I know mine adds bass to the signal when rolled clockwise, because I can hear the added low end when I engage the compressor. Its NOT flat. It sounds more like the bypassed signal with the "bass" rolled all the way off. I'm using mostly single coils, low output vintage style pickups. Perhaps mine is an earlier version, as I know he tweaks circuits over time, or perhaps I'm just deaf and dead wrong.

 

[Black_Label]

The Wren and Cuff Gold Comp. Best "dirty" compressor I've tried. I think it, honestly, blows all the other compressors that have gain on tap away.


I traded it out for the Telenordia TK-23 which sounded amazing, but did not add as much hair to my tone as I had liked. I'd also like to state that I had the Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone and thought it was incredibly noisy and sucked tone, I could not live with it. I had an MXR Super Comp that added a bit of hair as well and thought it sounded much better than the Pigtronix.

Interesting. I've never thought of the Gold Comp as very dirty. I use mine as an always-on preamp and I keep it pretty dialed back just to kill the peaks off my sound. What settings do you like for it to sound diiiirty?

Either way, it's such a great, underrated comp that doesn't get nearly as much press as it deserves.