Compression Pedals

[Stan Malinowski]

The wife has asked me for my Christmas List and I think I may want to try a compression pedal. I'm pretty naive about them so how about some advice?

My present setup:

Boss Tuner->Fulltone FD2->ZVex Super Duper (Clean Boost)->Little Laneli Reverb Unit->Amp

Amps = Blackface Champ, Blackface Princeton, Allen Old Flame, Dr Z MAZ 18JR & Mesa Nomad 45

[pluto]

I've owned a few and in fact just sold an Analogman Bi-comp to someone on the PRS forum. I have also owned the Keeley Comp, the Menatone JAC, the Carl Martin, a MXR Dynacomp, and have tried out the EBS Multicomp and Maxon CP101. They're all unique and which comp you want depends on what you're using it for. If you want grit (which also means noise), the Dynacomp is a classic. It's also cheap. If you want an even squish, less grit, then the Keeley and Analogman are highly recommended (although the Analogman Bicomp also has the Orange Juicer on one side-that's a gritty comp). If you want transparency, low noise, less squish, I'd go with the Maxon or Carl Martin. If you want ultimate transparency and almost no squish, I'd get the JAC. I personally have a love/hate relationship with comps-I like them to even out my attack since my picking can be erratic, but at the same time, they take out a lot from the dynamics. The only comp that didn't really take away from the dynamics was the JAC. As far as reliability, the only comp I've had a problem wiht was with the Carl Martin-it had RF problems-I returned it for another one that did not pick up RF. Good luck! Whoops-I forgot to mention that the musictoyz forum did a comprehensive comp comparison-if you do a search there, you'll find a lot of info. Those musictoyz guys are pedal gurus.

[John Price]

I find that the MXR Super Comp works fine for me!
Plus the graphics glow in the dark!:D

[pluto]

Originally posted by tombo
pluto mentions some very fine compression pedals. The best of the best, however..........

I chose the Boss CS-2. They're cheap, reliable, and built like tanks (which is so often mentioned when talking about Boss pedals). Lots of Nashville guys swear by 'em (Redd Volkaert being one), and, in the event that you just HAVE TO HAVE one of the boutique pedals later on, you can probably recover your money on your Boss.

Stay far away from the CS-3. It should be re-named "squish Hell.";)

Just a thought. YMMV on all this. Happy hunting.

I have to try out the CS-2. Is it more the transparent type comp or is it the more squishy type? Also, did Boss discontinue that model for the CS-3?

[LeonC]

Blackbox Oxygen is my favorite compressor. Tremendous functionality. Includes limiter/threshold functions, like a rack-based compressor. Bit of a learning curve because of the features, but once it's dialed in, it absolutely smokes. Tremendous clean-boost capabilities too. Got rid of my ZVex Super Duper once I got the Oxygen.

I put it near the front of my signal chain, right after the wah wah, and in front of my OD pedals.

[pluto]

Originally posted by LeonC
Blackbox Oxygen is my favorite compressor. Tremendous functionality. Includes limiter/threshold functions, like a rack-based compressor. Bit of a learning curve because of the features, but once it's dialed in, it absolutely smokes. Tremendous clean-boost capabilities too. Got rid of my ZVex Super Duper once I got the Oxygen.

I put it near the front of my signal chain, right after the wah wah, and in front of my OD pedals.

Leon, how steep is the learning curve on the Oxygen? I've always wanted to try it, but with me having ADD (well, at least in my own mind, I have it), the Oxygen havings six dials and with people saying that you've got to make tons of adjustments, I've always been afraid of trying it out.

[LeonC]

Well...I don't really know what you or anyone else might consider "too much"...so I can only tell you that it wasn't too much for me. It does require some fiddling, but once you find some settings that you like, just write them down.

Here's what it gives me that I really like: a very clean, transparent and almost noiseless boost, with tremendous sustain. It just makes my amp sound like its doing more of what it does on its own. Of course, you can also set it up so that it doesn't do much of a boost but does more compression. It's really just personal preference.

The criticisms that I hear of the Oxygen most often are that it's noisy and it's hard to find/remember settings. Here is my answer to each of these:

You need to learn how to use the gate and limiter functions to get rid of the noise. These are the trickiest, most sensitive settings. After you get them dialed in, the thing is almost noiselss.

As for not being able to remember settings, here's my "tip of the day". Draw up a little 'facsimile' of your pedal's interface. Say it has 6 dials. When you find a setting you like, put little marks on your drawing that indicate where each knob was set. After you get enough of these 'settings drawings' to meet all your basic needs (really, probably only two or three settings for most folks), put them on one index card or small sheet of paper and take it to Kinkos. Tell them you want it lamenated. It'll cost a buck or so. Then you can carry this with you to gigs/rehearsals/whatever and always recall your favorites quickly.

[malabarmusic]

Is this a serious post?! There's nothing terribly wrong per se with the CS-2, but to suggest it's in the same league as Analog Man, Keeley, Maxon, Menatone, etc., is almost laughable, IMO. I'm not a boutique snog -- I own, use, and love many Boss pedals. The CS-2, however, was just lame compared to the others mentioned. Dynamics are flat, tone is dull, and noise is just average. Redd Volkert (sp?) might be a great player, but plenty of great players make great music with mediocre gear. [How about Roy Buchanan recording with a DD-2? No echoplex snob he!] If Redd sounds great with a CS-2, he'd sound phenomenal with a Keeley.

Yes, a CS-2 would be cheap but this is one of those cases where I think you get what you pay for.

- DB


Originally posted by tombo
pluto mentions some very fine compression pedals. The best of the best, however..........

I chose the Boss CS-2. They're cheap, reliable, and built like tanks (which is so often mentioned when talking about Boss pedals). Lots of Nashville guys swear by 'em (Redd Volkaert being one), and, in the event that you just HAVE TO HAVE one of the boutique pedals later on, you can probably recover your money on your Boss.

Stay far away from the CS-3. It should be re-named "squish Hell.";)

Just a thought. YMMV on all this. Happy hunting.

[pluto]

I have never played the Boss, but I can say that IMO, I thought the Analogman and Keeley were somewhat disappointing. The Maxon is pretty good especially for the $$, and the Menatone was pretty great. I should mention that I don't like my comp to squish hardly at all, which is why I liked the Menatone.

[malabarmusic]

Tombo: I sincerely apologize for implying that you were ignorant on the topic. I think it was your phrase "best of the best" that threw me off. You are 100% right to invoke the "YMMV" axiom. The reality is that there is NOTHING gear-related that can objectively be annointed "best." We each seek to find what is best for US.

I wouldn't be presumptuous enough to tell anyone what is the "best" Thai restaurant in Chicago or the best hotel in San Francisco. I may have favorites, but those are my subjective opinions. Your favorites could be completely different and they would be no more or less valid than mine or anyone else's.

Getting back to Stan's question, I'd say why not check out a CS-2 along the way. Like Stan, Redd, and many thousands of others, you may like it just fine. For $60, give or take, with strong resale potential, why not? Heck, give the old CS-1 a shot while you're at it!

There's some good advice in this thread, and plenty more to be found on other forums (HC, Musictoyz, Gear Page) if you feel like searching. Having read countless threads on this topic, there does appear to be some consensus among the "must check out pedals":

Menatone: Outstanding if you're looking for a "non-traditional" (no squash) compressor and just want some mild transparent evening out of levels.

Keeley/Analog Man: Two excellent flavors of DynaComp/Ross inspired compression with "personality." Keeley is smoother, Analog Man is a bit more "open."

BJF Pale Green: Ultra quiet, ultra transparent, super natural (not supernatural :cool: ) tone. Affects dynamics more obviously than Menatone, but lacks the dramatic squish of Keeley/AM.

Analog Man Juicer: My personal favorite. Works much differently than any other box. Not even remotely transparent, which can be a beautiful thing. Functions almost like a clean boost that juices the upper mids. Many describe it as "grainy" in a complimentary way. Hard transients are leveled out without any obvious sounding squish, while softly picked notes are brought up in the mix without any artifacts.

Maxon: A very good pedal that features a higher compression ratio than Keeley or AM. Depending on your preference, this can be good or bad. This feature gives it great "pop," but for rock players it can be a bit too heavy handed.

Carl Martin: People seem to be very neutral on this pedal. Very few love it or hate it (except those with RF complaints). Vastly more flexible than most in that you can adjust compression ratio and attack/release time. Functions very much like a studio compressor, which can make it hard to dial in for some.

Blackbox Oxygen: LeonC addresses some of the issues with this pedal, which seems to be growing more popular. Those who have invested the time to figure out the best settings seem to really dig it as a cool alternative to the more traditional "personality" compressors. I've never tried it, so I don't have a whole lot else to say.

Barber Tone Press: A lot of players are crazy about this pedal. It's a DynaComp/Ross style circuit with a clean blend feature. This lets you blend the direct and compressed signal to achieve good sounding compression while letting some of your uncompressed attack cut through. Sounds like a great concept, and, like I said, the pedal has a lot of fans.

This is far from an exhaustive summary of every quality compressor out there, but I've tried to distill some of the collective intelligence from the guitar community at large. I hope it helps in your quest for tone.

- DB