Do I really need a compressor?

[madmax1012]

Every one of my friends seems to recommend some sort of compressor as my next purchase. Are comps really that valuable to your sound? If so, what should I be looking at? The only ones I know of are pretty much the Boss,MXR, Barge Concepts, and the Fromel, but again I've never even considered buying one. opinions?

[sylnau]

Me I don't need one... I have no use for compressor.

But If I would get one, I would get the Diamond Compressor.

[wsas3]

Yeah the diamond compressor is by far the best imo.
If your playing is sloppier or output is just generally unbalanced between your strings/ playing styles, w/e you may want one.
I know I'm supposed to be fuzzy fred, but in terms of pedals, i swear i'm exactly like sylnau

[sylnau]

Mr. FuzzyNau.

[hbombgraphics]

I love comps!!!!

i have tried a bunch and they do lend some cool things as far as leveling out.
Don't listen to the "I don't need a comp because I play with Dynamics" people: everyone wants to play with dynamics

I really like that snappy big squish kindof sound.

I have tried about every comp and my favorites
are
Barge Concepts RC2 or 3 and the Ibanez Compressor 2 (the old sqaure button one)

I have had and sold the following
MXR Dyna comp: Not interesting
Empress Comp: Didn't offer that snappy sound and was too hard to dial in
Keely 4 knob: Sounded pretty good, just a little to high fidelity sounding
Visual Sound rt 66: Pretty good, probably would have kept it but their buffered bypass hates fuzz
EXH Sould Preacher: Couldn't ever dial in a sound I like

I have never tried a diamond but have heard great things

[MannequinRaces]

For live use and recording they can be handy. However, I'd rather use an outboard compressor instead of taking up room on the board for one.

[gruizmuller]

I asked myself the same question, then I bidded on mercadolibre, a latnamerican e-bay, for an Ibanez CP 10, thinking somebody else would get it.
I won and surprise! it enhances the sound as a whole, hides some of my bad playing, and make other pedals sound better. Also, combining the sustain with the oscilation of my Ab-synth, i get beutiful feedback noises that last forever.

[snipelfritz]

I always wonder this. Do people use it as an "always on" kind of pedal or just an occasional effect?

I feel like I'd at least use it some of the time, but it might join my MXR 10-band and ISP Decimator as a pedal I hide inside my amp (open-back combo) and have on all the time. I definitely have a more "dynamic" (aka "sloppy") style of playing.

[madmax1012]

from the description of the Fromel Velvet Vice, I'm getting the impression that it's very subtle and meant to be left on. I don't really know much about the others. I'm pretty sloppy, so I guess I'm gonna get one at some point. Hopefully a used Diamond pops up...

[Wes Mantooth]

I've also heard good things about the Wampler Ego Comp and the Okko Cocoa Comp. I now have compressor GAS after this thread, thanks

[snipelfritz]

I've also heard good things about the Wampler Ego Comp and the Okko Cocoa Comp. I now have compressor GAS after this thread, thanks

+1

Any opinions on the MXR Super Comp??? I think I'm going to do this, but I'd like to keep it on the cheap.

[one bad monkey]

I grabbed the Rocktron Sacred Fire on a last minute gig in January (the signal was going to the board and the bass I had is HOT). Dialed it in enough to keep the nuances of my playing (it was on fretless) and yet reign in some of the other frequencies to keep the soundman happy.

I did leave it always on; it didn't take up that much space on the board, so I didn't mind.

[Gunner Recall]

I like to use it as an "effect", it's not always on for me. (you don't go drenching everything in reverb/fuzz, why do it for comp...oh wait... )

If you plan on leaving it on I strongly suggest the diamond.
Most comps (haven't tried the new-ish empress though) totally obliterate any resemblance of picking dynamics, just super squish/totally even all the time...super vanilla to my ears.
Not so on the diamond, very responsive...and it has a few handy dip tricks inside.

[askashrub]

i grabbed a zvex instant lo-fi junky (a move i may come to regret) in my desperate search to smash my sound, and that pedal compresses your sound quite heavily.
still undecided whether it's a good or a bad thing, but at least for the moment it serves a dual purpose in this sense.

but i thought most fuzzes compressed your sound anyway?

[retinal orbita]

Any opinions on the MXR Super Comp??? I think I'm going to do this, but I'd like to keep it on the cheap.

The Dyna Comp is much better - simpler is better with a compressor I think. There's nothing wrong with a super comp, but if you're going to pull the trigger spend the extra 10 bucks.

You can also find, guys who make dyna comp script logo clones to spec, i bought one from a guy and I love it. I dunno if I *needed* to spend the extra 80 bucks but I really like it a lot and keep it on quite frequently.... I could really go down to Comp > Muff > delay and be happy if I had to.....