OKKO Coca Comp vs. RAF Mirage vs. Rothwell Love Squeeze

[sixty4tw]

I've been updating / upgrading my pedalboard for the last year or so and I'm still looking to find the right compressor. While I'm not one of those “I hate compressors” guys, I do use them mostly in the studio and occasionally use in a live situation. I already know I'm leaning toward an optical based design (for many years I've used the Joemeek VC3Q (½ rack unit) in the studio and I love it but I also need a dedicated pedal compressor for my board. It should be fairly transparent, quiet (very important), and add some heft and sparkle to my tone. Extreme squishiness is not important to me. I also want something that is capable of making my other pedals sound better...more or less a "leave it on all the time" comp.

I've had a few over the years. EH White Finger (old version) – had some great sounds and very versatile, but just too noisy. Sold it after a year. T-Rex Comp Nova – worked very well for me overall. I really can't say anything bad about it, but sold it a few years ago during a gear “purge”. Regret that. I recently bought a Red Witch Seven Sisters Grace very cheap and it's a fine little basic compressor, but just not everything I need. I'm keeping it as a backup. A few weeks ago I purchased the VFE White Horse at a big discount. While it is a nice pedal overall and very tweakable, it just brought out too much noise from the other pedals in my chain at higher compression settings. It really is a nice pedal but just not for me so I returned it.

So now I'm totally on the fence about a select few; the OKKO Coca Comp, the RAF Mirage Compressor, and the Rothwell Love Squeeze. And MAYBE, the Diamond CPR-1, but I'm a bit put off by the comments about how it messes with your attack.

What do you guys think of these choices and are there others you would recommend? Please share your experience if have (or have owned) one of these.

[Chankgeez]

Have you already consulted my (and everyone else's) favorite compressor review website?

http://www.ovnilab.com/

[sixty4tw]

Thanks! Yep, I have read all of his reviews and they are very useful. He basically says great things about all of these. Also, it seems he is primarily a bassist and doesn't usually comment about recording applications. So any feedback here would be most appreciated.