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Need some help since I don't have much experience with compressor pedals. I've been thinking about grabbing one to add a touch of smoothness to some of the more extreme ends of my tone. Especially with feedback and leads. Want something that won't color the sound too much. Maybe a blend knob, maybe a tone knob? Something not too expensive. What would you guys suggest? The Xotic SP any good?

The Fairfield Accountant is the only compressor I've spent a lot of time with. I still don't always like compression. It's good in the right circumstances though.

The Barber Tone Press is supposed to be really nice. I'm kinda interested in it because it has a blend knob. Haven't played one though. Haven't tried the Xotic either.

I think I'd rather have a blend knob than a tone knob on a compressor.

Chankgeez wrote:The Fairfield Accountant is the only compressor I've spent a lot of time with. I still don't always like compression. It's good in the right circumstances though.

The Barber Tone Press is supposed to be really nice. I'm kinda interested in it because it has a blend knob. Haven't played one though. Haven't tried the Xotic either.

I think I'd rather have a blend knob than a tone knob on a compressor.

Agree with the last part. Hmm, the Tone Press looks interesting. Thanks man.

Hey, no problem, you're welcome.

Barber just released an updated small box version. So, you may be able to pick up a used big box one on the cheap.

First off I don't use compressors any more on my board. I went through a period where I was big into them though. My top picks were mad professor/bear foot compressor or the diamond compressor. I think the tone press would be a good starting point as well. For me though the slight advantage I got looking for evening out of my tone wasn't worth the board space.

Dave from Minus The Bear makes really good use of the Tone Press when performing all that clean tapping. Shit sounds great in his hands and new small box is appealing. The Accountant looks great as well, small and simple.

The EQD Warden is nice too, optical compression with a nice range of controls.

That said, I never use a compressor but I owned and liked the Warden. Sold it in the end tho.

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the following website is dedicated to someone reviewing LOADS of different compressor pedals:

http://www.ovnilab.com/

defo worth checking out

I'm a fan of the EBS MultiComp on guitar. It helps eek out that extra bit of sustain without totally killing my attack.

Ro_S wrote:.
the following website is dedicated to someone reviewing LOADS of different compressor pedals:

http://www.ovnilab.com/

defo worth checking out

Whoa *packs self a snack*

archlilim wrote:

Ro_S wrote:.
the following website is dedicated to someone reviewing LOADS of different compressor pedals:

http://www.ovnilab.com/

defo worth checking out

Whoa *packs self a snack*

oh, and check out his FAQ section too.

mxr dyna comp! cheap and classic, i did not use compressor either, now i turn it on all the time for that sustain!

Ro_S wrote:

archlilim wrote:

Ro_S wrote:.
the following website is dedicated to someone reviewing LOADS of different compressor pedals:

http://www.ovnilab.com/

defo worth checking out

Whoa *packs self a snack*

oh, and check out his FAQ section too.

Yeah, this was super helpful. Might check out The Warden

capigge wrote:mxr dyna comp! cheap and classic, i did not use compressor either, now i turn it on all the time for that sustain!

I had a guy make me a script logo clone and I haven't taken it off my board in 5 years.... Cost me like 90 bucks.

I've actually ended up trying a decent amount of compressor pedals, somehow.

The most transparent that I've tried has been the Madbean Afterlife which I built up. Just added sustain, no color or anything else. It's optical.
The Orange Squeezer is the next most subtle that I've tried. And it's super simple with one knob and a trimmer.
Next was the BFE Pale Green Compressor. It's optical as well, kind of subtle.
The most extreme that I've tried is a Dyna Comp, it can get really squishy.

I wanted to chime in here and say that I used to own a Tone Press and thought it didn't live up to the hype. I found that it would drop me out of the mix with any amount of noticeable compression. The only way I could get this pedal to sound good was with such subtle compression that I might as well have not even had it turned on. I even opened it up and tried both modern and vintage modes - I couldn't really tell that much of a difference between the two. It also seemed a bit noisy at higher compression settings. It could even out volume spikes pretty well and has a decent amount of volume to boost an amp or dirt pedal, but I didn't need either of those functions so I happily sold it. The guy who bought it from me really likes it, so YMMV.

The compressor I ended up keeping is an Orange Squeezer clone. It's not transparent, but it just sounds and feels good. I especially love it at extreme settings when you can really hear the compression clamp down. It evens out volume spikes, sustains swelled notes into reverb and delay for synth pad sounds, and has tons of jangle - and I can get all of this out of it without turning any knobs. Super versatile, great sounding comp. The clone I have isn't noisy at all, but I have heard that this circuit can have that problem. If you're handy with a soldering iron, they can be build for next to nothing.

I've heard that the MXR Bass Compressor is amazing for any instrument, as it's based on a studio rackmount limiter (the Urei 1176). It's on my list of things to get, as is the Janglebox, so those might be things to look into as well.