Members strings4v Posted July 19, 2013 Members Share Posted July 19, 2013 I am looking for a compressor that1. is quiet enough so i don't have to worry about additional noise2. serves as an excellent buffer since it is going on the first of the chain3. has small footprint so i can put it on PT JR along with other pedals. (Diamond is quite large..)One i came up with is VS Comp66. Something like Xotic SP comp will do the job either if i can find a good price.What else is there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members companyman Posted July 19, 2013 Members Share Posted July 19, 2013 I dig my Philosophers Tone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 strings4v wrote: I am looking for a compressor that1. is quiet enough so i don't have to worry about additional noise2. serves as an excellent buffer since it is going on the first of the chain3. has small footprint so i can put it on PT JR along with other pedals. (Diamond is quite large..) One i came up with is VS Comp66. Something like Xotic SP comp will do the job either if i can find a good price.What else is there? All compressors accentuate noise to some degree - it's the nature of the beast. Compressors compress the dynamic range by lowering the level of signals that exceed a threshold... and due to that reduction of peak amplitude, "make up gain" is typically added to bring the apparent volume level back up. This brings the relative levels of quieter signals up - and that increases sustain... and increases the audibility of any noise in the signal. No matter what compressor you're using, the more compression you add, the more noise becomes apparent - even with high-dollar studio compressors. Of course, the relative amount of noise varies, depending on the design of the compressor as well as how you use it. If you're going to leave the compressor on all the time, then a buffer is a lot less important. If you're going to be bypassing it a lot, then that might be a consideration... but many popular compressor pedals are true bypass and lack a buffer. If the compressor you like the most lacks a buffer, you can always add a buffer as a second pedal... space permitting of course. Although I've never tried one, the description I just read of the Xotic SP leads me to believe it's a basic Ross Compressor clone - a lot of popular compressors are based on the old Ross / Dynacomp designs. Another excellent small and great sounding Ross clone would be the Malekko Comp. It's a little less expensive than the Xotic SP too. If you click that link, it will take you to a review of that pedal that I wrote a while back. In the "compression caveats" section, I discuss a bit more about how compressors work and where that "noise" comes from. You may find it interesting reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Player99 Posted July 19, 2013 Members Share Posted July 19, 2013 Should there be noise if I put an SG with humbuckers --->compressor--> amp ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members strings4v Posted July 19, 2013 Author Members Share Posted July 19, 2013 I know it's quitr big but are BBE comps any good? Something like orange squash or opti comp... What are the differences? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Old Fart Rocker Posted July 19, 2013 Members Share Posted July 19, 2013 This may not be a popular response, but I recently got the Joyo Compressor, which is supposed to be a clone of the Ross/MXR/Barber Tone Press. I really like it. I find it quiet. Not totally transparent, but I really like what it does. I keep it on all of the time. For $40, I don't think you can go wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 strings4v wrote:I know it's quitr big but are BBE comps any good? Something like orange squash or opti comp... What are the differences? I have not tried them myself, but a few people here have, and generally the reports about them were good. As far as the differences, I suspect it's two different compressor designs - one being an optical compressor (known for their gentle compression characteristics and relatively slow attack / release times), the other (possibly) being based on the Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer, which would be a less "transparent" compressor with more emphasis on the note attacks. FWIW, I use a custom built Orange Squeezer clone made by OLC as my personal "go to" guitar compressor pedal, and I love that thing madly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kidofthecorn Posted July 21, 2013 Members Share Posted July 21, 2013 In short.... in my experience, nothing beats the Guyatone ST-2 in all departments OP mentiones... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members strings4v Posted July 21, 2013 Author Members Share Posted July 21, 2013 kidofthecorn wrote: In short.... in my experience, nothing beats the Guyatone ST-2 in all departments OP mentiones... Is it true bypass? I wish it has a little buffer in it.. but it is fine i still have a boss pedal in front of the chain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 2+2=5 Posted July 25, 2013 Members Share Posted July 25, 2013 try this: http://www.harmonycentral.com/t5/Effects-Pedals-Multi-Effects-and/Komp-the-Optical-Compressor-pedal-from-Hotone-Audio/m-p/35645571 sounds great and small enough, but ur... it's true bypass.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members T Sat Posted July 26, 2013 Members Share Posted July 26, 2013 Yamaha had a really nice one I have used for years its called a Yamaha CO-10M Compressor, probably find something like it on Ebay if they don't sell them anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted July 30, 2013 Moderators Share Posted July 30, 2013 kidofthecorn wrote: In short.... in my experience, nothing beats the Guyatone ST-2 in all departments OP mentiones... I'm surprised to see someone else mention this pedal because it's not that popular. I've used one- and this isn't an exaggeration- on nearly every note I've played on an electric guitar since about 2004. I like it THAT much. Even though it's not true bypass it's just a great great compressor. It does "natural" very well and it does "squished" very well. It's small, inexpensive, the controls are simple, it isn't noisy, it's a pleasant green color... I could go on. It's a great, little-known gem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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