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Mini Bi-Comprossor

  • Features:
  • Sound Quality:
  • Reliability/Durability:
  • Ease of Use:
  • Customer Support:
  • Overall Rating:
  • Brand:
    Analog Man
  • Model:
    Mini Bi-Comprossor
Tags: tax#aqb brand#analogman

Reviews

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Mini Bi-Comprossor

Review By:
piaggio-Uz9zK on 9/14/09 1:00 AM
Reviewer Background:
Purchased From:
analog man
Price:
Features:
Sound Quality:
I use two guitars a tele, and a rick 360, passing thru a peterson strobo stomp-mini bi comp-big muff-MXR carbon copy-MXR micro amp, all into a vox AC30. the mini-bi-comp is always on. simply, you sound better, and you have a better tone...better said : a way better tone. no mud, no confusion, no weak sounds, only high definition sound, gorgeous attack, nice sustain, and what you do, in a way, find a section of the sonic spectrum that, if the bi-comp is on, only belongs to you. you can actually play at a lower volume, being sure to be heard. the ross side is perfect..it's not true that nothing is perfect. the OS side, nails the bakersfield sound, but it's a little too noisy...
Reliability/Durability:
it seems built in the good way. I think it will last a long time.
Ease of Use:
after I tried to get out a sound from the much praised Boss CS2, the mini-bi-comp it's so easy to use that is hard to believe. two knobs per side, two internal trims -but the default setting is good for my tastes-two lights, red and yellow.
Customer Support:
analogman has been friendly by mail, but I had very little contact, or need to contact.
Overall Rating:
been playing since twenty years, bass and guitars, always had a retro feel-from "rocket 88" to "who's next" and everything in between- that made me use old tube stuff. made records, tours in europe, all this without being a pro for a single day of my life, but I've learnt a things or two. lost ? stolen ? I'd buy it again in a breeze. you need a compressor to play like the record you like, and IMHO, this is the best you can get. this is not a Honeymoon review, I had it for almost 2 years, and I carried it around europe. I had the MXR dyna comp -nice, the boss CS2 -nice but the mini-bi-comp leaves them behind in second gear. I don't use the OS side a lot, maybe I could have bought the single comprossor, I dunno. if you like compressed guitar sound, get it.
0 Comments Tags: tax#aqb brand#analogman

Mini Bi-Comprossor

Review By:
CDL-2t3Fo on 2/3/09 1:00 AM
Reviewer Background:
Purchased From:
Analog Man - through his website
Price:
$255.00 USD
Features:
Sound Quality:
I am using a 1955 Fender Tweed Deluxe and an 64 Ampeg Reverberocket.  I use a Gibson 335, Strat & Tele (all vintage).  I have never sounded that flash on the Gibson, but the bi-comp makes me get the sounds I have always yearned for, from Cream era Clapton to Larry Carlton.
Reliability/Durability:
Built like a brick - indestructable I would guess.
Ease of Use:
It is as easy as pie to use.  Completely ituitively designed, with the guitarist's needs firmly in mind.  One half is a clone Ross, the other a clone Orange Squeezer.  Seperate controls, or both at once.
Customer Support:
Analog Mike is a joy to deal with - straightforward, considered and helpful.
Overall Rating:
This effect (and Mike's Maxon TS-9) have opened up sounds to me that I had never thought possible.  I have tried dozens of stomp boxes and they always were naggingly unsatisfactory.  I think I have finally struck gold!
0 Comments Tags: tax#aqb brand#analogman

Mini Bi-Comprossor

Review By:
timski on 1/19/09 1:00 AM
Reviewer Background:
Purchased From:
Price:
Features:
Sound Quality:
I bought the Bi-Comp as the idea of 2 different compressors in 1 small box very much appealed to me. I have already used an excellent Ross clone (Barge Concepts RC-2) so knew what to expect there, but the OS was a new effect to me. Compared to the RC-2, the Ross side of the Bi-Comp was noisier (although still very quiet), but otherwise the same (except the RC-2 has a switch for restoring the low frequencies which, IMO, puts it above the Bi-Comp). I really could not get on with the OS side though. At 'factory setting' for the internal trimpot there was, for me, an unacceptable amount of noise. Twiddling with the trim control did allow me to reduce the noise (and make for slighter more 'squash') but, at the point at which the noise was acceptable, the output of the OS was less than unity gain, rendering it pretty much useless unless I had it on all the time. Furthermore, I wasn't actually that impressed with the OS anyway. Clearly it is an effect which has gained legendary status but to be honest I didn't hear what the big deal was apart from maybe a subtle hint of added warmth/grit.
Reliability/Durability:
Ease of Use:
The Ross  side - v easy. The OS side - I couldn't get a satisfactory sound, unless I wanted an intrusive amount of noise or a drop in volume when engaged.
Customer Support:
Overall Rating:
A great idea, in theory, but let down by the noise on the OS side. Don't get me wrong; the noise is not that great, and will not be heard in live band context, but for recording or use with overdrive pedals after it, it is very off-putting. I sold the Bi-Comp on eBay for a handsome sum, and put the RC-2 back on my board where it has remained, unlikely to again be replaced.
0 Comments Tags: tax#aqb brand#analogman

Mini Bi-Comprossor

Review By:
kurt1981 on 2/26/07 1:00 AM
Reviewer Background:
Purchased From:
analogman.com
Price:
$245.00 USD
Features:
Sound Quality:
Well, this is my second bi-comp, I sold the first, because I wanted to try every other comp out there.  I currently use a budda wah, bi-comp, xotic rc, into BB into AC boosters, then analogman bi-chorus, and volume pedal, finally into a dls echotap then out to my boogie lonestar.  I use a tom anderson or gibson guitar, and all my cables are fulltone and george L's.  I can't really say much else than most other reviewers here except that the bi-comp is extremely quiet, and doesn't change your tone in any way.  With all of the other compressors I tried, my basic tone was changed in some way, either trebble was added or lost, or the basic feel of my sound was changed.  I hate to even mention names, but the keeley was too compressed for me at it's lowest setting, and the tone seemed to change a bit, adding a bit of hi-fi quality which some like, but I prefer to have the sound of my gear without anything added.  I currently use the ross side with the compression on 1 and the level set to taste, it stays on all the time as a buffer.  I used a Vht valvulator for years, but it too seemed to give my tone a sort of presence that sounded great for cleans but not so for overdrives.  I'm not sure if the bi-comp lowers impedence, but it seems to have the same effect as a buffer, just bringing the signal up enough to get through all the cables and jacks of the pedals. The juicer does the clasic country compression perfectly, think Mark Knopfler or Skunk Baxtor from the early steely dan records. 
Reliability/Durability:
The first bi-comp I had worked perfectly for the year I had it, and this one looks just as sturdy as the other.  I've not heard of any issues with analogman's work, and I have no doubt he'd stand by any problem that arose.
Ease of Use:
Easy to use, two knobs for the ross side, one for the juicer.
Customer Support:
Mike is a true blessing in this category, among very few companies that still have excellent service, he always answers emails promptly, and he even remembered me having bought a bi-comp before.  I'm sure he deals with a lot of people, but he always seems to have all the time in the world to respond to notes from customers. 
Overall Rating:
I just have to say, I've been through a ton of gear i my playing career, and I've regretably sold some very cool pedals or amps, because something else appealed to me at the time.  I can honestly say, this was the one piece I always wanted back, and just could never swing it, until recently.  I got my new one, and fell in love with it all over again, and this time it's staying with me.  If you're looking for a compressor that can be so subtle you barely even know it's there, and can also get that country percussive thing, check this one out. Kurt
0 Comments Tags: tax#aqb brand#analogman

Mini Bi-Comprossor

Review By:
Spacious-yCNgb on 7/19/06 1:00 AM
Reviewer Background:
Purchased From:
AnalogMan
Price:
$252.00 USD
Features:
Sound Quality:
If you put good sound in better sound comes out.  I imagine that if you put bad sound in better bad sound will come out.  If you're looking for that smooth clean tone you've heard on so many classic recordings of nearly every kind of amplified music you may find it here - or if you're looking for that singing soaring lead tone full of rich harmonic peaks and valleys - you know the one - that's here too.  The two compressors are quite different.  The Ross side seems to bring the quiter sounds up to meet the louder ones while the Juicer side squashes the loud ones down to meet the quiet ones.  The Ross side is as quiet as this type of compressor can be, meaning that it amplifies the actual electric buzz or hum of your guitar a bit when you're not playing anything.  A small price to pay for the rich harmonics and controlled feedback it offers even at low volumes.  The Juicer mostly evens out the volume while maintainig the tone of your playing.  I did notice that the Juicer side was very loud with a cheeper power supply, but it is dead quiet with a regular 9 volt battery that Analog Mike says will last fourty hours even with both effects on.  I play a well built semi-hollow body guitar with humbucking pickups through a Mesa/Boogie Studio .22+ (twenty two watts, all tube 12" combo amp) with just the bi-comp lately. 
Reliability/Durability:
I haven't had it very long yet, but it seems built like a tank.  The input and output jacks are built out of plastic which suprized me, but there's probably some kind of reason for it like shielding or something?
Ease of Use:
The AnalogMan Mini-Bicomp is very easy to use.  It's pretty much a clone of a Ross compressor and a Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer.  There are no patches to edit - just two footswitches and a volume nob for each of the two types of compression and a sustain nob for one of them.  The footswitches are pretty close together which is really cool because you can step on them both at the same time if you want and switch from one type of compression to the other or turn on/off both at the same time.  The manual explains how to adjust the internal bias nobs - for me they don't seem to need adjusting - and the internal attack nob for the the ross side.  I messed with this control the first day and haven't touched it since.  It's probably better to be on the inside.
Customer Support:
Analog Mike is alot more helpfull than most people would be in his position.  I'm not a rock star or anything, and alot of his customers are.  I know he's really busy and he still took time to take care of me.  The website says not to call unless you absolutely have to, and if you have to that it's best to call before two, but when I called at 2:15 an hour after getting my bi-comp in the mail he answerd the phone and listened to me rave about the sound and thank him and he even answerd my dumb questions that I could have read in the manual if I had looked at it before plugging it in and playing for an hour.
Overall Rating:
I play alot of styles of music so I tend to get lumped into to the jam category.  I've been playing for about seventeen years.  I used to use a bunch of effects sometimes, but they were cheap and ate all my tone when off.  I've probably had six or seven other compressors. Once I got the bi-comp I stopped using all my other effects.  It sounds so good I don't want to muck it up with lower quality stuff.  I guess I need to get quality versions of all my effects because I'm going to miss envelope filter, chorus and delay eventually.
0 Comments Tags: tax#aqb brand#analogman
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