There is probably no better example of the difference between a vintage stompbox and it's modern counterpart than the Dyna Comp and everything that's come afterward. The vintage box was smooth, musical and sweet-sounding. It's that sweetness that is missing from all of the other compressors I have tried. It's hard to define what that means. It's like when you listen to Stevie Ray play and then you listen to someone playing like SRV. They can play the same licks, through the same equipment and yet the music sounds flat. The new reissue really has the same mojo as the vintage unit. I was really amazed when I played through the new DC. It really brought me back. It is a great piece of work- a labor of love.
Reliability/Durability:
My original lasted 30 years and then sold for 4 times what I originally paid for it. As this is a carbon copy of the original DC, I expect it will perform as well.
Ease of Use:
I am guessing that anyone reading this knows about the MXR Dyna Comp and has used some incarnation of this pedal over the 30 some-odd years since it was first introduced. I bought my first DC in 73 or 74. It was the Bud Box version, and it changed my life. It gave me the sustain I needed-primarily because I lived in an apartment in Queens with my parents, and turning up my Fender Deluxe Reverb over 2 was not an option. It was really a magical device-one that I stupidly sold a few years ago during an equipment purge. I spent some time looking for that sound after I lost it, but nothing measured up until now.
Customer Support:
Dunlop is a good company. Don't really know why it took so long for them to do this vintage reissue thing. The 74 phase 90 is completely true to the original and the Carbon Copy delay is another great piece of analog equipment. I am looking forward to the Distortion+ RI.
Overall Rating:
If you got as excited as I did when you saw the reissue DC, you already have one, and you're probably enjoying it as much as I am. It's great knowing I don't have to buy a 30 year old stomp box for a fortune and then have to worry about it breaking. (I mean, all electronic devices have a finite lifetime, no matter how well they are made.) It's great to start over with a stompbox that I have a real personal history with.
Buy one (or more) while supplies last. This one is a keeper and a good investment as well. I expect the value will only increase.
