Suggest me a compressor.

Epsilon

My compressor hunt ended with the Wampler Ego. Tried the Pigtronix (nice but not clean enough), dynacomp (changes the tone too much), Keeley (similar to the Wampler but not as versatile), Boss CS-3 (meh). Haven't felt the need to change out the Ego, or even change the settings on the knobs, for a couple of years now. Definitely recommended. 

spark

repeated. Sorry.

Koa

The JHS Pulp ‘n’ Peel is the only comp I’ve really found I want to use more, very musical if that makes sense. I think it’s a version of an old classic but I like it.

Gulliver

I really like the EBS Multi Comp - yes, they're a bass brand but I absolutely adore mine.

Or buy a Fat General from Thorpy - at his discounted price, you're unlikely to lose money on it if there aren't any others for sale on your continent!!

Dominic

I don't get it.........I have tried numerous comps looking for magic be it chicken pickin ' or rock etc. The whole thing is strange - people looking for great transparency ........why have one at all ? If it's rock then a bit of volume on a decent amp will automatically give you natural compression .
If you want transparent then you really don't need one -Imagine a transparent flanger or wah ?
 If you want a heavy thwack and percussive effect for country picking' then surely the last thing you want is transparent  -so go get a Fairfield accountant or an Orange Peeler not Ross type that you can really hear.
 It's a bit different for bass.

Epsilon

To me transparency isn't about "sounding the same", it's about retaining the underlying character of the tone whilst evening out the attack/dynamics/volume and adding a bit of sustain. Amp volume does bring compression, however when playing at home it's not very practical to crank up a valve amp.

The analogy with flanger and wah doesn't really work, as the fundamental objective of those effects is to alter the EQ and frequency response of the signal. Compressors are just compressing what's already there, and the goal of a transparent comp (to me) is doing that in a way that doesn't compromise the base tone.

spark

Compressor is not so obvious as a delay. Compressor reduces the dynamic range of a signal, reducing the volume of the loudest part and then raise the volume of everything. So we don't want to add any eq, we want to keep everything "clean" because the meaning is different.

octatonic

Epsilon said:

To me transparency isn't about "sounding the same", it's about retaining the underlying character of the tone whilst evening out the attack/dynamics/volume and adding a bit of sustain. Amp volume does bring compression, however when playing at home it's not very practical to crank up a valve amp.

The analogy with flanger and wah doesn't really work, as the fundamental objective of those effects is to alter the EQ and frequency response of the signal. Compressors are just compressing what's already there, and the goal of a transparent comp (to me) is doing that in a way that doesn't compromise the base tone.

This.
I want gain reduction without changing the underlying character of the guitar tone.
You get this with some rack compressors- my studio tools, a Crane Song STC8 and Distressor, can do this but they cost between £1500 and £4K.
I’m looking for a pedal compressor that does gain reduction; when it exceeds the input threshold but doesn’t overly darken or thin out the guitar tone.
Or have to add eq afterwards to brighten the signal up.

I thnkIll give the Cali 76 a go and the Fat General..
The reviews of both seem pretty good.

timbuk02

The new Drybell is a tempting multitool - combined compression, EQ and boost/cut etc...

octatonic

timbuk02 said:

The new Drybell is a tempting multitool - combined compression, EQ and boost/cut etc...

That looks cool.

dindude

Diamond Comp Jr should be in contention - I also hate the way compressors change the sound - the Diamond is very neutral, just don't expect it to do extreme compression.

spark

In general opto compressors use to have a soft knee and are the easiest to set up (maybe becase of lack of options) and are quite cheap (most of them are based in the demeter compressor).

ThorpyFX

this might (or might not) help

raulduke

I got the Fairfield Accountant recently and the hype is justified.

As an 'always on' pedal it is hard to beat. It can be subtle, but also pretty squashy if you want it to.

It's also really easy to use which all compressors should be IMO (look at how the LA2A is still a studio staple after all these years).

robinbowes

octatonic said:

timbuk02 said:

The new Drybell is a tempting multitool - combined compression, EQ and boost/cut etc...

That looks cool.

I used mine this week for the first time (we rehearsed in a different place that provided amps so I just took a small pedal board and a guitar).

It's a fantastic sounding pedal - the compressor is brilliant, and the EQ actually useful, esp. the "Range" mid control.

Deffo a keeper.

R.