Best Compressor Pedal?

[Verminator25]

Hello everyone, I’ve recently been on a compression kick and I’ve decided to bust out up to $120 on a compressor pedal.

The tones I’m going for are Andy Summers, Alex Lifeson, John Frusciante, Mac Demarco, etc. Just going for a great 80’s sound.

I’d like something that’s very tweakable, unlike the compressors that only come with two knobs (I’m looking at you MXR lol). That way, I can play around with the sound a lot and I didn’t just bust a bunch of cash on a one-sound-pony compressor. I understand that’s kind of what compressors are more or less, but I’d like to have some tonal variations.

Any reccomendations? I’d love to hear your opinions.

Thanks so much!

 

[The Dose of Harmony]

Keeley pro compressor !

colorless.

 

[wakjob]

I have three...

A DynaComp that I "ROSS modified" and it does that classic late 70's/early 80's thing.
I also have a Keeley GC-2 which is the DBX 160X rack 80's thing.
My newest is the Suhr 'Woodshed' Andy Wood compressor..that also doubles as a great gain boost.

 

[Vesperado]

Sometimes I like compression before my Japanese BBDs. I only have two pedals: Yamaha GC-100, from the SDS series of the late eighties which I modified to run @ 15V and re-biased. It has a 5 band EQ built in and uses pre-feedback compression (one of the few which do). It is super snappy and can boost, too. Wide range of sustain. Optical compressor. The other: Maxon CP9+ Pro, which is actually a DBX compressor in Maxon's nine series housing. This one has a charge pump which juices it to some really high headroom. Really versatile and pretty much colorless, probably the best optical compressor out there IMO. Whenever I use compression, its with the amp set on SS rectification. This affords the compressor to do it's job. I paid 80 for the GC-100 and 120 for the CP9+ Pro, both were used but excellent condition. I think I replaced 3 or 4 polarized caps in the GC-100 to get it to run 15V, and maybe linked a diode that was clamping down on the power jack somewhere. Shouldn't be more than a dollar or two to mod...

 

[jason_s]

I’ve tried to find a setting I like with a Boss CS-3 but I can’t find one. Trying to get a Frusciante sound with a wah but I haven’t found the right combination.

 

[David Szabados]

There are many but the ones I like are the ones that are transparent and don’t do the pumping effect like the classic Ross and MXR tend to do. The Keeley GC-2 is the lower cost sibling to the compressor pro and is amazing. Maxon CP9 Pro+ is wonderful as well.

 

[Seven]

I run two amps split, non stereo, even during practice sessions. One side is clean/drive and the other side is for modulation. My avatar to the left is what I generally play thru. If I'm gonna play, then screw the little stuff. Life is short and getting shorter.

The Tone Corset (sans the strange paint job) works really well on my clean/drive and the often maligned Big Crush is for the modulation side. For a budget compressor, the Big Crush does a great job with sustain. The Tone Corset works great for single coils and the pad switch allows me to change between strats and les pauls with a flip of the switch and no knob twidling.

I'm not a cork sniffer, I just need things to perform a certain task without taking over my original tone. Of course I'm looking for a different/better compressor, because that's just what we do. I was fine without one before, but a little more sustain is always welcomed.

 

[Seven]

I have three...

A DynaComp that I "ROSS modified" and it does that classic late 70's/early 80's thing.
I also have a Keeley GC-2 which is the DBX 160X rack 80's thing.
My newest is the Suhr 'Woodshed' Andy Wood compressor..that also doubles as a great gain boost.

What is the "70's/early 80's thing" ?

I like that era of music, but it covers funk, rock, prog, heavy rock, etc. I'm currently chasing some tones from that era so my question is relevant.

Thanks !

 

[Seven]

The Utoob demos on this have been fairly positive and this pedal is very tweakable. I've been burned by cheap Chinese pedals in the past, but the NUX Masamune seems to be on a higher level. Allegedly, some Strymon engineers now work for NUX so they appear to be upping their game lately.

YMMV but it's worth checking into. The mild drive section may actually be usable as a boost if you are running a compressor early in your chain.

https://www.nuxefx.com/masamune.html

 

[SkyMonkey]

Where in the chain is it legit to run a compressor?
Are they usually before or after the preamp (i.e. in the loop)?

 

[Rograt]

Kelley Compressor Pro. I stopped looking when I added that. The response LEDs are great and invaluable when swapping between quite different guitars. A cross between a compressor and a rev counter.

 

[tce63]

 

[rocker68]

The Wampler 5 knob Ego works very well.

 

[don550]

The Wampler 5 knob Ego works very well.

I have the Wampler on my board also and run it before my drives and I get that funky Strat sound for funk perfectly.

 

[Sacalait]

I use an API Tranzformer. The most expensive pedal I EVER bought.

 

[Barfly]

I use the boss cs-2.

 

[John Stedman]

I don't use compression very often but when I do an MXR Dyna Comp gets me where I want to go 2/3 of the time, the other 1/3 its an Xotic Effects SP Compressor. Those two pedals cover most sonic territory I'd ever need in compression. I also have an old TC Electronic Vintage Compressor, but it seems like the attack time is quite slow and can't be changed, more of a dirt box really, it can't do the spanky cleans thing like the MXR can. The NU-X Masamune looks interesting.

 

[telemarshall]

I've got two compressors - a JangleBox and a Dyna Comp. I use both (on two different boards). Each has a subtle difference from the other, but they do sound somewhat similar, IMO.

 

[mad5066]

Hello everyone, I’ve recently been on a compression kick and I’ve decided to bust out up to $120 on a compressor pedal.

The tones I’m going for are Andy Summers, Alex Lifeson, John Frusciante, Mac Demarco, etc. Just going for a great 80’s sound.

I’d like something that’s very tweakable, unlike the compressors that only come with two knobs (I’m looking at you MXR lol). That way, I can play around with the sound a lot and I didn’t just bust a bunch of cash on a one-sound-pony compressor. I understand that’s kind of what compressors are more or less, but I’d like to have some tonal variations.

Any reccomendations? I’d love to hear your opinions.

Thanks so much!

What type of guitar are you running, single coils or humbuckers?

The TC electonic hypergravity compressor is super versatile and great sounding. I also like Xotic SP compressor, very tweakable with the inside switches, once you get it dialed in with your setup it's very very good.

 

[John Stedman]

The TC electonic hypergravity compressor is super versatile and great sounding.

I'll have to try one out, some of those lesser-known TC pedals are real gems. I bought a Viscous Vibe for my Nano board not expecting much and was pleasantly surprised.