Favorite compressor?

[metropolis_4]

What are you liking these days?

I used to love the basic DynaComp into an AC30, then I went through a Boss CS-2 phase.

Once I tried a Walrus Deep Six though, that was it for me. I love that pedal.

Tempted to try the Wampler Cory Wong comp. I like his taste in compressors and I love the boost and the XLR DI. I think it would be great for bass gigs! I wasn’t a huge fan of the Ego Compressor though and I’m assuming this is heavily based on that

 

[dk_ace]

My old favorite was the barber tone press. I didn’t really have anything that I didn’t like about it. I’ve since used the Mooer yellow mini which is a diamond comp clone supposedly. It doesn’t really have much compression available though, but the tilt eq control is cool. If I were buying a new one today, it would probably be the Wampler standard or Cory Wong model. I don’t really need the Cory features so I’d probably do the standard. The wampler just seems to be everything I’d want in a pedal comp these days for normal uses.

D

 

[gonzoknife]

Good old Keeley Compressor Plus does it for me. My Xotic SP Comp is also pretty good.

Good compressor story: When I saw David Grissom live (2019?) in Austin, he apologized that he forgot his pedalboard at home. All he had to use was an Xotic SP comp he said he found on the floor of his car. He sounded amazing.

 

[2112]

Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio is my current fave. Does Opto/Jfet/OTA so you've got all the popular flavours, and it works really nice as a boost too. Really underrated pedal maker.

 

[laxu]

I use a Strymon Compadre.

For me Compressors are the one effect type that can be annoyingly subtle so messing with attack and release times is just something I don't want to do.

Compadre is very simple to use, fully analog but digitally controllable (unusual for Strymon) and comes with a good boost/drive too.

I also own a Keeley Compressor Mini, which is a nice two knob Dynacomp where attack/release/blend are all automated.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Been using a Boss Sustainer in the past, then some things digital, these days it's a Mooer Yellow Comp (Diamond Compressor clone) which I absolutely dig. Main use is as a pre-amp lead boost (along with some post-amp EQ), one setting working great for cleans and driven sounds alike.
In fact, that's the only way I'm using a compressor on my board, clean rhythms are lightly compressed by the amp sound itself.
I may actually add a second Yellow Comp one day, in case there's space on my refined board, adusting a bit more for that country squash, which it does quite well, too.

Using some more stuff in the good old DAW, but I guess that's not what this is all about.

 

[la szum]

Origin Effects Cali 76 is the shit!

Those big box Calis really did do something none of the
small-form pedal comps could, in my experience. Too bad
they are mostly unobtainium now.

 

[gearJunkie]

The Origin Effects Cali76 Stacked Edition handles compression duties in my signal chain.

I'm using it as an always-on device at a 50% blend with a first stage fast attack and slow release adding definition, while the second stage working more like a limiter to cut down on over-the-top transients.

It makes everything sound better and enhances my performance. The big downside is the price. Got mine used on Reverb so I saved $100. YMMV.

 

[Blix]

Suhr Andy Wood Woodshed compressor here. Just sounds incredibly sweet. It replaced a Cali 76 after some A/B'ing.

 

[la szum]

I recall digging the Suhr Koji quite a bit, too.

 

[Achilles]

Keeley.

 

[jellodog]

Suhr Andy Wood Woodshed compressor here

Do you ever find the teeny tiny threshold and gain knobs a PITA to adjust?

That's my only complaint really.

 

[Blix]

Do you ever find the teeny tiny threshold and gain knobs a PITA to adjust?

That's my only complaint really.

All mini pedals are annoying yeah and especially those tiny knobs, but it sounds so good I tolerate it

 

[JasonE]

I have a few that I really like.

Source Audio Atlas Compressor
Keeley Compressor Pro
Origin Effects Cali76
Suhr Woodshed Compressor

Right now the Atlas is the one on the board. It gets the spot because it has all of the different types of compression in it that I want and has 6 presets that are easily and quickly switched to. That gives me the ability to have a nice soft knee compressor for my main use and then switch to a hard knee compressor with a lot more squish to it quickly.

When I went down my compressor rabbit hole earlier this year, I discovered a couple of things. I also have a Keeley 4 knob compressor and a Keeley Compressor Plus. I had swapped the 4 knob out for the Plus on my board and liked it much better. What I discovered by playing with them all together is that I had been running the 4 knob they way Keeley described the Trim knob to be used in their documentation. I never liked the sound of it. It was much too strong of compression for me. After I played with the Cali76 and found out how the input knob works on that unit, I started playing with the Trim knob on the 4 knob and found out it works the same way, not what the documentation said. in the end, I could have made the 4 knob give me what I was looking for if I knew this little fact and I could have saved hundreds of dollars, probably around 1k. I also now dislike the Compressor Plus like I used to dislike the 4 knob. It is the least liked compressor I own now.

For me, it really all depends on what you want the compressor to do for you. I can get compression I am really happy with using any of the 4 units I listed at the beginning of this post. I can also get good compression with my original 4 knob now. I am not a fan of how strong the Ross type compressors are. I am very familiar with studio compressors and compressor plugins in DAWs as well as digital mixers. I really like having a threshold control. I also like having the ability to control the knee. You can really control it in the Atlas. You also have a gate and EQ in the Atlas. It really is a stellar unit.

 

[Frodebro]

I really like my Barber Tone Press, but mainly because of the magical blend knob.

 

[FuzzyAce]

I still love my big boy, API TranZformer GT.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

I loved the ego comp, but mostly just set it with mix at 50% or less and used it as a clean boost that also added a little compression for taking a crunch tone to a lead tone.

 

[la szum]

I still love my big boy, API TranZformer GT.

Been super curious since its release a few years ago. Care to share more?

 

[Achilles]

just set it with mix at 50% or less

Best feature ever.

 

[FuzzyAce]

Been super curious since its release a few years ago. Care to share more?

Mine is the first gen version, so I've had it for a number of years.

Great features. It can be just a simple boost/sweetener with little compression. The eq is tailored well for guitar, very useful without any harshness. It has a balanced D.I. out, which works well going direct to a recording interface or mixer. Nice for that clean, funky rhythm thing. The compression can get aggressive at high levels but it never seems unusable. I like that you can bypass compressor or eq.

I haven't tried the smaller and more recent versions but it's API, so it won't suck.