Basics Compressor Guitar Pedal

I’d look at other options

I personally don’t think anyone should purchase this pedal. I’ve owned other budget compressor pedals in the past and they all did their job well, this pedal however fall very short. Though it has a level control it offers nearly no boost at all. And it’s absolutely colors your tone and not in a good way. It reduces clarity and dulls the higher frequencies. Also the compression function overall in lack luster. And I’m not trying to talk crap, it sadly just doesn’t do a good job even for a budget pedal. Not an absolute 0 but I’m only giving it 2 stars

My advice would be to look at other options

Piece of trash

This thing is garbage. It worked as a compressor but it does is introduce hum into my setup and it “pops” sometimes making a super loud noise. If i had plugged this into my tube amp instead of my solid state im 100% certain this thing would destroy it. Do not buy this.

Kinda like an always on thing!

This is my third time around with a compressor. I have one on my bass rig and really dig it(same pedal) if you’ve ever been playing and there is that one particular part that you are working on and wish you could get “just a little more “”of that one thing “ but don’t know what,,, DING DING, try this. Plays well with others when used with an isolated power supply. No noise. Get it, Now.

Seriously what are you waiting for, it’s not getting any cheaper.

Awesome Compressor - Rocks!

This compressor is totally awesome driving my pedals which are limited so far. But going into clean or distortion it's an excellent compressor. I leave the attack as slow as possible on this pedal and it works great for me. Especially in clean when I like it more natural. In distortion it's just enough to be that little bit you need for good leads if you're the strong forehand type. This is just like the "classic" blues driven rock guitar compression pedal. It behaves and sounds just like it.

Rebecca Knowles

January 8, 2021

Works for us

My son uses this with his Telecaster guitar and has found the sound quality to be very good. It’s made well and is small so it can easily be put into his case for transporting it other places. We think it’s a good value.

Zach

October 31, 2020

Great value!

First off, its a sturdy pedal and its easy to place on the board, since its so small. The boost in clean tones and sustains are really good, but distortion gets a bit washed out. So I'd stick with using it on clean tones or single notes without a ton off distortion (fuzz works pretty good).

Pros

- good boost on cleans, and helps sustains pretty well.

- small formfactor makes it easy to add into a pedal board with out problems.

- very sturdy.

Cons

- no battery compartment so you have to use ac power

- washes out any distortion above a light fuzz.

Overall for the price its very solid and will last a long time.

Modern Millennial

October 15, 2020

It’s hard for me to say this, but these are really great pedals.

Full disclosure, I went into this hoping to find a low quality product. My reasoning was that I’ve grown up playing music, and love the boutique gear crafted with love and care and attention to detail made by craftsman all over the world. I was expecting to find a cheap knock off of a micro pedal with low quality components and overall lower quality sound issues. But, I’m here to eat crow. This was a really solid piece of gear and for the price point it is practically unbeatable.

I ran this compressor pedal through a small collection of pedals. For the audiophiles and gear heads, this review will not be in depth enough, but I will share what I know. I played this pedal through a vareity of amps using decent quality plugs, some higher end, some garden variety connections, etc. As anyone can tell you, your sound quality is only as good as the weakest cable, or piece of gear, in the chain. So using readily available 1/4in cables between the pedals should be a good indicator that I am not running this in a studio grade setting. Even so, the pedal performance was pretty superb.

I ran a Gibson SG, a Burns Jet Sonic from London, and a small collection of other Gibson’s and Burns Londons. The amps were an Orange twin channel head, as Also an original 1964 silver tone 1484 amp professionally modded for studio use with the original tubes still installed. The mod is really just cutting the original cable that was hardwired to keep the head connected to the speaker cab, and replacing it with a 1/4 studio jack so I could pack it into a road case more easily.

The pedals run the spectrum of quality in my board, from a standard boss tuner and delay, to a boutique RC Boost, as well as an Ibanez TS808 that was hand modded by analog man with the silver chip mod and made true bypass, so that it sounds truly incredible and lush like an original tubescreamer but with better capacitors that get better and better with use.

I placed the compressor in the chain at both ends of the chain to see the impact. The effect is very much like a hot pad or a gate, to some extent, it keeps the volume of your playing level even if you are barely picking the strings. So what you lose, a little bit, is some of the dynamics of your attack and playing. However, what I loved was that my gentle playing still maintained a true, clear tone with the compressor on and all that was changed was creating a smooth, level volume. So I was able to maintain the character of the notes without sacrificing quality for the volume boost. By running the compressor at the start of the chain, I was able to get some truly remarkable sustain, and I can see how you could make some lush, beautiful soundscapes using a compressor with some tasteful reverb and space echo action without worrying about losing notes in the sprawl. Placing the compressor at the opposite end of the chain was not really to my taste, it took all the effects that had been compiled through the chain and squashed them down into a single level of volume. This can be nice for certain needs, but for my playing, I rely on going from clean to boosted to drive certain parts of songs, so I don’t want to lose the boost from the RC booster, or the true boost you get from the modded TS808. I’ll even note that the famously unwieldy BIG MUFF pedal was more easily worked with thanks to the compressor pedal, because the consistent delivery of signal (thanks to the compressor) knocked back the natural tendency of a really cranked up Big Muff to grab anything, including the silence, and turn it into fuzzy washy noise walls. Not the good kind you want the muff for, but the “bad” kind that can at times get in the way of operating the pedal because it screams even when you need just a single note to sustain on it. You can accommodate that by adjusting your playing a bit, but the compressor helped is all I’m saying.

So, at the end of playing with this thing for a few hours, hat in hand, I admit I was converted. I did not open this pedal to inspect the components, and I can’t speak to the longevity of the components inside, or on the body. All I can say, as a seasoned and professionally employed touring player for many years with labels, that this was materially indistinguishable from the construction of competing boutique pedals. The exterior is sturdy metal, the nipple is metal and feels rock solid, and I stomped the heck out of it to make sure it didn’t push through the front from a plastic washer or anything. Nada. It just kept on cranking. It accepted a standard daisy chain power supply from a BOSS power supply cable (no battery compartment on this pedal), and the input jacks were metal. The knobs are hard plastic and rooted in place. It really does feel and behave just like a hand wired little beast from a quality maker. Admittedly, these are currently going to mostly challenge places like BOSS, and honestly, outperform them, but over time, if they start to dabble in serious pedals, we could lose a lot of innovation from small creators because they simply won’t be able to afford to invent the new tools we need knowing a huge company will just duplicate the construction, circuitry, and wiring that have been compiled through years of discovery and experience. I’m not a Luddite, I’m more of a futurist, but my concern is still valid.

All that said, they absolutely crushed it. For the average player looking to improve their pedal collection, these pedals are going to open so many doors and create so much excitement for young players (and old) looking to improve their tone and open new doors to mood, tone, and thus songwriting and production techniques. So it’s a plus and a minus. I’m so happy that pedals like these, which I couldn’t afford when I was 14, are going into the hands of players like I was. And for an unbiased review, I have to give up the goods here and say that this is a really solid outing. Will it be outperformed by boutiques for certain effect types? Absolutely. Will this pedal succeed in the market place? I’d have to say... Yes. And rightfully so at a product/price level. Throw away your DOD Grunge pedal and pick up this whole line. It’s right on.

Big bang for the bucks.

The first thing I would like to mention is the size. I was surprised by how small it is. It does have the sizes on the listing. I would not say it is a positive or a negative. That is a matter of individual preference. The switch and controls operate without noise. The only negative I see, is the fact it does not have a battery compartment. You have to buy a power supply. Which in long term is better/cheaper. Also the purpose of a compressor is to equal out the volume. Which helps hide bad technic or volume changes when turning on or off other effects pedals. This pedal does that just fine. It still allows you to adjust some volume change or punch to certain notes. A big bang for the bucks. I am considering buying other effects pedals in this brand and building an effects board. I would and have recommended to friends.

Edgar Z.

September 14, 2020

Great Pedal for the Price

Most don't seem to notice the effects of a compressor and that's exactly what it does. A compressor effectively "cleans up" the sound coming from your guitar and makes it sound more leveled in terms of volume. This is best done before putting the sound through other effects like overdrive or reverb, so it's best placed in the front of your pedal chain. This pedal has 3 adjustable settings for sustain, attack, and level. There are other compression pedals with more tunable settings but they also come with a higher price tag. For a ~$20 range pedal this is a hard to beat value. The aluminum body construction feels nice and sturdy and the stomp button feels very clicky. The knob indicators glow in the dark for easy viewing in low light. The small size of the pedals make it great for taking up minimal space on your pedal board. Overall a great value for your sound.

LungMei

September 7, 2020

Surprisingly Good

I was wrong.

This thing is very high quality metal case, sturdy switch, nice looking and works great.

I plugged this into my Marshall DSL40 and gave it a whirl on both my Les Paul and Strat. This really evens out your tone, bring down the highs and boosting the lows. Cranking the level and sustain, this thing absolutely sings.

It's a subtle effect, but highly necessary. With a compressor, it's not always what you hear, but what you don't hear.

This being fully analog, gives a good classic compression and helps bring out a lot of subtleties in your playing. It adds the punch you're looking for. Great attack and sustain.

It will take some time to get the best tones out of this pedal. The effect is subtle, but something everyone should have.

Haruharu

September 5, 2020

Affordable and decent

Building a pedal collection can be expensive, but this is a good staple to have for less money. The effects work well and give you some more control over your sound. It sounds great for the most part, though I did experience a little bit of electric feedback when the plug was jostled. It could be my equipment though so I wont give less stars. It can be a great backbone to your sound