REVERB- SBS

REVERB

REVERB.....WHAT IS IT?

So as ever I will keep it simple.
JUST THE NEED TO KNOW STUFF!

We all know what an echo is. A sound sails through the air hits a very hard surface and bounces back and with a distinct pause arrives at our ears. Well reverb is virtually the same think. The difference is that the delay coming back to our ears is so quick we can not perceive the separation. Add to that it is not one  echo but hundreds or even thousands of them. Each of these micro echoes bounce off the surfaces surrounding you and goes back to your ears a micro second or two apart. Depending on what they bounced off of they will each have a different sound and get back to your ears a split second apart.. The ones bouncing off of the concrete floor will be brighter then the ones bouncing off of a wooden door etc Some things in the room like curtains and furniture will suck up the sound...and the first echos will bounce over to an adjacent wall and bounce back again...and then again bouncing a second time and so on.

A program on a digital chip called an antilogarithm creates the sound.The larger and more complex the program the better the sound. The greater the memory of the chip the more room you have for the complexities that create a very rich and detailed sound.

There are 3 basic types of  reverb sounds...the sound inside buildings (rooms, halls etc.)...the sounds made by mechanical devices..springs and plates...and artificial fantasy rooms...sounds that could not happen in nature.

SPRINGS

In the 50's they found if you put the signal coming through a series of suspended springs it was delayed enough to create and perhaps bounced around enough to create a simple reverb like sound..a much simpler sound ...but effective. It was crude and sounds a little trashy...but on a guitar it was effective.

Acutronics Spring Reverb

                                              the industry standard for quality guitar amps. eg. Fender

PLATES

In the 60's they tried the same idea running thru a giant metal plate. Now the signal could head off in 2 directions...from north to south and east to west. This gave a much richer and cleaner sound. It was surprisingly pleasant and sounded great on vocals and guitars. It tended to be a little weak in the low end but this only helped as it got rid of frequencies that can muddy up the the sound of a whole band.

ARTIFICIAL ROOMS

Once again the concept is simple...take the high end content from a cathedral and the mids from a bath shower space..and bingo..you have a space that can not exist in nature. The sounds made this way are endless.

TIME TO CHOOSE ONE!!!

DONNER VERB SQUARE

Donner have been around for a few years now.

They DO NOT make pedals. They buy re-branded stock from

Mooer, Joyo and NUX.

Those that make there own brands even when they use a standard

mmmm casings consistently drill out holes

in the casings for plugs, switches and knobs. If they re-brand 

this is the giveaway.

I have NEVER found 2 companies alike,

So what baffles me is that Mooer does not have an equivalent pedal with

XX choices of reverb.

This is a well thought out and useful unit. All the voices are geared to work well superficially for guitar and there is not one gimmick ( or should I say Soundscape) patch on the selection knob






TOMSLINE

OCEANVERB

Yes yet another Mooer rebrand. You get one of each type of reverb...a ROOM...a SPRING...and a fantasy reverb...SHIMMER. the Shimmer was borrowed from the Stymon Bluesky reverb..a nice but pricey Gourmet pedal. It is a nice airy huge sound with an artificial overtone ringing an a couple of octaves higher then the note you play. Unfortunately Mooer choose to use a fifth instead of the octave so in some circumstances the note could be ringing out of tune.    Morons!!!
The spring is OK..if you are into Country or Rockabilly...but for many styles of music...why would I want to go digital and not have the sound of a beautiful room etc.
So...fortunately the Room is quite decent. It is neutral enough for any tune I will play. Since most players leave the reverb on all the time...it fits the bill quite nicely.

This pedal is a rebranded Mooer Shimverb...they also make the SkyVerb...they do not offer it as a rebrand. I expect that most players that try the Shimverb at a store will not notice the "fifth' problem. They will most likely will choose it over the SkyVerb.  Too bad because the SkyVerb has a very usable Plate.
I will get more into Plates with my final choice.

The 3 sounds in SkyVerb are Studio...Church and Plate.
The ShimVerb/Ocean Verb are Room...Spring and Shimmer.

...the overall actual tone of either pedal is quite good both are usable.


    Current Price $40.00  USD                                                     Current Price $49.00 USD

Current Price $53.00 USD

CALINE 
SNAKE BITE 

I did not buy this reverb. In hindsight I would have at the time I got the Tom'sline. At that time I was looking for the very cheapest pro pedal and the Mooer re-brand stuff in general is exactly that. The Caline  has a lot of control over the sound.You only get a single Room and it costs more . The basic room you do get is in the same league as pedals over $100.00 and you get sufficient sonic hands on control to tailor that to any style or set up you have.
On controls that increase any high frequencies there is however some noticeable hiss
The video will give you a good idea of the sound quality and the flexibility it gives you to shape it.

The overall sound is very good...another reviewer nailed it when he said... "It sounds expensive."

So it has got to be the best value for money in a reverb for less then $100.00.
In fact after a good  listen to the big contenders for under $200.00....they all have  several basic patches to choose from but their sonic quality may equal but they do not surpass the Caline.

In short...unless you are ready to move into reverbs that set a higher standard in pure sound...and they start at $200.00 this is your best bet.
.

  $56.00 USD on AliExpress

$115.00 USD

NINEVOLT
BATH TIME REVERB

A little over our $100.00 ceiling but worth much more. Ninevolt are a Japanese company
that makes a small line of basic but quality parts and pedals that are predictable but cheap. 
It is easy to use. One knob to mix the the wet and dry signal another to decide how long the reverb will ring on. Then the other a switch to choose between hall spring and room.

CATALINBREAD
TALISMAN

I recently bought this pedal and I am 100% satisfied. It checks all the boxes and sounds...I hate to use this overused word AWSOME!!!           It is also expensive.!!!

OK what the F. is it all about.

First..a reverb tends to be an 'always on' pedal.
In a live situation the you need a sound that can work on every tune.......I do not want to change the patch..with the small exception of a tune at a rather slow tempo then a longer decay is nice.
It has to sound very clean and clear and never muddy.

Well...first I only need one sound....the really great reverbs have many...and you will pay for that.
The safest reverb sound is a great plate as it ticks all the boxes.

Now what is the  greatest plate ever made and can I get it as a pedal?

The Catalinbread Talisman Reverb....digital modelling of an EMT140TS plate Reverb

Current Price $ 209.00 USD

Bottom line...it sounds great. It is easy to program to perfection and

most of all everything going through it has an improved sound. The detail especially in my best pedals is maintained. If you have for example 6 pedals and you get one...instantly it is like having 7 new pedals the second you turn it on.

You set it up for your average mid tempo...occasionally on a slow tempo song you lean over and grab the 'Time' knob for a longer decay.

One last thing...what the EMT 140 does you can do on the Talisman....

so if you want to hear the best demo of these sounds listen to....

 Pink Floyd's

 'Dark Side of the Moon'  

the EMT was all they had...and they got anything and everything it could do out of it.

JUST WHEN YOU THINK ITS A PERFECT PEDAL....I FIND A NASTY SIDE EFFECT

NOT WITH THE PEDAL BUT HOW I USE SO MANY NOISE GATES.

I AM USING ONE ON EACH OF MY 4 LOOPS AND ONE RIGHT ON THE GUITAR

IF I USE A HARD GATE WHICH CHOPS OFF THE LAST NOTE PLAYED

THE PRE-DELAY ACTS AS A SLAPBACK ECHO AND MAKES A NASTY CLICK .

TO CREATE A LARGE ROOM ONE USES A PRE-DELAY.

...SIMPLE REALLY ....YOUR EARS TELL YOU THAT YOU ARE IN A BIG ROOM BECAUSE THERE IS LITTLE DELAY BEFORE THE REVERB BOUNCES OFF OF THE WALLS AND COMES BACK TO YOUR EARS. IN A SMALL ROOM THE REVBERB COMES BACK INSTANTLY....SO I HAVE HAD TO SETTLE ON USING A SMALL ROOM SOUND ON ALL BUT CLEAN SOUNDS...ON THOSE I CAN PUT A LONG DECAY ON THE NOISE GATE

OVERDRIVE- A PEDAL THAT CLONES AN AMP PERFECTLY PT. 2 ..... THE BEST OVERDRIVE EVER ?

THIS THING BLEW MY MIND!

Is it the most exciting pedal I ever heard. No...many pedals are designed to be larger then life like my Apocalypse Fuzz and a JMC 800 effort made by JHS The AT...an Angry Charlie on steroids.

 This pedal is all about putting a myth into a reality. The roots of much of today's approach to rock music were laid down on the record of the mid 60's. The sound of British rock in the 60's and early 70's  was the Marshall Plexi Stack.

CATALINBREAD'S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET

What's the big deal about another Plexi pedal everyone has one. Catalinbread set out to capture the ultimate dead accurate Plexi sound and they have nailed it in every way. Not only is the sound dead accurate down to the cabinet thump. The pedal responses to your guitars volume knob...More important ...it responds to
 your touch...every nuance of your playing effects the sound.

It comes set to the super lead Plexi..(thick upper mids more distorted...Strat friendly )but you can open the pedal and switch it to the super bass (heavy low mids ...cleaner...and is magical with a fuzz..especially an old style Germanium Fuzz
The 'super bass' is NOT a few tweaks to sell the pedal...It is quite effectively a different amp
or can I say...a different pedal. (Just listen to Hendrix do the The Wind Cries Mary...this thing has it nailed!) Catalinbread could have very easily made 2 pedals and sold them separate. Not happy to stop there they have a second presence switch in the pedal to match with your amp ...to more accurately turn your amp into an extension of the sound.
In short it takes a Fender and turns it into Marshall.

BONUS...It has the very,very best (on-line)  manual I have ever read in my life.
It tells you how...why....and what guitar and amp works best with
which settings. It gets into the history of the 2 original amp designs...that is not only entertaining...but is done in such a way as to help you choose which of the 2 voicings will be best...for your tastes ...the guitar and other pedals you have. It even deals with your amplifier.
They are so honest with what pedals were used with the original amps...that they end up promoting pedals that you may wish to get....and they do not make. 

                                            I RATE THIS PEDAL A 10 out of 10....better still make that an 11.

                       CHECK OUT ALL THE VIDS!!!!

    2 pedals in one box
  <<<<




                





            Catalinbread promote using this pedal as a 
                             'FOUNDATION PEDAL'   >>>

       Current Price $170.00 USD 

OVERDRIVE- A PEDAL THAT CLONES AN AMP PERFECTLY PT. 1

WHY THIS RARELY HAPPENS...

It takes a lot of research...a lot of trial and error...and lot of money. But that is not the main reason.

For example with a Marshall Plexi..you bring in a perfect example. Maybe even 2 or 3 stacks, a vintage Strat and a Les Paul...you bring in a good guitarist. Three years...yes years...you have a pretty scary clone!

BUT VERY FEW BUY IT!!!

WHY?

Well...I even owned a real Plexi for years...over which time I had a Strat...LP and a Flying V.

BUT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE I JUDGED THE PEDAL AGAINST A RECORDING OF SOME GREAT MUSICIAN.

Skip any studio stuff and you are still judging the tone you hear... Perhaps there was a Rangemaster Treble Booster and a Sola Sound Tone Bender placed between the guitar and amp. Or if you hear a Marshall JCM 800...the odds are it was being overdriven by a Boss SD-1 Distortion pedal.

So a successful OD builder takes this in mind. That is why so many can exist in the market place. at the same time...and this accounts for the endless variations and compromises that make up the pedal
Yes that perfect amp could be a clone of perhaps Jimmy Page of Zep. including his treble booster and Fuzz sound designed into the pedal.

The Pedals That Clones An Amp Perfectly

A FENDER DELUXE

There are 2 pedals that clone a 57 Fender Deluxe...The Tech21 Blonde
...and the Joyo American which  is a clone of the Tech21. Watch the 2 vids.
.
Either pedal is good. The Tech21 is mildly tighter sounding....
... the Joyo is slightly more open but as you will see just as impressive.
.
...the YouTube vid...' Joyo American Sound Amp Simulation Pedal'....with Shane compares the pedal with the actual amp....If you have a Marshall...what a treat...get this and have 2 amps.

THE JOYO AMERICAN

Current Price $30.00 USD

TECH21 BLONDE

Current Price $134.00 USD

Tech21 vs Joyo American

I have owned 2 Twin Reverbs ...I always loved the clean sound.

as for dirt...it did not have any LOL

WHY WOULD AN OBSCENELY EXPENSIVE PEDAL BE ON THIS SITE ???

STATE OF THE ART ???

Here at SBS we are all about great quality pedals that are totally pro and under $100.00 USD!!!

This is totally what we are about!!!  THIS WILL NEVER CHANGE!!!

Think about it!!!

EVERYONE WANTS THE BEST

SOME PEDALS ARE DESIGNED WITH A "FIXED" SOUND...NO EXTENSIVE EQ OR FILTERS TO CHANGE IT...BUT IF DONE RIGHT IT CAN BE A CHEAP WAY TO GET AT LEAST ONE PERFECT SOUND

...BELLS AND WHISTLES DO NOT MAKE A POOR SOUNDING PEDAL BETTER.

...PEDALS THAT START WITH A GREAT SOUND AND ADD THE BELLS AND WHISTLES ARE A LUXURY...WORTH A SPLURGE...BUT THERE IS NO NEED TO HAVE NOTHING BUT THOSE KIND OF PEDALS.

A PEDAL THAT IS EXCEPTIONAL..

IF I FIND A GOURMET PEDAL THAT IS SO STUNNING IT IS TO DIE FOR... 

I WILL REVIEW IT AND PUT UP A VID FOR YOU TO COMPARE IT TO THE SDS PEDAL. 

SOME GOURMET PEDALS ARE NOT SONICALLY BETTER THEN AN SDS PEDAL
THEY JUST GIVE YOU MORE 'STUFF' FOR EXAMPLE ...I HEARD A CHORUS THAT
SIMPLY PUT 2 CHORUSES IN THE SAME BOX...IT SOUNDED GREAT...BUT NOT BETTER THEN USING 2 SDS TYPE PEDALS...AND FOR THE PRICE YOU COULD HAVE 4 SDS PEDALS.

ON THE OTHER HAND I HEARD A PLEXI TYPE PEDAL THAT COULD FOOL YOU
IF THE PLEXI AMP WAS THERE TO COMPARE IT. NOW!
THAT WILL BE REVIEWED SHORTLY.

IN SHORT..'.MORE'...IS NOT BETTER...AND THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF 'MORE'TYPE PEDALS OUT THERE. 
SO IF OVER TIME..YOU NEVER SEE..FOR EXAMPLE A GOURMET CHORUS...IT IS BECAUSE IN MY ESTIMATION...IT IS A WASTE OF MONEY...IF YOU HEARD NEXT TO
SDS PEDAL...PUT ON A SETTING THAT MOST OF US WOULD USE...IT WOULD NOT SOUND ONE BIT BETTER....NOW IT MIGHT HAVE A SWITCH AND 2 KNOBS THAT MAKE IT SOUND LIKE A GARBAGE CAN ROLLING DOWN THE STAIRS..

AND THAT'S WHY IT IS $225.00

ONE LAST THING;

IF I FIND ANYTHING THAT IS CRAP OR BULL...I AM GOING TO SAY SO...
NOTHING IS SACRED...THIS IS A ROCK & ROLL BLOG SO OUR ARROGANCE HAS
NO LIMITS!

TREBLE BOOSTERS....WHY YOU NEED ONE BUT DID NOT KNOW IT!!!

TREBLE BOOSTER

I DO NOT HAVE A TREBLE PROBLEM 

No not me. I have a buffer...a clean booster and 3 EQ pedals. So I do not need one!

WRONG!!!  ..... because treble boosters are all about sizzling soaring sustain!!!

During the 60's musicians were starting to crank their amps looking for more sustain.
They found that when soloing at high volumes you could get feedback from the speakers that with a bit of effort could be controlled to make some very exciting effects.The problem was it was difficult to always do on command and difficult to control. But if you bought a treble booster that all changed.

Just listen to Brian May of Queen. Not only does he get amazing sustain and a 'lift off' on any note he wants...he can do it on command. He writes parts into the tunes that depend on it happening or those parts tank!! His secret weapon is the Treble booster.

A LITTLE HISTORY

DALLAS RANGEMASTER

This was the first company to build a treble booster. Early models were a box that sat on top of your amp...not a pedal. These were relatively simple circuits based on a Mullard JC-44 germanium transistor with only 4 other parts.

Although referred to as a treble booster...unlike other treble boosters that are boosting even the harmonics in the low end (as it sees them as treble)..it works on only the notes actually in the high end.The higher you go the more boost it gives you. It leaves your low end alone and intact. It works best on an amp or before a pedal that is distorting. In other words it works best when you stack it.

Another very important thing is that in the 60's the Marshall Plexi was voiced with very heavy low mids. This made the sound incredibly fat but the guitar could get swamped by the same frequencies coming from other band members. Although the Rangemaster and others like it are called treble boosters they would boost the upper mids as much as the highs so guitar riffs and leads jumped right out and were so much fuller.

They were soon discovered by guitarists like Brian May of Queen, Toni Iommi of Black Sabbath...Rory Gallagher and Marc Bolan. Eric Clapton used one with his Bluesbreaker amp.

Oh my...and all they want  is $13,000.00 USD
for this mouldie goldie oldie
.

HORNBY SKEWES

Not long after the Rangemaster came along Horby Skewes brought out theirs. It was however when they intoduced a second generation model based on the silicon transistor that they took off.
Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple...put them on the map. He used his from 60 to 74

.

VOX

Jumped in with several models. In 1966 it was the V806 that got it right. Roger Mcguinn of the Byrds had one built right into his Ricky 12 string. Tom Petty was never without his.
This was a more conventional all treble no mids booster.

Used these suckers get $500.00 USD. They were actually made as a Vox AC30 amp accessory.
They became so popular for those buyers they simply put the Top Boost feature in the amp itself and stop making the 806.

11/11/2017
The only one on the planet making the Real Deal is Ananashead FX.
The Byrd Song. It will come in a very nice mini pedal. 
I approached owner builder Pedro Garcia 
to make me a custom made one but in a sensible mini pedal.
Pedro's attention to authentic parts. build  quality & detail is second to none!!!

Another bonus is it simulates a very, very passable Brian May of Queen sound with a Strat or other single coil without having Brian's unique home made guitar and vintage AC30. Just plug it into a medium gain Plexi type OD. For this alone it is a steal!!!!

.

COLORSOUND BOOST

This little orange stomp box was David Gilmours favorite. Who hasn't heard the Pink Floyd guitar sound??? It offered a boost for bass as well...but it was it's sweet high end that sold it. It is back in production at $375.00 USD. (if a reasonable China knock off were made it could go for $30.00.The company who made it could produce it cheaper then any pedal in their line of  $30.00 pedals.)

ELECTRO-HARMONIX SCREAMING BIRD
& SCREAMING TREE

DEATH OF THE TREBLE BOOSTER

By the 70's overdrives and better made Fuzz boxes took over and the treble booster fizzled away.
But now musicians are more demanding...many are searching for a nice clean soaring sustain. A sustain free of compressors...and the treble booster will do that.


BSM

BSM have revived every treble booster and every model that I think ever existed. They have 17...and will customize one for you if these are not good enough for you. I do not think they will stop here I am sure they working on pedal 18 as you read this little epistle of mine.
BUT if you do not have  $300.00 in your pocket move on.
Gourmet...hand made or not...many of these pedals have a very,very modest circuit....So...I find them just a bit excessively priced.   In fact the word GOUGE comes to mind!

ELECTRO- HARMONIX SCREAMING BIRD

Because resurgence of the treble booster EH has got back in. The Screaming Bird name has been revived with the new Nano line pedals. THIS PEDAL IS SO NEW THAT I COULD ONLY FIND ONE VID...& not in English.

Current Price $41.00 USD

MARITIME AUDIO BULLFROG BOOST

This is a simple straight up Rangemaster clone with the original circuit in tack..
There is a single Mullard OC-44 germanium transistor...that gives it ...'It's Rangemaster Sound!  A few other companies out there doing the same thing but most add superfluous bits and pieces until most of them are really overdrive pedals. The Bullfrog has a toggle switch that gives you the original boost and adds one in the mids and one in the lows. The low boost sounds like a low mid boost to me. So you get the original tone and 2 others that are quite useful.

Other companies throw in a lot stuff you don't need...but with prices in the $200.00 plus area...the extras are a given to justify the price.
What does it do?
It adds a presence to the sound without sounding overly bright or harsh...It tightens the sound and gets rid of mush. It adds some sustain. If you plug in a geranium fuzz, especially if it is a Tone Master clone...it perform miracles ...it removes the harshness and make the harmonics richer sounding.

 THE VERDICT

At $95.00 USD..... this is not priced in the 'silly zone'. All the parts are high end...so you do get your money's worth that way.

It really comes off as an alternative to a Tube Screamer but it is warmer...has more grit.

It falls into that transparent OD category
and like the Tube Screamer it likes to be stacked.
Put in  front of your amp...or put it in front of a Marshall type medium gain OD and listen to the magic!

I can not help but like it. It has just enough

noticeable distortion to give it a real

punch. Like the original it has a bit of mojo.

Maritime Audio are merging with Butcher
Pedals. There is very little info on this. At
present all the former product have the Butcher
name on it except the Bullfrog Boost.
This could just be an old inventory thing
as the the Bullfrog Boost is listed with others
as part of the Butcher line up

Update: Further BULLFROG BOOST
Pedals will be made with the BUTCHER
LOGO...there are just a few
of the old stock Maritime ones left.

there is one less today because they have shipped me mine...and I love it!




Note the demo shows the old case...all new one are in a mini case

SUMMARY

Well I have listen to a lot of treble boosters in researching this toy. They seem to really make a BIG difference.

Right now only those into keeping up with the leading trends buy treble boosters. Some of  Gourmet boys offer them...and as you might expect they are accurate repro  models and many have superfluous bells and whistles.. The prices are up there. They are such simple things. One transistor and a few bits and bobs...so I feel a hundred bucks is the limit.

There are only 2 at the SBS price and the Bullfrog Boost just squeaks in and the EH.. just ain't gonna do it.


That said...the Rangemaster is a classic and the design is very simple so if the actual parts are not substituted it is hard to screw up. If the Chinese decide to do one the odds are great it will be good. But as it stands now as far as a cheap pedal is concerned there are only 2...and only one I can recommend.The Bullfrog.

If you are into Over Drives....(What a stupid Question)....then you have to check these out. The overdrive you already own might blow away a Gourmet jobbie you are dying to have...and a lot cheaper just by stacking this on it. Using a treble booster to push an overdrive is a great way to create your own personal original sound.

FINAL NOTE....to me personally getting a decent Rangemaster clone is a no brainer. When will my tastes and out side interests change so much that as a tool in my musical tool box I will not need it.
Things like serious overdrives are like power tools...one day the one I have will emotionally wear out and I will want...bigger...better etc. But a treble booster is like a screwdriver...and there always loose screws in my sound that need a bit of tightening.

One of my favorite sounds is putting my Hunger Bender germanium  fuzz Tone Bender part for part clone into the Bullfrog treble booster... which is a part for part Rangemaster clone and then into the Dirty Little Secret perfect Plexi pedal. I get Jimmy Pages sound on the first 3 albums. Dead Cool!!!

Getting a Vox 806 sound is a totally different pedal The Vox does not boost the upper mids just the high end. It is worth owning for it's own sake. I have a custom made Ananashead pedal right now.
F-ing great!! it will soon be in production so get back here in a month or so.

STOMP BOX STEALS vs. REVERB.COM

According to the 'Alexa Blog' an online journal of what's hot in online business..
....REVERB.com is 'hot poop'... LOL

But what was great for us...the only other site that they also mentioned by name is STOMP BOX STEALS.

SO KIDS KEEP COMING BACK>>>THE WORLD THINKS WERE ONTO SOMETHING!!!

WHY THE MAKERS OF ANALOG PEDALS ARE IN A SWEAT!!!

A LOW TECH LOOK AT ANALOG PEDAL MAKING


First a quick look at digital. Put enough on/off digital messages together and you can have what works as a single transistor...in fact it is so easy with enough memory you can have hundreds. Its cheap...it's clean and the possibilities are quite endless.

The down side is it not only sounds as sterile as an algorism. LOL but..worse yet. If you make a pedal this way...your competitor can literally clone you...and both pedals will sound 100% identical.

Now an analog transistor is a real thing...it takes 3 to make a basic fuzz...in fact a basic fuzz only needs 7 parts. lol
Well you can hold one of these transistors between your fingers and read the info on it. So by digital standards an analog transistor is an extra large super jumbo size thing. LOL

There are 3 basic types...germanium...silicon and FET used for pedals. There are about 25 other types but they have a limited use for pedals.  Each kind represents a succession of better technology...but when I say better...I am talking about clarity and mechanical performance. When misused in making them distort. Well that is another matter. They are in general considered basically obsolete. In so much as the consumer market who think  digital electronic making is supreme.
In fact half of the "cool' ones are only alive in small obscure countries who either have some old stock gathering dust or they banged out a few to keep grandad's radio going a few more generations
          .                                        especially in the old Soviet Bloc.as well as parts of Asia.



The reason they sound good is that put an audio signal thru anything and out the other side comes distortion. In this case distortion means it goes in one way and comes another. The original idea was to distort the signal as little as possible. Often the best that came out was a pleasing distortion.
My ears love the distortion of a germanium transistor. Technically since it was the first kind of a transistor...it is scientifically crap  But It makes some stellar guitar distortion. LOL

OK...we have 3 types of transistor...several values...or strengths...and a dozen company's making a few different models...perhaps one made in 1955 was upgraded to the new improved 1960 model.

So my point is. The practical choices are limited...the ways you can wire them together are limited.

So...one day...the new improved model will cease to be new. A clone will be as good and what pedal you choose will be on your board until it actually wears out...maybe years and years.

ONE DAY>>>THE MANUFACTURERS..... WILL.... BE IN A SWEAT

BUT JUST LOOK AT THAT THING !!!   I THINK IT IS A EDWYN COLLINS BUM FUZZ
CIRCUIT!!!
MY GOD...LOOK AT IT!!!   WHY THERE ARE 9 PARTS IN  IT!!!
NO! NO! LOOK LOOK ....JUMPIN JACK RABBITS   THERE ARE 10!!!!!


OH POOP.... I GOT IT WRONG
THAT'S A RARE
SOLA SOUND MKII

OH DAMN! I THOUGHT IT WAS AN OLD ONE
ITS ONE OF THOSE CHEAP $580.00 NEW ONES!!!

THE BEST PLAYERS HAVE THESE PEDALS

THE BEST PLAYERS HAVE THE BEST PEDALS?

No the best players have the pedals they think are best. They got to your attention because they are successful...they are successful because they did things...THERE OWN WAY!!!

So should you copy them?     NO!

Everyone has the potential to make the big time. Others will admire you only because you play and sound like YOU.

If you sound like... and are as good as your fav guitarist...who cares...you become about as exciting as a perfect copy of a  Les Paul that was made in China!!!

So why don't you???
...... Peer presure is your biggest hurdle
NO ONE THOUGHT OF THE LES PAUL AS A COOL GUITAR UNTIL ERIC CLAPTON PLAYED ONE ON THE "BEANO" LP!!!

In fact Gibson had discontinued it when he got his. So if you find a pedal that 'no one' thinks is cool...

Stop there! You get it?? YES??

There is one thing as a guy that is 70 and is still trying with my original material that has got me thru.

ONLY A NOBODY IS FREE OF RIDICULE !!!!

and

NEVER LET OBJECTIVE REALITY INTERFERE WITH YOUR SENSE OF SELF IMPORTANCE !!

-the musicians you admire could not make it if they thought their ideas and music were not important. So...get with the program. Your ideas and music are important...without guys like you that said F. U.  I am doing it my way.

THERE WOULD BE NO NEW MUSIC....
without guys like you
THE ONLY MUSIC TO BE HEARD WOULD BE THE BEATLES 

SO DO THE WORLD A FAVOUR...make your own choices for gear...start writing 'your' music.

OR...for gods sake sell your guitar and buy some video games.

TUBE AMPS...WHY THEY ARE STILL THE BEST

TUBE AMPS

Tube amps are still the best sounding guitar amps on the planet! One day modeling amps will catch up...but they haven't. WHY? Because the best they can do is model what happens to a tube in a second or less. Tubes...the tiniest changes in power change the sound. The tube amp uses large transformers to supply the current...and these cause many fluctuations in the power. Add to that the tubes heat and cool with any external changes in air temperature. These small changes in the sound brighten and darken the tone by raising and lowering the gain on different harmonics in different ways making for what is subtle enough not to have a distracting tone but definitely create a very,very complex sound. Complex sound means a rich sound.
All tube amps have a natural tendency to exaggerate even ordered harmonics. The most notable and richest is the second harmonic. Think of it this way. It is like having a phantom guitar tracking every thing you play but a couple of octaves higher. This trait is even present when the amp is set to a clean sound.The sound is therefore richer and noticeably warm and full. Overdrive the amp a bit and these sweet sounding overtones get louder and fatter.
The down side is that they are often noisy and designed to create distortion makes them even more noisy. They are high maintenance. A tube is much like a light bulb.Vacuum sealed and creating a lot of heat they simply burn out. Even before they burn out they become unusable by making an unacceptable amount of noise. They are more expensive to build. They are much heavier and more hassle to move around.
To say a solid state amp can be better is like saying if a Strat or Les Paul were made out of high tech metal...carbon or plastics they would.produce a better sounding guitar..
It is the same for pedals...my best sounding pedal is hand made and hand wired point to point.
It is actually a much simpler circuit then my other pedals...but the sound is totally organic...and real.


But like 2 identical guitars...identical amps do not sound 'exactly' the same. which is both frustrating but cool too.

There has never been a better time to choose a valve/tube amp
The choice is in the hundreds. From vintage reissues..to esoteric 'spare no cost' ...to amps with a good design made accessible by the lower cost of producing them in Asia.There are even a few antiques that have escaped the collectors grasp going cheap.


Ok...I will maybe remove this later...but I bought this little gem today.

VOX AC4TV

The original came  out in 1961 All tube of course..  Unlike this new version..it was designed not to let the preamp overload the amp and distort...

isn't that silly...LOL

So it is a class A amplifier that is only 4 watts RMS...

it even has a power attenuator to cut the volume down to a 2 watt or even 1/4 watt level.

In other words the volume sounds the same when cranked...no matter if it is producing a 2 or quarter watt sound.

Great for recording and a practice amp that you can get heavily distorted sounds and even sing over without a mic.

I work with my singer/bass player and a drum machine composing....we can do quick recordings and get a very realistic idea of how the song sounds and would sound with a real drummer and full sized amps. The thing has only 3 knobs.

 A tone control that full on is classic bright Vox sound...or turned fully the other way gives you a very dark tone

A second knob controls the gain...half way up it starts to overdrive.

The final 3rd knob is a switch between 4 watts...2 watts or 1/4 watts 

This thing has a warm fat sound...at 1/4 watt it sounds loud...This is an illusion...you can easily talk over it but it is so full and rich sounding that the sound appears to be too incredibly big not to be loud.

Hell!!! this thing is just too much fun. Gone is a that wimpy sucked out little amp sound!!!

WATTAGE...WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...AND NOTHING MORE

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW !!!

OK....hate the tech stuff

This is all you need to know....as a guitar player.

When choosing an amp to do the job right too much power forces you to turn down or drown out the the band. BUT all amps sound lame... especially tube amps if they are not cranked.

IF YOU PLAY BASS. the more power the better...turning an amp down gives the bass headroom

so you get a better sound when you hit hard on a note for punch or an accent.

So how do you get it just right.

The key here is the drummer. Acoustic drums do not have a volume knob. An average drummer

creates the equivalent volume to a cranked 50 RMS guitar amp or a 200 watt bass amp.

Some bands play quieter...and 30to 40 watts will work. But that is rare...and one may sooner or later be working with musicians that play louder.

The key when buying is you must know the RMS wattage.

This for the sake of simplicity is the average loudness wattage.

ALL OTHER WATTAGES ARE A CON TO SELL AMPS!!!

unless they are in the fine print for techies.

So... In short...maximum for guitar....50 watts RMS

                        minimum for bass.....200 watts RMS 

IGNORE MY ADVICE AND IT WILL ALL END IN TEARS !!!!

and remember...get the RMS wattage...before you buy

    

DISTORTIONS- SBS

DISTORTION PEDALS

If distortion pedals were edible all rock guitarists would be obese.

The first guitar distortion was created when someone probably in the late 40's or early 50's walked over to their small tube amp with just a volume knob and cranked it up full just to be heard in a noisy crowded club .Even when the fuzz arrived the amps still had only one volume knob. If you wanted some distortion you had to play loud.
Today's distortion can be thought of as a booster overloading a preamp inturn overloading an amp...all in one small box.
They give you anything from medium to high amounts of distortion with lots of sustain. Anything less is an overdrive, Some players back off the gain on a distortion pedal and use it as an overdrive.
Unlike overdrives where there is a great advantage to having a few. One great one is all you need.
I have four.
OK! Let's have a look at my treasures...and I will give you the how...why..and how much.

LET'S BUY A DISTORTION PEDAL

JOYO US DREAM

My first one is a Joyo US Dream...a Suhr Riot clone. It has a very American sound. It is warm with a full mid range with bit of a boost around 1 k. Shades of Mesa Boogie.. I love this sound but I love a Brit sound too.
                                                                      JOYO US DREAM  Current Price $30.00 USD

.

                             SUHR RIOT
                             Current Price $200.00 USD


















Notice  the distinct look of the Joyo ...you would never guess what they cloned

BIYANG DS-10 MAXIMUM DISTORTION
Basically a good Marshall JMC 800 take off.. I have heard a few...and the basic EQ has the familiar scoop or mid range cut that this one has...actually most have a sweeter tone. This one is a bit harsh...but in a nice nasty way.  I heard it on a Les Paul and it was great, Then on a Strat....WOW!....many good pedals make the Strats pickups sound like indistinct thin hummies. Not this...the Strat sound comes through loud and clear and  fat!...fat!..fat!.

                                           BIYANG DS-10 MAXIMUM DISTORTION

                                                           Current Price $42.00 USD            

ALL THE SAME "MOOER" OR LESS
When I first got into buying pedals on-line like most I did know what was what. I thought Gourmet pedals just have to be amazing. You could buy them from important distributors like 'Godlyke'.
Don't they sell only the best?  I heard an amazing  pedal...the TWA Flyboy FB-05 Metal Distortion....it was a gourmet pedal...my god...only $69.00 USD ....of course after shipping and various blah...about $100.00.....LUCKY ME!!! Just gotta have one!!!

The story gets better. Later I heard another demo...by Donner Giant Metal Distortion...it sounded great too....so why not get one....only  $31.00 USD...free shipping too.
So I bought that too.

Both sounded the same...and neither of them sounded like their demo!!!


Much later I found out they were both a Mooer Blade Distortion...Current Price $48.00 USD


I learnt TWO important lessons.
Do not trust a demo that does not show or tell you what amp it is going thru and you should hear that amps clean sound first.The pedal should not be teamed up with other pedals either.... unless you here it first without them.
Secondly if a pedal is made in China you have to find out if it is manufactured by the brand name printed on the pedal.

I not only ended up with 2 pedals the same...I was gouged on one. What's more although the pedal has it's use....one use...it is not what I expected or wanted.


                           Current Price $31.00 USD.                        Current Price $69.00 USD

Current Price $48.00

The pedal is as extreme metal as you can expect. The top end sounds more shrill then running your finger nails across a chalk board.
It does shine at one thing. If you want to play triplets at 120 bpm or faster every note will articulate with awesome clarity...and at that speed you will have the odd note that is played with something less then perfection...but this thing will correct your minor fluff. So I did keep the first one...the TWA.
Yes...I can play that fast....on a good day...LOL

OK...I have had for some time with it since writing this review...Plenty of time to cool out over the BS.
It is really not bad...punchy and oddly quiet. Switching to it in a solo then back to a very good Metal distortion can be quite effective...it is not noticeably different to your average listener...so they put what you CAN do with it is put down by the audience as your great technique. LOL

BIYANG METAL-END...'KING'

Before you read about this distortion...I must warn you in order to get one...you have to make a deal with some guy...I think his name is DEVOL....yeah...that's it Mr.. DEVOL!  A nice sort of guy...I think.... he is into the footwear manufacturing business...shoes or something because he wanted my sole.

I heard this demonstrated thru the clean sound of a small practise amp.

My first impression was...."OK....Who do I have to kill to get one???

So the first thing you will notice is that it's really big. It takes up a lot of pedal board space.I found a simple way to get around this. GET A BIGGER PEDAL BOARD!
Lots of knobs and switches but none of them are just stuck in there to make the pedal look impressive. You click a switch or move a knob...and you get very niceable changes.

The EQ can both boost....or cut the signal..... The killer is the mids. They are sweepable...it is like tuning in a radio...you move it until it is EXACTLY where you want it. So you want a scoop...
you can pull out the mids while leaving some low mids to add to the bass for a massive low end.

You twiddle a few  knobs and ...poof....you have perfection. but wait you have a second guitar. No big deal...plug it in.and with a few minor adjustments...and it is perfection plus for that guitar too.
You can get a Modern distortion out of it....it even has 'label' on the toggle to get you started.
BUT...this really shines pulling off those Classic Marshall Sounds.

                                                                                           Current Price $65.00 USD
SO WHAT''S THE BASIC SOUND???  
sorry I can not tell you....there are not any words that I can say that would do it justice.
It really is that good.

How does it compare with all the competition?

Line up every high end gourmet distortion...even if it is a few hundred bucks!

The best you could convince me of is a tie..  this sucker will eat all but maybe a couple in seconds.

            The best thing about the Metal-End pedal

                                is.... $65.00 USD

BOGNER UBERSCHALL

So just when I sit down with my smug and arrogant self to waddle in my genius of picking the perfect pedal...this gourmet jobbie comes knocking on my opinionated door!

                                                                Current Price $200.00 USD

So what does it sound like? A damn Metal-End King!!! So who has been sneaking inside what/which box???  Just kidding!!! LOL

Ok...the Bogner is darker sounding.. Like Bogner amps it just screams "MODERN". The Metal-End sounds like it almost has a reverb on the voice...and leans heavily into the Marshall thing.
In spite of the lack of bells and whistles of the Uberschall...I would call it a tie,
If you like your distortion very defined the Uberschall will do it .It doesn't have a trace of fuzziness...you get a maximum distortion yet every note is clean and defined with maximum bite. Nothing is tighter sounding as this distortion. the high end sounds like a Tube Screamer...the bass is defined and very tight...the mids are smooth and full but they seem to make lots of room for the highs and lows.
What I like about it is it is the opposite of the Metal.End.
It is almost sythetic...but in a good way

so at the best price on Amazon at $200.00 USD . It still is worth a cautious listen. I do not think
either will disappoint you.

Bottom line. It just gets down to your taste. The Metal End is easily as good. The Metal End...is so cheap ya just gotta think...that the Bogner has to be at least a tad better. NO! it is not even 1% better...just different. So if you choose the Metal End because it is the best you can afford. Cheer up you just got a distortion that nothing can beat. Tie maybe...but beat?.... Neve

SURPRISE BARGAIN... Wampler Plextortion

So there is nothing wrong with 'any' gourmet pedal that a 75 percent price reduction can not fix.

One of  Wampler's biggest selling pedals for the last 4 years is the WAMPLER PLEXTORTION
a Marshall JMC800 distortion/overdrive pedal. You can dial in the classic scooped sound of the Metal players or dial up other great sounds  with a very nice 3 way EQ.  Perhaps get a  rich middy sound...which is very thick with lots of rich overtones. Pinched  harmonics leap out easily and the pedal is very quiet. It is made with the best parts, has a beautiful finish and is built like a tank.
They now make a variation of it nailing the EVH signature sound. So they discontinued the Plextortion.
Some dealers are waiting a bit longer and are holding down the current price as long as they can...asking between $199.00 and $245.00 for it
Others are announcing  "last chance to buy a classic" and putting the price up
In fact way up to $400.00
Last and more important to us ...some dealers are dumping them out..at $138.00 USD...we are talking
SBS prices....lol
OK not SBS prices...but for a splurge...this is a cheap treat.

COMPRESSORS- SBS....many makes,many types...2 cheapies and a best for the Bucks

lots of new up dates...vids too..
more to come...

COMPRESSORS

WHAT DO THEY DO ?

They even out your clean sound and give you lots of sustain.

You all know what they do...you just never thought about it this way

"UH!" you say!

Yes. So you watch a movie.

The dialogue when the actors are talking is easily heard

. 

If an actor screams you know by the 'TONE' of the voice it is a scream....BUT THE SOUND OF THE SCREAM IS NOT LOUDER THEN THE ORDINARY DIALOGUE.

An actor whispers and you also know by the "TONE' of the whisper it is whispering....BUT THE SOUND OF THE WHISPER IS NOT QUIETER THEN THE ORDINARY DIALOGUE.

IT IS THE COMPRESSOR  PUMPING AWAY!!!!    IT IS JUST THAT SIMPLE!!!!

HOW IT WORKS...AND WHAT IT DOES FOR YOUR SOUND

Dial up your fav clean sound. Hit a nice big fixed position chord...a G Major is perfect.

Now hit it hard...and listen to it fade away until it is gone.

Note: it is loudest when you hit it (this is called the attack) then it fades a bit (this is called decay) then it rings awhile at the same volume (this is called sustain) then it fades away to nothing (this is called release)

Now you turn on a simple 2 knob compressor and turn up the compressor knob to about two thirds of the way....and repeat hitting the G and listen. The loud hit is turned down...it is just a bit louder then the sustain....but the overall level is quieter.

So you turn up the volume knob to equal the loudness of the guitar when the pedal is off...

then....hit the G and listen again. Fat? Lots of sustain?

WHAT"S GOING ON ?

Simple...the compressor turns down the level of just how loud the signal is allowed to be no matter how hard you strike the strings. The volume knob brings the overall sound back up to the desired volume you wish to hear.
The sustain can only be as long as the strings are ringing it is just that when the sound naturally fades away that the fade has been turned up to be very loud. In short at say a 10 to one ratio the the sound is actually at all the same loudness.
If when we hit the string we were to refer to it as shouting and when it fades we referred to it as whispering ...then the tone sounds relatively natural because the tone of a shout is much different the the tone of a whisper. 

What happens is the same for all compressors. How it's done is different

The problem with compressors is that this is an unnatural thing to do....the best try and hide it. They also try to remove the side effects created by different methods of compressing. Like 'poping' which is the sound made on the 'attack' or the pluck sound of a string. No matter what electronic device you put a guitar signal thru...the natural sound of the guitar will change. Some designs try to fix this ...while others say...if the guitar signal is going to be 'coloured' lets try to make a colour that is pleasant...even desirable.

COMPRESSOR TYPES

THIS IS WORTH A QUICK READ...SOME OF YOU HATE THE TECH THING...SO

 ONLY THE 'NEED TO KNOW' INFO IS HERE.

OTA:  Operational Trans Conductant Amplifier

            All you need to know is it is the cheapest. The 'pop' is very noticeable in most...but the best have a nice 'colour'
If you now what a 'saturated' distorted guitar sound...sounds like...just think of the same sound...but completely free from dirt...saturated but dead clean.
The first one ever made is the MXR Dyna-Comp...lots of pop but the colour though glaring is pleasant. Not long after that the Ross came out...the pop is softer...the colour is less strident.

Like the unintentional sound of the distortion of early amps...some  Funk players and virtually all Country players have made the 'SOUND" of the OTA compressor ...especially the MXR,  part of their sound.

The KEELEY 4 KNOB  ....quickly got a reputation as the best of this type...it hides the 'pop' by giving you a knob so you can let the compression kick in after the 'attack' is over. Best of all its overall colour is simply very pleasant. Do in no small part to the best components.
The newcomer is the WAMPLER EGO ....a new contender for best OTA...they use a 'blend' knob to allow some of the natural signal to be combined with the compressed one. Both pedals work and sound great. There are others in the wings..
but this is all  $200.00 plus stuff
.
The coolest of the new comps has got to be the Xotic SP Compressor...a new Ross comp...mini pedal with a nice job of killing the 'pop'...fixing the highs and lows ...and managing to give the thing a really great sound in the bargain. It is also the cheapest of the new breed of OTA gourmet comps.

VCA:  Voltage Controlled Amplifier

            the cheapest way to get a straight forward colourless signal.

            Keeley does these too.

FET:  Field Effect Transistor

           clear but with character...just a little bit of sweet distortion
           The URIE/UNIVERSAL 1176 arrived 1968....is still considered the best...and the most loved
            compressor...ever. You can now get the Origin Effects Cali 76 pedal clone.

      Cali 76   Current Price $564.00                                      UREI 1176 Current Price $4000.00 USD
                                                                                                             or more !!!!  used.

OPTICAL: Photo Resistor

                     smooth and natural sounding...organic earthy...but slow response time.

                      Diamond make the most note worthy

MULTI-BAND:  Software based digital

                            Used in software based Workshop recording. One can divide the signal up and compress the lows different from the highs..or the upper mids different then the lower mids etc.
The possibilities are endless. Or...copy the sound of any type or even a specific model of a well known or classic compressor The downside to some is that digital has it's own tone or colour. A glassy sound..that sounds crisp and clean to some but metallic and strident to others.


COMPRESSOR EXPANDER:
This is hybrid of both a compressor and an expander. What is an expander? Simple it is the opposite of a compressor ...it turns the signal up. It can be cleverly used so that when the comp has started to fade away it turns the volume up. It creates a swelling effect. This is a godsend if you are doing a hammer-on or a gliss or even a long vibrato as you do not have that terrible effect of your fingers still moving and nothing is coming out! I call it the terrible 'choke'. At high gain you often get some feedback from the amp. BUT! At lower gain it is a problem.

The Keeley Plus is a good example of this. At $129.00 USD it's a bargain. I expect the basic circuit borrows from the OTA Keeley 4 knob. Unless you are into a very even clean sound perhaps using acoustic style finger picking or perhaps a folk or jazz flavoured music and find the swelling a bit too dramatic then this pedal is not to be missed. Keeley are in a lot of bricks and motor stores so trying it out should not be too hard.

.
AIR COMPRESSOR
                               Do to it's incredibly loud noise floor. No one knows how well it works Many think this replacement for Ross's original pedal version is why the company went under..

WHICH IS THE BEST FOR YOU?
WHICH IS THE CHEAPEST?

The best way to think of a Compressor is see it as an Overdrive for your clean sound.

You would not use a Metal overdrive for music that needed a Tube Screamer.

Of course taste comes into it too. Since we are all about price we will look at the cheapest 

way to get the desired results.

There are 2 types that will do a great job for under our goal of under $100.00 and one 

that will almost do anything for under $200.00

The cheapest is an OTA ...the second cheapest is an OPTICAL and the splurge item is

MULTI-BAND.

.

THE BEST CHEAP COMPRESSORS

These are the best 3. All are Pro sounding. Three I own. I choose the fourth one because the quality is second to none and there is little this thing cannot do. It is here because it is an exceptional value for the money.
I recently had a chance to try a Joyo...so it is here too.
I am debating whether or not to show you a demo...because there is nearly nothing to hear.

I will put in one that is the only one that best describes how they work. This is an exceptional video.
The guy takes a difficult subject and makes it clear and actually quite easy to follow.
I think you will even find it entertaining.

OTA

This is a great place to start. In spite of the 'poping'. The classic MXR DYNA COMP is the yardstick against all OTA compressors ...since the others are all clones or modified clones.. The cheapest of the clones is the CALINE CP-10 HOT MUSHROOM compressor. The casing is a little larger then the MXR but the same sturdy type.
You can cut the pop back to a usable amount. The sound is pleasant enough. The low end is compromised a little but so are all OTA comps. The highs are strong enough and it cuts through and sounds great in a band context.

ALL GOURMET OTA COMPRESSORS ARE BASED ON A ROSS

Alternatively...the second compressor available on the market after the MXR was the now defunct Ross..It is said that the Ross used the MXR extensively  as a primer to build their compressor.
In keeping with this tradition...the Keeley 4 Knob...started with the Ross design to build theirs.

Ross with a couple of mods they manged to smooth out the 'pop' from the MXR and give the user a slightly smoother sound.

Joyo do a Ross clone.  It is confusing as they call the thing the Dyna Compressor. It is not! It is a very,very light sounding Ross clone. It is definitely usable...but it really should have more meat on it's bones.

I like these things..they are a bit funky... just so Rock N Roll

I decided to give you the vids...but my descriptions will tell you more.

I have been upgrading my compressors lately....because they are always on and first in the chain...my logic is simple....garbage in...garbage out. I still use my Caline and like it except for the weak low end.
The original Ross has just the right amount of tidy up on the MXR design..to not kill its soul.
But as they are defunct..I thought...forget it!
BUT....maybe not. Listen to the final vid of the MXR converted into a Ross at the end of the OTA section.
If for no other reason then to actually 'hear' ...not only the difference...but to hear clearly the sound of a compressor.


MXR DYNA COMP                                                CALINE CP-10 HOT MUSHROOM
Current Price $80.00 USD                                       Current Price $26.00 USD

This is the best vid to hear the Caline & it sucks!!!

JOYO JF-10 DYNA COMPRESSOR    Current Price $29.00 USD

                           

                                         
Original Ross  used  $550.00 USD

                                                             XIN SOUND
                                                          COMPRESSION SUSTAINER
                                                        Current Price $25.00 USD

I needed a third comp for my effects loop...so I took a chance on a Xin Sound
(pronounced Shin)

It is another MXR type but like a Keeley has a knob to let the attack thru to kill the 'pop'. The low end is unusually fat. Unfortunately the highs are weak.
It is built in a sturdy MXR style box.
The fit and finish is very good. The company boasts about using Japanese and German parts. Since all OTA comps are a bit handicapped from the start. The personal tone that the maker can get into them is everything. The Xin simply lacks character...where the others in this review in spite of their flaws all have a fairly decent tone.

 The Caline Hot Mushroom.. is a clone of the MXR.
  "In spite of it's flaws it just sounds good"  The real MXR has a nice aggression to it and the bass is weak but the lower mids have punch and that really helps give it some muscle.
I leave it on all the time pushing my overdrives with level at...unity and comp at...1 o'clock and forget it.
and at $.26.00 USD wa-da-ya got to loose!

AMMOON COMP

A Joyo discontinued nano compressor rebrand for one third the price. An average Dyna-Comp knock off with a switch to put back some highs.

At the price you can't loose,

Current Price $22.00 USD

THE DYNA ROSS

One last thing....a real Ross comp has hit the stratosphere in price...it is a modified MXR.
The circuit in all the Dyna Comps over the years has remain the same...the brand name of the parts have varied but it still sounds basically the same. So if you can scoop up a used one cheap you can ship it to JHS who will convert it into a Ross with their Dyna Ross mod. for $50.00 USD.

The Chicago Music Exchange has come up with a clever idea They are an MXR dealer. They shipped off 10 or so Dyna Comps to JHS and had the mod done.You can now buy a converted MXR comp brand new $150.00 USD. All considered not a bad deal

There are many Gourmet brands that find they can always sell a few compressors by doing little more then cloning a Ross. You still get a great sounding pedal...but the Dyna Ross mod gives you the same thing for a bargain price.

                                                          

OPTICAL

Optical does not pop...it almost doesn't sound compressed unless you are the one on the guitar playing thru it.....because you still get the sustain. It definitely changes your tone but in a kind way.
It adds a bit of warmth.  The top end can tank. The big yellow gourmet Diamond Compressor is designed to add it back. Turn the knob up for some of the sweetest highs you ever heard. Fortunately Mooer comes to the rescue. Their Yellow Compressor is a really decent clone right down to the sweet high end EQ. Distortion pedals naturally sustain...but a little compression can add a lot. The OTA type is very hard to get right when used with distortions. It can be be too little or not enough. The Mooer does a great job.
I find the Optical compressors are just right for that little extra when using a distortion pedal or great on an acoustic electric guitar.
But with Over Drives I still love a good OTA...poping or not.


DIAMOND CPR1                                                       MOOER
COMPRESSOR                                                  YELLOW COMP
Current Price $209.00 USD                                Current Price $53.00
                                                                           

UPDATE

MIGHTY SOUND M7

COMPRESSOR

Current Price $23.00 USD

I do not have one of these but they are manufactured by Caline. 

Caline do not make mini pedals with their name on them so it is not a rebrand. 

This is a silly cheap price and for any compressor

for an Optical it is a gift. I would buy one if I were you...it may be all you need...or you can add an OTA and have two. Besides if you hate the M7...I am sure you can find a buyer that will give you  $23.00  as that is dirt cheap for any used pedal.

NOTE: I do have a Mighty Sound Analog delay so I can certainly attest to the quality of the construction..and as for the delay...it was chosen as one of the  FIVE BEST DELAYS in a review. 

It is certainly a great sounding pedal.

MULTI-BAND

Because Multi-Band is digital software it can clone anything. The TC ELECTRONIC HYPER GRAVITY takes advantage of this. They give you quick access to an optimized multi-band

sound and to a faux OTA Dyna-Comp knock off. The pedal can download new patches right into the pedal...you can even do this from a smart phone. If some hot star works with them to get his ultimate patch...over night you can have a copy of it. The quality of both the sound and the casing is excellent..

I am always amused that those that feel the need to keep the purity of their guitars sound nearly always buy analog pedals...analog pedals ALWAYS change the sound. Fortunately the best can add a winning  personality of their own to the sound.
I like both...to me it is the application...like does this guitar and that overdrive with that compressor sound great together.

One should consider that a compressor is more then often an 'always on' kind of pedal...and as such a very neutral sounding digital pedal can be the right answer. Especially one although not entry level is
very cheap compared to it's real rivals the $200.00 plus group.   

                 

TC ELECTRONIC

HYPER GRAVITY

Current Price $129.00 USD

So in summary...OTA is for the musician that not just wants a tool but a pedal that has a personality and life of its own. It is as much an 'effect' as a chorus or phaser.
.
The Optical is much more laid back but it gets the job done.

The Multi-Band is so versatile that you don't have to make up your mind. You can use one of many patches...even down load new ones.

So if money is tight go with OTA or the Optical...do what I did I got the OTA...and later added the Optical...having both works for me.
At about $80.00 in total for 2 comps that's pretty cheap
 and it gives me a lot to work with.

SPECIALTY COMPRESSOR ???

Jangle Box
JB Nano
Compressor Sustainer
Current Price $215.00 USD

This little gem is a very effective but odd pedal. it is designed to take your clean sound compress it then put a treble boosting ringing chime effect that sounds like the Rickenbacker sound of the early Beatles and especially the Byrds. Throw in Tom Petty and early REM and you know what it does.


If you turn on a delay pedal with a single 300 millisecond single repeat...you even get a passable faux 12 string. Better yet get a DigiTech Mosaic 12 string pedal.
It is very convincing. But it is a one trick compressor and not cheap. It is an OTA compressor with a fancy treble booster.
Also on the down side it is very noisy...as in VERY NOISY.
The only other pedal the company make is a noise gate. LOL now that is funny. All kidding aside I really love how it sounds. I can not help but think that a small cheap treble booster with a fixed band pass going through an OTA compressor of your choice could probably produce the same results much cheaper.
I see this as a great tool for a singer songwriter with an acoustic guitar
sensibility who wants an electric guitar sound that is compatible with his
acoustic guitar style technique.

Anyhow I thought you would enjoy knowing about this.
The average guitarist without any compressor
would find one of the better cheapies...more then enough to do the job.

The mid size black one is $220.00 USD  and one that looks identical in silver is made off shore and is reorted to be a bit quieter. It is $185.00 USD. The little Pic is the big guy at $325.00 USD. Those that are going to spend this kind of money are most likely building their sound around the styles that fit this sound. As such it is an important part of their gear. So saving $35.00 is nearly pointless. They might as well have the U.S. gourmet jobbie unless of course the reduced noise in the
silver pedal is significant.

Ya gotta admit...it does sound cool...I heard them all...and even the cheaper ones sound the same as the bells and whistles model.

If TC Electronic did an algorithm for their compressor to copy it
the noise would be gone...the price would be much cheaper...and for those of us that like a bit a variety...just a simple download..and we would all be smiling !!!
Ok...Ok...some of us would not be smiling.

-------
AFTER ALL IS SAID AND DONE...and having own the entry level OTA jobbies...and updated to a couple of "SUPER' OTA's and even have an opticial...
I think the best deal going is finding a used MXR Dyna Comp...any year will do.
Then getting the JHS mod done..to turn it into a Ross.
Give the JHS vid another listen..the guitar tone is not destroyed but a lot of punch and sustain are added.