Transparent Compressor

lousy_player

New member
Hey guys,

I've decided that my SuperComp stinks; it colors my sound too much.

What's a great, transparent compressor that will give me plenty of sustain, without coloring my tone?

Your thoughts?
 
Re: Transparent Compressor

Transparent + Compressor = Barber Tone Press..........

Those words are pretty synonymous with the Barber Tone Press
 
Re: Transparent Compressor

Hey Gunny, how quiet is that unit ........ I mean, I know compressors are practically looking for noise to amplify, but have you ever compared it to another unit?
 
Re: Transparent Compressor

I just got a Rocktron Big Crush, Musicians Friend has em at 39.00. It sounds fantastic, does not color my tone, has an amazing amount of range, and was a steal at 39.00. Better sounding than any pedal comp I have tinkered with. It has a volume loss when disengaged, I found the mod for it, which was very simple, and now it works perfectly in every regard. VERY VERY pleased.
 
Re: Transparent Compressor

I think Keeley is a correct answer to that question.

I owned a Keeley for several weeks, and while it's a GREAT compressor I wouldn't necessarily call it transparent. Even at lower sustain settings you can hear a pretty audible difference between active and bypassed.
 
Re: Transparent Compressor

I never really got into compression anyway, but people always told me the Boss CS-3 was transparent almost to the point of being bland.
 
Re: Transparent Compressor

I had a Keeley 4 knob, sold it.... got a CMATMODS 4 knob Signa Comp... MUCH better. Highly recommended!
 
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Re: Transparent Compressor

Wampler pedals (you can get to the site via the Pinnacle II link in my sig) has a compressor that is like a cross between the Keeley and a Dyna Comp (well as far as claims goes I'm not a compressor guy so I haven't that much experience) but has a clean blend knob that might help with transperancy not sure. Maybe the new SD compressor could be a contender.
 
Re: Transparent Compressor

I've also tried the Keeley. I wouldn't describe it as "transparent", thats for sure...

Although I haven't had the opportunity to try it yet, the SD double back compressor sounds very promising. According to the description, you're supposed to be able to blend your original sound with the compressed sound. To me, thats sounds as transparent as you can get...

http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/stompboxes/sfx09_double_ba/
 
Re: Transparent Compressor

Although I haven't had the opportunity to try it yet, the SD double back compressor sounds very promising. According to the description, you're supposed to be able to blend your original sound with the compressed sound. To me, thats sounds as transparent as you can get...

http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/stompboxes/sfx09_double_ba/

This is the first thing that came to mind when I read the OP. When does the Double Back hit the shelves?

- Keith
 
Re: Transparent Compressor

Not a Phish phan, I presume.

A huge one, actually, Trey Anastasio Band, too!

We used to cover lots of TAB songs in our old funk band. "Push On 'Til The Day," namely.

Great clip to listen to for heavy compression in a lead guitar setting.

I was describing how wide the range of tones in the Monte Allums Opto Mod CS-3 is, you can go from here to all the way over there!
 
Re: Transparent Compressor

Maxon CP9Pro+ is a nice compressor, but not cheap. I had one for a while...long enough to realize I don't like compressors in my signal chain (for me, better to add them at the board during mixdown, etc.)...but regardless, it was a really nice compressor in a pedal, and more transparent than the Ross-style or Dynacomp-style compressors. I was not trying to squeeze more sustain out at the time (I was using more as a limiter to keep notes from jumping out too much), so I'm not sure if it would be best for this task or not...seemed relatively "transparent" at the time, as these things go.
 
Re: Transparent Compressor

My Route 66 adds nice sustain without too many artifacts. No dull tone, and the attack still sounds natural.
It does have a tone control with a switch for taking that out of the circuit. I was playing with the pedal one day and noticed with the tone control colors the sound, not in a way I liked. I decided it sounded most transparent with the tone knob out of the circuit.
 
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