Telecaster Guitar Forum - View Single Post

outlier · May 2nd, 2008, 11:01 PM

Sounds cool.

I similarly have no connection to EA other than having purchased their product. I have both the old Nashville with the decal and the newer powder-coated pedal, which in my humble opinion, looks nicer.

I have a Keeley compressor, one of the older ones with the internal trim for attack. It's not silver, but a ruby red, one of the custom-color jobs.

What's a little odd is that it does seem to sound a little different than other Keeley compressors I've heard. I repaired a pedal board for a sideman for several prominent Country singers and noticed the difference between my Keeley comp and his. I am not certain why this is, but it could be as simple as the small differences in tolerances adding up to a palpable sonic difference. It doesn't sound bad, just different.

I will say though that I did have to adjust the attack trim as in the stock position, it just squashed the signal way too much and sounded unnatural to me. Others may like that, but it's not for me.

I also own a Maxon CP-101, which is an optical compressor as many know, a Maxon CS-9Pro+, which the emphasis is definitely on Pro and a Boss CS-1 with the little toggle. The CS-1 is practically unusable for anything more than very light compression. At higher settings, it swells like my Boss SG-1 Slow Gear. Not recommended.

I also have one of those Rocktron 300G compressors in my rack, which is a nice piece of Hair Metal Era gear. In one of my more than usual bored moments years ago, I got some crazy idea to replace the opamps in it with JRC4558Ds, which warmed it up nicely.

I think that covers it.

Getting back to the Keeley, it definitely has a slight coloration. When I first heard Brad Paisley's "Time Well Wasted," I asked the above-mentioned sideman, "Did you ever see a Keeley comp with Brad?" The coloration on the tone is plainly obvious. I don't mean that in a bad way, but it's just something I feel like I can pick out.

The sideman I know toured on the same bill with Brad and said that yes, at that time at the very least, Brad used a Keeley comp. He added that Brad was a total gear hound as anyone knows and would always have his tech swapping out gear in his rig.

May 2nd, 2008, 11:01 PM	#12 (permalink)
outlier TDPRI Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Williamson County, Tennessee Posts: 46	Sounds cool. I similarly have no connection to EA other than having purchased their product. I have both the old Nashville with the decal and the newer powder-coated pedal, which in my humble opinion, looks nicer. I have a Keeley compressor, one of the older ones with the internal trim for attack. It's not silver, but a ruby red, one of the custom-color jobs. What's a little odd is that it does seem to sound a little different than other Keeley compressors I've heard. I repaired a pedal board for a sideman for several prominent Country singers and noticed the difference between my Keeley comp and his. I am not certain why this is, but it could be as simple as the small differences in tolerances adding up to a palpable sonic difference. It doesn't sound bad, just different. I will say though that I did have to adjust the attack trim as in the stock position, it just squashed the signal way too much and sounded unnatural to me. Others may like that, but it's not for me. I also own a Maxon CP-101, which is an optical compressor as many know, a Maxon CS-9Pro+, which the emphasis is definitely on Pro and a Boss CS-1 with the little toggle. The CS-1 is practically unusable for anything more than very light compression. At higher settings, it swells like my Boss SG-1 Slow Gear. Not recommended. I also have one of those Rocktron 300G compressors in my rack, which is a nice piece of Hair Metal Era gear. In one of my more than usual bored moments years ago, I got some crazy idea to replace the opamps in it with JRC4558Ds, which warmed it up nicely. I think that covers it. Getting back to the Keeley, it definitely has a slight coloration. When I first heard Brad Paisley's "Time Well Wasted," I asked the above-mentioned sideman, "Did you ever see a Keeley comp with Brad?" The coloration on the tone is plainly obvious. I don't mean that in a bad way, but it's just something I feel like I can pick out. The sideman I know toured on the same bill with Brad and said that yes, at that time at the very least, Brad used a Keeley comp. He added that Brad was a total gear hound as anyone knows and would always have his tech swapping out gear in his rig.