Line 6 Constrictor Compressor...any love?

[schenkadere]

I had one a while back and couldn't stand the hiss. I picked this up on the GC closeout price of 39.99. They happened to have a Line 6 adapter also on clearance for 9 bucks so I got that too. No hiss...super quiet.

This is a really nice comp regardless of the low price tag. I never hear mention of it much.

[Steamboat]

I use mine a fair bit. You definitly need to use it on it's own power suply to avoid the noise. Terrible hum otherwise, but fine if isolated! I feel it works best for more subtle compression, turn the sustain up to high and you can hear a step like "pumping" effect. Lower settings work well for balancing out string levels. The dynamics switch works for altering the characteristics of the compression. A good basic comp in my opinion!

[studio1087]

I bought one super cheap at Guitar Center. I think it's nice. I like the three way squeeze switch. The weight is crazy. 5 pound pedal!

[schenkadere]

Originally Posted by Steamboat

I use mine a fair bit. You definitly need to use it on it's own power suply to avoid the noise. Terrible hum otherwise, but fine if isolated! I feel it works best for more subtle compression, turn the sustain up to high and you can hear a step like "pumping" effect. Lower settings work well for balancing out string levels. The dynamics switch works for altering the characteristics of the compression. A good basic comp in my opinion!

It is nice. I think it's better than anything I could have got in that price range. $40 bucks for that? crazy good!

[studio1087]

Guitar Center in town was selling them for $29 for a while and I never knew why.

I think they lowered the prices when the unit was discontinued.

Here's one in the box for $24 - linky

I think they were $90 new.

[Dejected_Ridge]

I have one on my board and use it fairly often, though I agree that it doesn't play nice with shared ground adapters. Once I put a separate power supply on it the noise went away. It's a nice "you never know you have it on" kind of effect - nice and subtle.

-DJ

[EchoNW]

I've got one, but I don't use it anymore. It wasn't bad, but I found I couldn't get the right spank for country. It worked well for funk-style compression though. I used to run it next to my Boss CS-3, depending on the style one I wanted. Now I have a Keeley Compressor and I don't even look at my Constrictor or CS-3.

...I do, however, use the body from my Constrictor to house my Verbzilla module. That was a nice cheap way to get a Verbzilla since I already had a housing and I just needed to buy the Verbzilla module. I never had any problems with noise using my Constrictor, Verbzilla, or Echo Park, but I ran them all with either a One Spot or Signal Flex PS-9 (kinda like a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power).

[Impulse]

Don't forget though that it's a digital modeler, so the sounds it's got are digital emulations of real compressors. It shouldn't be a problem, many people use digital stuff today, especially for recording (plug-ins and stuff). Also, it can distort with higher level signals just like some regular comps.

[schenkadere]

i have very high output pickups and the Line 6 surprisingly distorts less than any other comps I've used...and that's quite a few!