ce24
Poster Extraordinaire
I have both of these and they are very transparent....using the milkbox lately because of the treble booter knob on my 5e3. yeah I said booter knob that's my story and I'm stickin to it...
Best inexpensive compressor?
- Thread starter birv2
- Start date
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Anchoret
Friend of Leo's
At the moment, you can get this whole package for $35.98 (MSRP $171.99), shipped, at Amazon, down from about sixty cents more yesterday. What the price will be tomorrow, I can't imagine.
The compressor is supposed to be a fairly decent one, based on an earlier Ibanez circuit, I think I read. Dunno about the other two stomps.
Don't see how you can beat this price.
The compressor is supposed to be a fairly decent one, based on an earlier Ibanez circuit, I think I read. Dunno about the other two stomps.
Don't see how you can beat this price.
Del Pickup
Poster Extraordinaire
Marshall 'Ed the Compressor' can be found pretty cheap second hand. Vary good pedal as well.
BritishBluesBoy
Former Member
I have an MXR Super Comp (about $65 new) that I like very much... You can probably find a used one on eBay for under $50 if you keep your eyes peeled...
drjordan
Tele-Meister
+1
It's a very good compressor, especially at that price point. Another you might consider is the Whirlwind Red Box compressor. I've never actually used one, but it seems good on paper, so to speak. Apparently, one of the founders of MXR (who designed the original Dyna Comp) is now making the Whirlwinds with the same specs as the original Dyna Comp except the Whirlwinds have an LED to indicate when it's on and a 9v outlet jack. There's one in the classifieds on TGP that's under $100. Might be worth a shot. (Just to clarify: it's not my ad nor do I know whose ad it is...just giving a heads up.)
I was about to post about the Dynacomp and how Amazon sometimes has good deals; but then I saw that Behringer deal above and thought you could do much worse. Buy a new Dynacomp at the standard $70 price and if you had to flip it on eBay after six months you'll end up eating about a $30 loss after fees and everything.
That said, watch for a $59 Dynacomp with free shipping from Amazon every now and then.
PS: If you have any available .edu email address, you can get free Amazon Prime for a year as a "student". In fact, it is the only reason I tracked down my 10 year old .edu email address...
That said, watch for a $59 Dynacomp with free shipping from Amazon every now and then.
PS: If you have any available .edu email address, you can get free Amazon Prime for a year as a "student". In fact, it is the only reason I tracked down my 10 year old .edu email address...
fendertastic
Tele-Meister
Aphex punch factory, 40-50 bucks used (usually) beats out a carl martin and the newer dyna comps. Great for tele, insane with a strat for funk. Good for electric and stand up bass. The only tweak is to use metal nuts to secure the jacks to the case, ( I used nuts from an old dod OD) as the origianls are plastic crap. Its also a D.I. box, its always in my cable bag with the tuner and extra batteries.
turnstylepoet
TDPRI Member
I just picked up a BBE Orange Squash for about $30 used and I love it. I played through an 80's Dyna Comp, a Hartman comp and the BBE and I bought the BBE. I love the tone of this pedal. It is not an overly done compression and it has enough volume to act as a clean boost as well.
They don't make the Milk Box anymore but if you could find a cheap one on eBay they are really warm and nice.
I've had one for years. I'll never sell it. You can find them cheap because it's a bit of a sleeper pedal.
SnorkelMonkey
Tele-Holic
+1 on the Dynacomp for the cheap.
Another to look out for is the Baja Tech Da Squeezer. New ones might be out of your price range but they pop up on ebay sometimes for under $100 used.
Which DOD was optical?
Another to look out for is the Baja Tech Da Squeezer. New ones might be out of your price range but they pop up on ebay sometimes for under $100 used.
Which DOD was optical?
ZenDog
Banned
Don't buy a Dynacomp just because it's the alleged industry standard.
If you do some detective work you find two things;
1) many of those who use the Dynacomp turn the sustain
almost all the way down, and turn the volume up. That's
what Reggie Young does, and so everyone tends to copy him
in Nashville.
2) Many, many great players who use a compressor use plenty of other
compressor models.
The L.A. "industry standard" is the DBX 166 if memory
serves.
And the open secret is that many highly regarded players use the Boss CS-3
but have theirs modded. The "Full Body" mod makes the CS-3 not only usable, but as good as anything I've ever heard or used.
The Dynacomp is great if you want serious squish. If you're not into that, look at something else.
Oh, and the "Ed" is way under rated.
If you do some detective work you find two things;
1) many of those who use the Dynacomp turn the sustain
almost all the way down, and turn the volume up. That's
what Reggie Young does, and so everyone tends to copy him
in Nashville.
2) Many, many great players who use a compressor use plenty of other
compressor models.
The L.A. "industry standard" is the DBX 166 if memory
serves.
And the open secret is that many highly regarded players use the Boss CS-3
but have theirs modded. The "Full Body" mod makes the CS-3 not only usable, but as good as anything I've ever heard or used.
The Dynacomp is great if you want serious squish. If you're not into that, look at something else.
Oh, and the "Ed" is way under rated.
Impulse
Tele-Meister
Good post ZenDog.
Yeah, and if someone wants a DBX comp in stomp box format, it's called the Maxon CP9 Pro+, which is not cheap by any stretch. lol
The DOD 280 is surely optical, maybe some other models too.
To birv2, the BBE Opto Stomp is a nice, gentle sounding and inexpensive optical unit, if you prefer subtle action over squeeze.
ZenDog said:
Yeah, and if someone wants a DBX comp in stomp box format, it's called the Maxon CP9 Pro+, which is not cheap by any stretch. lol
The DOD 280 is surely optical, maybe some other models too.
To birv2, the BBE Opto Stomp is a nice, gentle sounding and inexpensive optical unit, if you prefer subtle action over squeeze.
Hi Impulse,
The Digitech ' Main Squeeze ' also has dbx technology as far as i recall, and can be snagged for fairly cheap.
I looked at a lot of Comps. I have the Marshall 'Ed' - it sounds great - an excellent comp in fact, but mine has been dreadful regards reliability. Had to fix mine twice - due to the very Poor soldering standard. I may have been unlucky. ..
But .. I like it more than enough to want to bother fixing it.
The Digitech ' Main Squeeze ' also has dbx technology as far as i recall, and can be snagged for fairly cheap.
I looked at a lot of Comps. I have the Marshall 'Ed' - it sounds great - an excellent comp in fact, but mine has been dreadful regards reliability. Had to fix mine twice - due to the very Poor soldering standard. I may have been unlucky. ..
But .. I like it more than enough to want to bother fixing it.
birv2
Tele-Afflicted
Wow, thanks for all the replies! Looks like there's an active market for under $50 compressors.
I'm leaning towards a used modded CS-3, partly because I used to have one and am familiar with the controls. But I have lots of other choices if that doesn't pan out, thanks to you all.
I'm leaning towards a used modded CS-3, partly because I used to have one and am familiar with the controls. But I have lots of other choices if that doesn't pan out, thanks to you all.
ce24
Poster Extraordinaire
I found my milkbox on GC just goto their web site and look at all the used stuff, search nationally that's what I did and got a MINT milkbox for 45.00
Cheers
ce24
Cheers
ce24
robt57
Telefied
I bought a Behringer $22.00 one a few years back. I actually think in function and use it sounds good. That said, I would not trust it not to break if you looked at it wrong. And I look at it wrong when using it.
I think for a stick in the back of the amp for all the time use and not on a silly board where you would be stomping on it. It may last.... more than a few weeks...
I think for a stick in the back of the amp for all the time use and not on a silly board where you would be stomping on it.
It may last.... more than a few weeks...Impulse
Tele-Meister
Ahh right thanks, I remember checking it out once, but haven't actually tried one.
jefcon1
Tele-Meister
Never tried the 2 knob FX-80.The FX-80B,on the other hand, enhances high end and snappiness like no other comp Ive tried.Its transparent and makes a dyna comp sound super warm in comparison.Its a great choice for crisp,clean playing IMHO,and cheap too!
+1 for the FX-80B. It's a very musical device that plays what you play. I like a compressor that doesn't sign its name to my playing. As a disclaimer I'll say that I'm not into big squish.
11 Gauge
Doctor of Teleocity
Unless you want that trademark Dyna Comp/Ross squash, I'd go for an optical any day, especially one at a bargain price. The performance and flexibility will almost always surpass a non-optic comp.
And if you run your comp low, the DC becomes less critical for getting "that sound."
Comps basically fall into two categories:
- traditional heavy squeeze, usually w/noise or hiss as a byproduct
- more subtle, less noise, more modern applications
...Almost everything that doesn't use optics is usually based off a DC or Ross, so you can typically pick something that you like at a price that fits. Most of the more expensive Ross clones mainly aim to address the noise issues, make it true bypass, but leave the original circuit alone.
11 Gauge
Doctor of Teleocity
+1
A modded CS-3 will generally rival many other comps. Pick up a used one and get a "Nashville approved" mod dropped in. I can recommend the FB mod, as it's well thought out and addresses any CS-3 shortcomings.
Another benefit of this pedal is Boss reliability that you can bank on. It's why the pros go to the expense to get theirs modded, when they could as easily drop the cash on a Keeley or other any other comp that falls into the $150+ category.
The trick is to keep the sustain control low - it's basically just an amp circuit, and that's the source of the noise. Noise is the big enemy with a comp, IMO.
If you're not going to go optical and don't need a DC/Ross clone, this is probably the best bang for the buck. Just go for the FB mod (or at least investigate it), because there are a bunch of other mods that don't really do much for the pedal, IMO. The guy that offers the FB has really researched it and refined it, to make something great sounding.
