lordriffenstein
New member
Obviously, this is not a competition but merely a shootout. I have received 5 compressor pedals from www.gtrgear.com to give them a good workout. The 5 are:
FX engineering Mirage
Diamond Compressor
Vox Snake Charmer
Maxon RCP660 tube compressor
T-rex Compnova
To that list, I added a Barber Tone Press and a Teese/RMC FK1.
The Barber is my own compressor, so I took it as the benchmark. I use it for clean, funky stuff as well as boost on low gain. I also want to add that I in general do not like the have squashed compression of a Dynacomp, I prefer the more subtle comps.
Vox Snake Charmer
The Vox is a tube-based compressor. It’s a big box with lotsa controls so I had a look at the manual that describes them and went to work. Even with the compression level set to LOW (switch), it already has a lot of compression going on. I tried to emulate what I get from the Barber but the Vox has way more compression, is NOT transparent at all and is more in the Dynacomp-vein. It is a cool comp but not what I’d want from one.
Maxon RCP660
Maxon is also tube-based and sits in the same corner as the Vox. It has less compression and is a bit more transparent. Again, not really my kind of comp as I felt it also does not have a lot of headroom unless you switch in the boost function. I preferred the attack on the Maxon though.
T-Rex Compnova
When I bought my Barber, the T-Rex was among the 3 competitors from which I decided. The Compnova is much more transparent then the Vox and Maxon. It’s closer to the Barber but I prefer the Barber for its blend control. T-Rex is a great pedal though!
Teese/RMC FK1
The Teese, like the Maxon and Vox, is very dynacomp-inspired. The big difference between the Teese and the other 2 are: small box and only 2 controls. Plug in and play and although it has a lot of comp and squashes the tone, I kinda like what it does. I’d consider buying it as additional compressor. It’s not transparent but it works well, is sturdy build.
Diamond Compressor
With the Diamond, we have arrived at the transparant compressors. It has an EQ control besides the usual comp and volume. On 12:00, the eq is neutral so you can tailor the tone to your likes. I really liked turning the eq up for clean tones, it adds some presence and brilliance to the tone that works really well. Same thing worked well with low gain but with the comp down a bit and the level up as a boost. This resulted in a sort of SRV-tone. Although transparent, it doesn’t have to be subtle, turn the comp way up and it can get pretty squashed to but it retains a nice attack. Definitely a great comp!
FX Engineering Mirage
I had never heard of this company so I was very interested in it as the owner of GTRGear.com raved about this pedal. It’s a small box with 2 controls and 2 bright leds. Nice Christmas tree but also very usable as the red led shows the amount of compression going on. This makes it easy to dial in the comp. The comp is marketed as extremely transparent and indeed, I often wondered if the thing was even on. It does a very subtle compression and is really transparent. Your tone stays the same but it adds a sort of smooth presence to it, really weird but really good sounding. Even with high comp settings, it keeps the attack happening. I tried it with cleans, low gain and even high gain and it always does the trick. With the comp low and the level up it also does an excellent boost, worked wonderful on low gain.
So, am I getting rid of the Barber Tone Press??
I’ve been using the TP for the past 2 years and I was very happy with it. After the test, I’m still happy with it and it’s not moving. From the list above, I ‘d like to have the FX Engineering Mirage but use it more as a boost/enhancer. If I were in the market for a boost NOW, I’d go for either the Barber or the Diamond. The first has an edge because of the blend control, the other has a nice EQ. Finally, there’s the Teese that just plain good and a good addition to my 3 favs. So Barber stays but I might add some comps to my pedal arsenal soon :shock:
FX engineering Mirage
Diamond Compressor
Vox Snake Charmer
Maxon RCP660 tube compressor
T-rex Compnova
To that list, I added a Barber Tone Press and a Teese/RMC FK1.
The Barber is my own compressor, so I took it as the benchmark. I use it for clean, funky stuff as well as boost on low gain. I also want to add that I in general do not like the have squashed compression of a Dynacomp, I prefer the more subtle comps.
Vox Snake Charmer
The Vox is a tube-based compressor. It’s a big box with lotsa controls so I had a look at the manual that describes them and went to work. Even with the compression level set to LOW (switch), it already has a lot of compression going on. I tried to emulate what I get from the Barber but the Vox has way more compression, is NOT transparent at all and is more in the Dynacomp-vein. It is a cool comp but not what I’d want from one.
Maxon RCP660
Maxon is also tube-based and sits in the same corner as the Vox. It has less compression and is a bit more transparent. Again, not really my kind of comp as I felt it also does not have a lot of headroom unless you switch in the boost function. I preferred the attack on the Maxon though.
T-Rex Compnova
When I bought my Barber, the T-Rex was among the 3 competitors from which I decided. The Compnova is much more transparent then the Vox and Maxon. It’s closer to the Barber but I prefer the Barber for its blend control. T-Rex is a great pedal though!
Teese/RMC FK1
The Teese, like the Maxon and Vox, is very dynacomp-inspired. The big difference between the Teese and the other 2 are: small box and only 2 controls. Plug in and play and although it has a lot of comp and squashes the tone, I kinda like what it does. I’d consider buying it as additional compressor. It’s not transparent but it works well, is sturdy build.
Diamond Compressor
With the Diamond, we have arrived at the transparant compressors. It has an EQ control besides the usual comp and volume. On 12:00, the eq is neutral so you can tailor the tone to your likes. I really liked turning the eq up for clean tones, it adds some presence and brilliance to the tone that works really well. Same thing worked well with low gain but with the comp down a bit and the level up as a boost. This resulted in a sort of SRV-tone. Although transparent, it doesn’t have to be subtle, turn the comp way up and it can get pretty squashed to but it retains a nice attack. Definitely a great comp!
FX Engineering Mirage
I had never heard of this company so I was very interested in it as the owner of GTRGear.com raved about this pedal. It’s a small box with 2 controls and 2 bright leds. Nice Christmas tree but also very usable as the red led shows the amount of compression going on. This makes it easy to dial in the comp. The comp is marketed as extremely transparent and indeed, I often wondered if the thing was even on. It does a very subtle compression and is really transparent. Your tone stays the same but it adds a sort of smooth presence to it, really weird but really good sounding. Even with high comp settings, it keeps the attack happening. I tried it with cleans, low gain and even high gain and it always does the trick. With the comp low and the level up it also does an excellent boost, worked wonderful on low gain.
So, am I getting rid of the Barber Tone Press??
I’ve been using the TP for the past 2 years and I was very happy with it. After the test, I’m still happy with it and it’s not moving. From the list above, I ‘d like to have the FX Engineering Mirage but use it more as a boost/enhancer. If I were in the market for a boost NOW, I’d go for either the Barber or the Diamond. The first has an edge because of the blend control, the other has a nice EQ. Finally, there’s the Teese that just plain good and a good addition to my 3 favs. So Barber stays but I might add some comps to my pedal arsenal soon :shock:
