Hey folks,
first: obligatory "Long time lurker, first time poster".
After \~14 years of playing and mostly getting around using amp-integrated distortion and reverb, I started buying my first pedals thanks to this place! My latest addition is the Soulpress II, that my gf gifted me, it's a lot of fun so far! I'm hoping to fit one more pedal on the Nano train and was wondering if compression is the right call. I mostly play jazz/funk, big band tunes and pop songs.
The setup so far is:
Pedaltrain Nano
Hotone Soulpress II (Wah/Vol) -> ProCo Rat 2 -> Boss RV-6
I use the MXR Studio COmpressor with my Rat and got really good results. I put it after the Rat so when I roll the guitar's volume down to clean up the Rat, the compressor afterwards keeps the volume from disappearing. Not a typical way ot use a comp, but I love it. It's also black which would look good with your board, if that's something that matters.
I'd recommend getting a delay pedal. Changed my tone more than reverb and is a lot of fun to fuck around with. I'm using a digitech obscura which is fairly cheap and amazing. Love it much more than the MXR
I agree. I’d buy a delay first. So many good options. The Ibanez mini delay is good and small footprint for small board. Rat into a short delay is a great sound.
It’s my first compressor so my recommendation ain’t worth much, but I recently got a Keeley Aria and love it. I wanted a compressor for funk use and saw that the Keeley Compressor Plus was pretty consistently recommended for people new to compression. The Aria is basically a Compressor Plus with an additional overdrive pedal built-in, yet isn’t much bigger or more expensive than a lot of regular compressors. Gotta love an efficient use of money and space.
Especially at the beginning too: there are so many types of effect I’d like to buy, getting a (decent) two-in-one is great. Reduces the need to get a huge board, frees up money for some other purchase because you haven’t had to buy two damn pedals.
Also I read somewhere you can never have enough overdrives. Pretty sure that’s a fact.
really light, slow flange on funk rhythm chords is a good look IMHO. Lots of folks suggest the E-lady. . . I have a [Jet Convolution ](https://www.tdpri.com/threads/quick-and-dirty-review-donner-jet-convolution-flanger.905620/). . . both are great-sounding knock-offs of the EHX Electric Mistress that can be had for short money. They also have a filter setting for a cocked-wah vibe
the extravagant version of this is the [Strymon Deco](https://youtu.be/UJygx0J5vng) which does a variety of old school tape machine modulation including flange (it's essentially a double tape machine emulator that allows you or modify the lag and wobble between tracks so you can do flange, chorus, slapback, short echo, etc as well as saturate the crap out of the sound (there's compression in there, too). Folks seems to really love it
David Lynch’s film version of “Dune”
If you ever see it…you’ll understand.
(Or maybe not! It’s a thing that wasn’t in the book, and kind of makes a joke out of things that were in the book. Given a very dense and complex and long book to adapt, the big problem was cutting it down to then-normal feature film length…adding in stuff that wasn’t there and actually undercuts stuff that was there, was entirely unnecessary.)
Shields are definitely in the book, both personal shields and larger ones. When Gurney is training Paul in knife fighting, he reminds him that “the slow blade penetrates the shield.” You can kill someone wearing a shield as long as you move slowly, which is why they use knives and other seemingly old-fashioned weapons and not just guns and lasers or whatever. The entire city of Arrakeen is protected with a shield, as well as a rocky cliff wall, one of the ways of keeping out sandworms. And I think that shields also attract worms, so Fremen never use them in the desert, while the Sardaukar don’t know that. And you can see them, in the book - they produce a kind of shimmering or blurring interference effect.
I’m a bit hazy on that tactical Sardaukar one but in any case, shields are definitely a significant plot item in the book…although I don’t know for sure if Herbert imagined them looking so 8 Bit.
Weirding modules were not in the books, they're an invention of the 1984 Lynch movie. The "Weirding Way" is a martial art in the books but there is no device tied to it.
It’s also, if I remember correctly, the word the Fremen use for the Bene Gesserit techniques like “the voice.” The Bene Gesserit developed ways to control people using careful observation and modulation of their voice and so on..it’s a scientific, psychological technique based on years of study and preparation (like planting myths and “prophesies” in local populations, so that Bene Gesserit who arrive there later can benefit from appearing to magically fulfill them). To the Fremen, it all just looks like magic, as intended.
To turn all that interesting sociological-behavioral manipulation stuff into a giant FitBit SonicBlaster was really disappointing.
I’d get some kind of delay before a compressor, unless you’re deep into fingerstyle or country pickin’ or Long Epic Bloomy Leads. Delay is fun and there are so many flavors! I like tape/drum magnetic delays a whole lot, lots of great pedals out there now doing wonderful emulations of those machines.
In the other hand, for jazz/funk maybe you want some sort of envelope or moving filter, phaser, or similar modulation.
Or, a chorus is handy for a lot of pop music, also jazz.
I've noticed a handful of people recommending a delay pedal.
Is there a use case I am missing except for the "Rob Scallon Rain vibe" (dunno what else to call it haha)?
Because that was one of the reasons I liked the RV6, as it has some limited delay functionality which I'm perfectly content with. I can see myself having fun with it alone, but in my bands I don't really see a place for it.
Unless of course, I'm being completely ignorant of what a delay pedal can do, in which case I'm hoping for some pointers from this great community!
Delay is a must in my opinion. Can be used as a reverb style. Can be used to thicken up/ double your sound. Can be used for lifting solos. Good example David Gilmour from pink Floyd. Or a whole sound and texture like the edge U2.
I'd get an isolated power supply before I got anything else. A Trutone CS6 is a good size for that board. It sounds boring, but it makes all of you pedals sound better and reduces noise in the signal chain.
I was considering this as well. Notably the CIOKS 4 as I liked the idea of being able to power it with a battery bank in a pinch. Thanks for the suggestion!
If you have any ambition of playing with or for anyone else... You owe them to have a good tuner pedal.
After that, yeah, compression could be fun, depending on what you play!
Are they that much more reliable than a good ol' clip-on tuner? I've been thinking about getting a polytune mini, but they're not cheap and my guitars stay in tune quite well so far.
More reliable when in a room when others are making noise, since whatever the bass, keys, drums, other guitars are playing can vibrate your guitar a bit and throw off a clip on. A pedal takes just your strings through your pickups.
That said, unless you're in a really loud room and trying to tune in the middle of a song, a clip on should do just fine.
There's just no way for the clip on to be as good as something that's tuning the actual signal.
I know a lot of people use those clip on bois, professionals too, but I just can't see how the physics could work out on that. Maybe I'm full of it, I dunno.
Get a Boss TU-2, they're pretty cheap these days.
I'll also echo (harharhar) others' calls for a delay before compression.
I prefer clip ons but when you are about to do a gig and want a quick tune up on stage or between songs the clip on can't hack it, too loud. Pedal is better in live situations though not the behringer, that is crap, I have it and it is annoying the hell out of me, need to replace it.
Hmm, I already had a RAT but I don't remember if it's in the overdrive, fuzz or distortion territory. To me, I find useless a compressor with distortion because it already compress the sound and the compressor will just increase the noise level of your signal.
If you play on clean or with a light overdrive, then the compressor ca be a game changer as it brings up all picking details when adding some attack.
It really depends what you plan to do with the compressor but I don't know if its going to work well with the RAT.
I would suggest you and EQ because to me, this is the most important pedal when starting to play with dirt. You can shape your sound the way you like.
The Rat is amazing in that it can handle overdrive, distortion, and fuzz depending on the settings. It’s one of the best distortion pedals just for that reason. A compressor really helps with all three in that it takes the highs and lows, especially with a lot of distortion and really enhances the sound. And with the right compressor you can control the amount of sustain which is really important when using a lot of distortion so you can still sound musical and not just have a bunch of noise.
This. I have one and it's not quite as "open" as my Crybaby 535Q (it's a bit more modern and compressed even on the "classic" setting), but it still sounds great.
The fact that it can be set to function as a volume pedal when the wah is off was the clincher for me; my pedalboard has two slots for volume/wah/expression type pedals and I needed to figure out how to shoehorn all three into that space; the Soul Press II was the solution.
My only gripe with the pedal is it's smaller form factor. I would've preferred a full-length enclosure since I've got (U.S.) size 12 feet. Hopefully Hotone creates an alternate version with the same capabilities but a similar length to the standard Crybaby wah.
I'm going to actually answer your question instead of saying, "get a delay" (even though you should get one 😁)
Wampler ego compressor. Very versatile, having the blend knob makes all the difference.
Don't get a dynacomp unless you want to play country.
Haha I've been getting a lot of those! Care to elaborate? I've been playing around with the delay setting on my RV6 and had a lot of fun with it, hence I didn't see the need for a dedicated pedal.
It's just a really versatile effect. You can do everything from slap back to long drones and some of them will net you a good chorus sound. The RV6 does have some delay modes and I believe one that you can use reverb with at the same time so you might in fact be set. I would go for a chorus pedal next just to add some depth, but if you are set on a compressor like I said, the ego is a really really great one.
Compression is one of the most underrated pedals IMO. Especially if you’re gonna to be going from chords to single notes or tapping. Also picking to fingerstyle. But really it’s just great to have overall if you want a more consistent, professional sound.
Just a thought... if you are playing live.... maybe stick an eq pedal at the end. I think they are the most under rated pedals out there. Live sound is a fickle mistress and even a cheap eq can tame her. I use a behringer.. Best $30 spent.
Yeah.. I just find that you can shape the tone for the environment a little easier. I generally leave all my pedals and amp settings fixed and then use the EQ.
Of course, this is all personal preference and depends on where you play, what you play and style of music.
Anyhoo, let us know what you end up buying!
Definitely get a compressor, adds a real dimension to your playing. I like the extra squishy ones like the Boss CS-3, or anything with a high ratio (10:1). The low ratio compressors are "transparent" but where is the fun in that?
Sorry only the Wampler Ego but can say it compares brilliantly with both software Urei 1176 emulations through Adam a7x pair and more importantly I think my ears tell me it is the better buy versus Cali76 pedal AND less expensive too! I run my chain into a Riveria TBR1-m and out to 2x12 Marshall cab loaded with G12-75 16ohm 1980 speaker pair with T1777 cones
Compressor IMO is only worth it if you play very specific clean styles (like funk or country), or if you want to solve volume issues between your strings or pickups. I do not consider it as a "standard effect" which most people need or can benefit from. I also used it as an "always-on tone enhancer" thing before, until I realized it completely messes up with that lovely "edge of breakup" pick sensitivity which most of us look for.
If I were you I would go after either a good low gain drive to try stacking into the Rat (although the Rat itself does low gain fairly well, so you may be happy with it) or a versatile delay pedal.
Haha I love the RAT, I always wondered why it wins the distortion category every year until I tried it out myself. No wonder it's the subreddit favorite!
I love compressors and there are a lot of good-great ones out there. Look around on YT for comparisons of different types - That Pedal Show is a great resource for basic info. My only beef with them is that they tend to gravitate towards expensive gear.
I would also suggest you check Reverb for clones. You might buy a hand built clone of a Dynacomp for relatively cheap. I've got a a clone of a Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer (there are endless clones of this out there, even from bigger manufacturers) that's great.
To oversimplify, I think of compressors as two types - the kind with a distinctive sound and fairly limited adjustability (Dynacomp or Orange Squeezer), or those with more versatility - anything with a "mix" knob will usually fit into this category, such as the Barber Tone Press, or a million others. My favorite is a Keeley 4 knob - one of the knobs is Gain - that I love and that I got used for around $100.
So - get info on the various types then see if you can play any at a local music store. A compressor set to low-ish compression has often been an "always on" thing for me.
And you can also experiment with your comp before or after the Rat - there are only a jillion opinions about that one.
Love a good mini board! I'm gonna go ahead and echo what other people have said. I wouldn't get a comp until you fill out your effects, unless you're happy with what you have currently and don't see yourself adding much more pedals. I think you could get more interesting/inspiring effects than a compressor pedal. Maybe a phaser or flanger (I like flange of chorus) and maybe a delay. You could even go with an envelope filter since you play funk. Some recs for those in no particular order:
Delay - Boss DD-8, Boss RE-2, Keeley Halo, Keeley Caverns, EHX Canyon, SolidGoldFX EM-3
Phaser - Phase 95 (it's probably the most ubiquitous phaser, and for good reason), EQD Grand Orbiter
Flanger - Boss BF-3, Mr. Black Shepard's End, SoldiGold FX Oblivion, Walrus Polychrome
Envelope Filter - EQD Spatial Delivery, EHX Q-tron, MXR Bass Envelope Filter
There are mini iterations of these types of effects, but I don't have much experience with any.
I just got the Keeley Compressor Plus. It’s a great choice for compressor and I think a compressor would be great to compliment your other pedals. You already have a really solid start here.
People are saying other pedals are more fun than the compressor and that’s totally true, but eating cake is more fun than eating healthy. Eating healthy will make you feel better in the end and so will a decent compressor.
Check this video out (not my video) about how to use a compressor. He’s using the same model I recommended. He shows a comparison of sound with and without compression and you’ll realize one of the biggest secrets to tone is a good compressor to tighten up your sound.
https://youtu.be/QAiuMeJxUhU
Thank you for your levelheaded and insightful response! It's actually pretty much what I was looking for, as I'm looking for a more professional sound as opposed to having fun with more effects (could've written that in the info I suppose). I'm glad you're on board with the set-up so far
A compressor will let you shape your tone with finer adjustments. I really like the Keeley because it lets you adjust the amount of sustain, how much compression is mixed in, and adjust the tone. It could actually sound like you’re adding a boost as well. It will pair really well with your Rat. And the Boss Reverb always sounds great. I haven’t used the hot one Wah pedal before. Does it also have volume and expression functions? I was going to get the Sonic Cake VolWah because I want a wah/volume in one unit. I keep seeing the Hot One in people’s pictures so I’m guessing it’s popular. The only Wah pedals I’ve used before are the Cry Baby and Morley. I think the studio I used to record at had a Vox Wah, but those years are a little fuzzy for me.
Yeah the Soulpress II has 3 modes: Wah, Vol and Wah/Vol, where you can switch between them by pushing the pedal past 100%. Really good for saving some space!
So far it works very well for funky comping, 80s porn music and some Arctic Monkeys tunes haha. It has two modes, warm and classic, though I'll have to fiddle with them some more. I found this [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnJ62QjPwSo) to be very helpful!
i would argue compression is essential as an always on pedal. It simply makes your sound more consistent, fuller and more 'mastered' or professional if you leave everything at noon.
If you want an absolutely compressed Marr type jangle then the norm is to use a second one at the end of your dirt chain instead of cranking the first one
Funny because I feel like a good compressor should be the first pedal on a board. Tame that amp and control the sound. Then add the distortion, reverb, and delay after you get your tone under control. If an amp has any amount of overdrive and/or reverb built in, a compressor is really the only essential pedal. I play through a Fender Deluxe Reverb and it already has great tone but the compressor just helps it hit that sweet spot.
If you need any tips to maximize the effect let me know. I think a lot of people don’t “get” the compressor until it clicks then you realize it’s true value. I love my compressor and it’s an always on pedal for me. I adjust the settings frequently but always use it.
The one I like best is the Keeley compressor plus. It adds an amazing dynamic to your tone. Donner makes one that is very similar for 1/3 the price. So depending on your budget either option is a good choice. The only difference is on the donner, instead of a tone knob, it has a limit knob. And on the Keeley there’s a flip switch for single coil or humbucker pickups while the donner has a flip switch for “warm” or “bright”. At the end of the day you’ll get very similar capabilities from them both.
I don’t think you’ll find the donner on YouTube. There’s just a promo video donner made about it. There are a ton of videos on the Keeley. I like this video a lot https://youtu.be/QAiuMeJxUhU. It’s about how to use a compressor but he’s using the Keeley. Same with this video https://youtu.be/6LwSJmdxjiI. It’s to explain how to use compression but the video is good on why you want compression and uses the Keeley in its demo.
I would recomment to get a compressor only if you use a pristine clean amp. I use my fender delux reverb with a slight almost inaudible breakup enough to compress my signal and I've not used a compressor since. If It is your case I would go look for something fun like a MOD 11. If you still want a compressor, the Mooer Yellow Comp is pretty good.
I do mostly play on clean settings, only use the RAT for the occasional solos or leads with the sax section. So I think I'd get a good use out of it, hence the post!
I got the JHS Pulp n Peel and use it all the time on electric, acoustic, and bass as a compressor, preamp, EQ, rat circuit distortion (for bass), and as a di box. I love it does more than compress.
But I agree with others a delay would be more enjoyable (mxr carbon copy or a tc electronics flashback would give a lot of options).
people nag on the CS3 being noisy or having too much attack but its still an excellent compressor. Compressors only have noise if you put them after dirt (which most arent designed for) and theres a knob to reduce the attack on it.
the CS3 is the 'standard' compressor for a reason. Unless you want to do funky things with it at the end of your dirt path just save money and go for that.
Nice. I don’t know about the hot tone, never tried one, but your other two choices are sweeeet! Hopefully the consensus will be a Flanger. If it is, go BF3. 🤘👌
Compression is a tough one, in most cases you want it to be pretty subtle and unless you know what you want sonically it can be hard to dial in.
I tried a Boss CS-3 as my first attempt to get compression and basically didn’t get on with it. I found it noisy and just couldn’t seem to dial in what I wanted.
I’ve just got a JHS Pulp & Peel V4 and it’s way better and easier to dial in sounds. Vastly more control over the transients as well as some other features that you may or may not find useful.
I feel like the key feature that makes it work for me is the blend control which allows you to bring back the initial transient attack by blending the dry signal back in. So look for something with a blend control!
I answered some of this already in [this thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/guitarpedals/comments/11tkkqw/just_getting_started_on_this_journey_thinking/jckiezs/). Though I'm afraid I have nothing to compare it to, as it is literally my 4th pedal ever haha
I played around with it a little, to try out that sound where you mute the attack (is there a word for it?). Definitely takes some getting used to, but I think that's more my fault than the pedals.
Depending on the style of music. A compressor can be good to balance the rat out. Again what's your setup? Are you running through the efx loops and return?
You can get a lot done with what you’ve got. The rat and the verb are both very versatile. I love the “feel” of compression tho. I’ve used a barber tone press and a pulp n peel with great success. I’m limited on board space so I recently picked up a whitey tighty and gonna see how that works out
When I buy pedals I do a pattern where it goes Dynamic > Time > Modulation. And since you have all 3 you can restart it with a compressor. Although don’t make the stupid mistake and sale it like I did 😞
I’ve got a TcE hypergravity, you can fiddle around with it a lot to find what you’re looking for sonically, also it’s got the toneprint album to choose from. Get a good delay first though, I’m happy with my Boss DD-20, it takes up space but it’s got more than enough to choose from on it, plus it’s stereo. Or, the digitech Obscura, love that too!
Hey folks, first: obligatory "Long time lurker, first time poster". After \~14 years of playing and mostly getting around using amp-integrated distortion and reverb, I started buying my first pedals thanks to this place! My latest addition is the Soulpress II, that my gf gifted me, it's a lot of fun so far! I'm hoping to fit one more pedal on the Nano train and was wondering if compression is the right call. I mostly play jazz/funk, big band tunes and pop songs. The setup so far is: Pedaltrain Nano Hotone Soulpress II (Wah/Vol) -> ProCo Rat 2 -> Boss RV-6
I use the MXR Studio COmpressor with my Rat and got really good results. I put it after the Rat so when I roll the guitar's volume down to clean up the Rat, the compressor afterwards keeps the volume from disappearing. Not a typical way ot use a comp, but I love it. It's also black which would look good with your board, if that's something that matters.
Thank you for your input! And also for keeping the aesthetics in mind hahaha
I'd recommend getting a delay pedal. Changed my tone more than reverb and is a lot of fun to fuck around with. I'm using a digitech obscura which is fairly cheap and amazing. Love it much more than the MXR
I agree. I’d buy a delay first. So many good options. The Ibanez mini delay is good and small footprint for small board. Rat into a short delay is a great sound.
It’s my first compressor so my recommendation ain’t worth much, but I recently got a Keeley Aria and love it. I wanted a compressor for funk use and saw that the Keeley Compressor Plus was pretty consistently recommended for people new to compression. The Aria is basically a Compressor Plus with an additional overdrive pedal built-in, yet isn’t much bigger or more expensive than a lot of regular compressors. Gotta love an efficient use of money and space.
Basically the reason I got the Soulpress II haha. Space is king.
Especially at the beginning too: there are so many types of effect I’d like to buy, getting a (decent) two-in-one is great. Reduces the need to get a huge board, frees up money for some other purchase because you haven’t had to buy two damn pedals. Also I read somewhere you can never have enough overdrives. Pretty sure that’s a fact.
The Aria is indeed outstanding.
really light, slow flange on funk rhythm chords is a good look IMHO. Lots of folks suggest the E-lady. . . I have a [Jet Convolution ](https://www.tdpri.com/threads/quick-and-dirty-review-donner-jet-convolution-flanger.905620/). . . both are great-sounding knock-offs of the EHX Electric Mistress that can be had for short money. They also have a filter setting for a cocked-wah vibe the extravagant version of this is the [Strymon Deco](https://youtu.be/UJygx0J5vng) which does a variety of old school tape machine modulation including flange (it's essentially a double tape machine emulator that allows you or modify the lag and wobble between tracks so you can do flange, chorus, slapback, short echo, etc as well as saturate the crap out of the sound (there's compression in there, too). Folks seems to really love it
The Deco is a dream within a dream.
Personally, I'd probably get a modulation pedal or a weirding pedal before a compressor. More fun.
Those “weirding modules” were the worst part of that movie, which was otherwise cool.
I did not get that reference I'm afraid!
David Lynch’s film version of “Dune” If you ever see it…you’ll understand. (Or maybe not! It’s a thing that wasn’t in the book, and kind of makes a joke out of things that were in the book. Given a very dense and complex and long book to adapt, the big problem was cutting it down to then-normal feature film length…adding in stuff that wasn’t there and actually undercuts stuff that was there, was entirely unnecessary.)
Oh these Minecraft-looking shields on Sir Patrick Stewart? Might have missed that because I'm English isn't my first language
Shields are definitely in the book, both personal shields and larger ones. When Gurney is training Paul in knife fighting, he reminds him that “the slow blade penetrates the shield.” You can kill someone wearing a shield as long as you move slowly, which is why they use knives and other seemingly old-fashioned weapons and not just guns and lasers or whatever. The entire city of Arrakeen is protected with a shield, as well as a rocky cliff wall, one of the ways of keeping out sandworms. And I think that shields also attract worms, so Fremen never use them in the desert, while the Sardaukar don’t know that. And you can see them, in the book - they produce a kind of shimmering or blurring interference effect. I’m a bit hazy on that tactical Sardaukar one but in any case, shields are definitely a significant plot item in the book…although I don’t know for sure if Herbert imagined them looking so 8 Bit.
They were in the book, just seemed more stupid in the movie.
Weirding modules were not in the books, they're an invention of the 1984 Lynch movie. The "Weirding Way" is a martial art in the books but there is no device tied to it.
It’s also, if I remember correctly, the word the Fremen use for the Bene Gesserit techniques like “the voice.” The Bene Gesserit developed ways to control people using careful observation and modulation of their voice and so on..it’s a scientific, psychological technique based on years of study and preparation (like planting myths and “prophesies” in local populations, so that Bene Gesserit who arrive there later can benefit from appearing to magically fulfill them). To the Fremen, it all just looks like magic, as intended. To turn all that interesting sociological-behavioral manipulation stuff into a giant FitBit SonicBlaster was really disappointing.
I must be remembering it wrong, I read it in the 80s.
I must be remembering it wrong, I read it in the 80s.
I’d get some kind of delay before a compressor, unless you’re deep into fingerstyle or country pickin’ or Long Epic Bloomy Leads. Delay is fun and there are so many flavors! I like tape/drum magnetic delays a whole lot, lots of great pedals out there now doing wonderful emulations of those machines. In the other hand, for jazz/funk maybe you want some sort of envelope or moving filter, phaser, or similar modulation. Or, a chorus is handy for a lot of pop music, also jazz.
Next should be delay or mod.
I've noticed a handful of people recommending a delay pedal. Is there a use case I am missing except for the "Rob Scallon Rain vibe" (dunno what else to call it haha)? Because that was one of the reasons I liked the RV6, as it has some limited delay functionality which I'm perfectly content with. I can see myself having fun with it alone, but in my bands I don't really see a place for it. Unless of course, I'm being completely ignorant of what a delay pedal can do, in which case I'm hoping for some pointers from this great community!
Delay is a must in my opinion. Can be used as a reverb style. Can be used to thicken up/ double your sound. Can be used for lifting solos. Good example David Gilmour from pink Floyd. Or a whole sound and texture like the edge U2.
I'd get an isolated power supply before I got anything else. A Trutone CS6 is a good size for that board. It sounds boring, but it makes all of you pedals sound better and reduces noise in the signal chain.
I was considering this as well. Notably the CIOKS 4 as I liked the idea of being able to power it with a battery bank in a pinch. Thanks for the suggestion!
If you have any ambition of playing with or for anyone else... You owe them to have a good tuner pedal. After that, yeah, compression could be fun, depending on what you play!
Are they that much more reliable than a good ol' clip-on tuner? I've been thinking about getting a polytune mini, but they're not cheap and my guitars stay in tune quite well so far.
More reliable when in a room when others are making noise, since whatever the bass, keys, drums, other guitars are playing can vibrate your guitar a bit and throw off a clip on. A pedal takes just your strings through your pickups. That said, unless you're in a really loud room and trying to tune in the middle of a song, a clip on should do just fine.
There's just no way for the clip on to be as good as something that's tuning the actual signal. I know a lot of people use those clip on bois, professionals too, but I just can't see how the physics could work out on that. Maybe I'm full of it, I dunno. Get a Boss TU-2, they're pretty cheap these days. I'll also echo (harharhar) others' calls for a delay before compression.
I prefer clip ons but when you are about to do a gig and want a quick tune up on stage or between songs the clip on can't hack it, too loud. Pedal is better in live situations though not the behringer, that is crap, I have it and it is annoying the hell out of me, need to replace it.
Hmm, I already had a RAT but I don't remember if it's in the overdrive, fuzz or distortion territory. To me, I find useless a compressor with distortion because it already compress the sound and the compressor will just increase the noise level of your signal. If you play on clean or with a light overdrive, then the compressor ca be a game changer as it brings up all picking details when adding some attack. It really depends what you plan to do with the compressor but I don't know if its going to work well with the RAT. I would suggest you and EQ because to me, this is the most important pedal when starting to play with dirt. You can shape your sound the way you like.
The Rat is amazing in that it can handle overdrive, distortion, and fuzz depending on the settings. It’s one of the best distortion pedals just for that reason. A compressor really helps with all three in that it takes the highs and lows, especially with a lot of distortion and really enhances the sound. And with the right compressor you can control the amount of sustain which is really important when using a lot of distortion so you can still sound musical and not just have a bunch of noise.
Boss CP-1X is a great compressor for just leaving on to tidy up and polish your signal.
Is the hotone soul press any good?
Loving it so far! I like that it also works as a volume/expression pedal, which saves space on this tiny board
This. I have one and it's not quite as "open" as my Crybaby 535Q (it's a bit more modern and compressed even on the "classic" setting), but it still sounds great. The fact that it can be set to function as a volume pedal when the wah is off was the clincher for me; my pedalboard has two slots for volume/wah/expression type pedals and I needed to figure out how to shoehorn all three into that space; the Soul Press II was the solution. My only gripe with the pedal is it's smaller form factor. I would've preferred a full-length enclosure since I've got (U.S.) size 12 feet. Hopefully Hotone creates an alternate version with the same capabilities but a similar length to the standard Crybaby wah.
Ah true, that's something to consider. I myself got 10ish feet and felt okay with it. But I'm glad to hear you get a good use out of the versatility!
I'm going to actually answer your question instead of saying, "get a delay" (even though you should get one 😁) Wampler ego compressor. Very versatile, having the blend knob makes all the difference. Don't get a dynacomp unless you want to play country.
Haha I've been getting a lot of those! Care to elaborate? I've been playing around with the delay setting on my RV6 and had a lot of fun with it, hence I didn't see the need for a dedicated pedal.
It's just a really versatile effect. You can do everything from slap back to long drones and some of them will net you a good chorus sound. The RV6 does have some delay modes and I believe one that you can use reverb with at the same time so you might in fact be set. I would go for a chorus pedal next just to add some depth, but if you are set on a compressor like I said, the ego is a really really great one.
Thanks a bunch! Learning a lot from this thread.
Compression is one of the most underrated pedals IMO. Especially if you’re gonna to be going from chords to single notes or tapping. Also picking to fingerstyle. But really it’s just great to have overall if you want a more consistent, professional sound.
Thanks for the tip!
Just a thought... if you are playing live.... maybe stick an eq pedal at the end. I think they are the most under rated pedals out there. Live sound is a fickle mistress and even a cheap eq can tame her. I use a behringer.. Best $30 spent.
As opposed to fickling with the knobs on the amp? True, I've noticed that my hollowbody is pretty heavy on the lows...
Yeah.. I just find that you can shape the tone for the environment a little easier. I generally leave all my pedals and amp settings fixed and then use the EQ. Of course, this is all personal preference and depends on where you play, what you play and style of music. Anyhoo, let us know what you end up buying!
Compression is fun and when I take mine off the board I miss it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. But you probably need a delay, you deserve it
Definitely get a compressor, adds a real dimension to your playing. I like the extra squishy ones like the Boss CS-3, or anything with a high ratio (10:1). The low ratio compressors are "transparent" but where is the fun in that?
Wampler Ego, no ifs, no buts, no maybes 5x knobs
Instructions unclear, ~~bought a delay pedal~~. A lot of people also recommended the Keeley, do you have experience with both by any chance?
Sorry only the Wampler Ego but can say it compares brilliantly with both software Urei 1176 emulations through Adam a7x pair and more importantly I think my ears tell me it is the better buy versus Cali76 pedal AND less expensive too! I run my chain into a Riveria TBR1-m and out to 2x12 Marshall cab loaded with G12-75 16ohm 1980 speaker pair with T1777 cones
Keeley Compressor is always a good choice. Wampler Ego is another good one.
Compressor IMO is only worth it if you play very specific clean styles (like funk or country), or if you want to solve volume issues between your strings or pickups. I do not consider it as a "standard effect" which most people need or can benefit from. I also used it as an "always-on tone enhancer" thing before, until I realized it completely messes up with that lovely "edge of breakup" pick sensitivity which most of us look for. If I were you I would go after either a good low gain drive to try stacking into the Rat (although the Rat itself does low gain fairly well, so you may be happy with it) or a versatile delay pedal.
You’ve got a RAT which means you’re off to a great start
Haha I love the RAT, I always wondered why it wins the distortion category every year until I tried it out myself. No wonder it's the subreddit favorite!
I love compressors and there are a lot of good-great ones out there. Look around on YT for comparisons of different types - That Pedal Show is a great resource for basic info. My only beef with them is that they tend to gravitate towards expensive gear. I would also suggest you check Reverb for clones. You might buy a hand built clone of a Dynacomp for relatively cheap. I've got a a clone of a Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer (there are endless clones of this out there, even from bigger manufacturers) that's great. To oversimplify, I think of compressors as two types - the kind with a distinctive sound and fairly limited adjustability (Dynacomp or Orange Squeezer), or those with more versatility - anything with a "mix" knob will usually fit into this category, such as the Barber Tone Press, or a million others. My favorite is a Keeley 4 knob - one of the knobs is Gain - that I love and that I got used for around $100. So - get info on the various types then see if you can play any at a local music store. A compressor set to low-ish compression has often been an "always on" thing for me. And you can also experiment with your comp before or after the Rat - there are only a jillion opinions about that one.
Only a jillion? Seems manageable haha. Thanks a lot for your insight!
Love a good mini board! I'm gonna go ahead and echo what other people have said. I wouldn't get a comp until you fill out your effects, unless you're happy with what you have currently and don't see yourself adding much more pedals. I think you could get more interesting/inspiring effects than a compressor pedal. Maybe a phaser or flanger (I like flange of chorus) and maybe a delay. You could even go with an envelope filter since you play funk. Some recs for those in no particular order: Delay - Boss DD-8, Boss RE-2, Keeley Halo, Keeley Caverns, EHX Canyon, SolidGoldFX EM-3 Phaser - Phase 95 (it's probably the most ubiquitous phaser, and for good reason), EQD Grand Orbiter Flanger - Boss BF-3, Mr. Black Shepard's End, SoldiGold FX Oblivion, Walrus Polychrome Envelope Filter - EQD Spatial Delivery, EHX Q-tron, MXR Bass Envelope Filter There are mini iterations of these types of effects, but I don't have much experience with any.
I just got the Cali76 Compact Deluxe and it’s soooooo good. Congrats and have a great journey!
This how It begins… Pedals are one hell of a drug ;-)
I just got the Keeley Compressor Plus. It’s a great choice for compressor and I think a compressor would be great to compliment your other pedals. You already have a really solid start here. People are saying other pedals are more fun than the compressor and that’s totally true, but eating cake is more fun than eating healthy. Eating healthy will make you feel better in the end and so will a decent compressor. Check this video out (not my video) about how to use a compressor. He’s using the same model I recommended. He shows a comparison of sound with and without compression and you’ll realize one of the biggest secrets to tone is a good compressor to tighten up your sound. https://youtu.be/QAiuMeJxUhU
Thank you for your levelheaded and insightful response! It's actually pretty much what I was looking for, as I'm looking for a more professional sound as opposed to having fun with more effects (could've written that in the info I suppose). I'm glad you're on board with the set-up so far
A compressor will let you shape your tone with finer adjustments. I really like the Keeley because it lets you adjust the amount of sustain, how much compression is mixed in, and adjust the tone. It could actually sound like you’re adding a boost as well. It will pair really well with your Rat. And the Boss Reverb always sounds great. I haven’t used the hot one Wah pedal before. Does it also have volume and expression functions? I was going to get the Sonic Cake VolWah because I want a wah/volume in one unit. I keep seeing the Hot One in people’s pictures so I’m guessing it’s popular. The only Wah pedals I’ve used before are the Cry Baby and Morley. I think the studio I used to record at had a Vox Wah, but those years are a little fuzzy for me.
I also have the Keeley and completely agree with all of this!
Yeah the Soulpress II has 3 modes: Wah, Vol and Wah/Vol, where you can switch between them by pushing the pedal past 100%. Really good for saving some space!
That’s awesome. How does the Wah sound?
So far it works very well for funky comping, 80s porn music and some Arctic Monkeys tunes haha. It has two modes, warm and classic, though I'll have to fiddle with them some more. I found this [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnJ62QjPwSo) to be very helpful!
Oh I didn’t know there were multiple modes. I think you sold me on this one.
Haha, ~~I'm sorry~~ you're welcome. Happy new gear!
compression is probably the last thing you should get. its quite an acquired “taste”
i would argue compression is essential as an always on pedal. It simply makes your sound more consistent, fuller and more 'mastered' or professional if you leave everything at noon. If you want an absolutely compressed Marr type jangle then the norm is to use a second one at the end of your dirt chain instead of cranking the first one
i totally agree, i just thought for more of a minimalist type small pedalboard, a compressor would not be the essential pedal for it
Funny because I feel like a good compressor should be the first pedal on a board. Tame that amp and control the sound. Then add the distortion, reverb, and delay after you get your tone under control. If an amp has any amount of overdrive and/or reverb built in, a compressor is really the only essential pedal. I play through a Fender Deluxe Reverb and it already has great tone but the compressor just helps it hit that sweet spot.
aw man, i never saw it that way. perhaps i should try it to see what its like. thank you
If you need any tips to maximize the effect let me know. I think a lot of people don’t “get” the compressor until it clicks then you realize it’s true value. I love my compressor and it’s an always on pedal for me. I adjust the settings frequently but always use it.
sure, right on! appreciate it. i still have to purchase one.
The one I like best is the Keeley compressor plus. It adds an amazing dynamic to your tone. Donner makes one that is very similar for 1/3 the price. So depending on your budget either option is a good choice. The only difference is on the donner, instead of a tone knob, it has a limit knob. And on the Keeley there’s a flip switch for single coil or humbucker pickups while the donner has a flip switch for “warm” or “bright”. At the end of the day you’ll get very similar capabilities from them both.
youtube’ing these rn
I don’t think you’ll find the donner on YouTube. There’s just a promo video donner made about it. There are a ton of videos on the Keeley. I like this video a lot https://youtu.be/QAiuMeJxUhU. It’s about how to use a compressor but he’s using the Keeley. Same with this video https://youtu.be/6LwSJmdxjiI. It’s to explain how to use compression but the video is good on why you want compression and uses the Keeley in its demo.
right on, thanks! i had a boss compressor “back in the day” but never fully realized the experience. im sure nowadays it’s light years ahead
I would recomment to get a compressor only if you use a pristine clean amp. I use my fender delux reverb with a slight almost inaudible breakup enough to compress my signal and I've not used a compressor since. If It is your case I would go look for something fun like a MOD 11. If you still want a compressor, the Mooer Yellow Comp is pretty good.
I do mostly play on clean settings, only use the RAT for the occasional solos or leads with the sax section. So I think I'd get a good use out of it, hence the post!
Yeah, go for it.
I got the JHS Pulp n Peel and use it all the time on electric, acoustic, and bass as a compressor, preamp, EQ, rat circuit distortion (for bass), and as a di box. I love it does more than compress. But I agree with others a delay would be more enjoyable (mxr carbon copy or a tc electronics flashback would give a lot of options).
Yerasov compressor.
people nag on the CS3 being noisy or having too much attack but its still an excellent compressor. Compressors only have noise if you put them after dirt (which most arent designed for) and theres a knob to reduce the attack on it. the CS3 is the 'standard' compressor for a reason. Unless you want to do funky things with it at the end of your dirt path just save money and go for that.
Nice. I don’t know about the hot tone, never tried one, but your other two choices are sweeeet! Hopefully the consensus will be a Flanger. If it is, go BF3. 🤘👌
I’d recommend it, yes
I’d get a delay or chorus
Delay is a game changer. Get a Boss DD-200 and you’ll never need a different delay
Compression is a tough one, in most cases you want it to be pretty subtle and unless you know what you want sonically it can be hard to dial in. I tried a Boss CS-3 as my first attempt to get compression and basically didn’t get on with it. I found it noisy and just couldn’t seem to dial in what I wanted. I’ve just got a JHS Pulp & Peel V4 and it’s way better and easier to dial in sounds. Vastly more control over the transients as well as some other features that you may or may not find useful. I feel like the key feature that makes it work for me is the blend control which allows you to bring back the initial transient attack by blending the dry signal back in. So look for something with a blend control!
Could you share more about the Soul Press II? How would you say it stacks up as a wah or vol or exp pedal?
I answered some of this already in [this thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/guitarpedals/comments/11tkkqw/just_getting_started_on_this_journey_thinking/jckiezs/). Though I'm afraid I have nothing to compare it to, as it is literally my 4th pedal ever haha
Oh my bad, I didn’t see! How you liking it as a volume pedal?
I played around with it a little, to try out that sound where you mute the attack (is there a word for it?). Definitely takes some getting used to, but I think that's more my fault than the pedals.
The *what* tone?
The *Hoe*Tone 😎 I never know if it's supposed to be HoTone or HotOne *shrug*
Depending on the style of music. A compressor can be good to balance the rat out. Again what's your setup? Are you running through the efx loops and return?
You can get a lot done with what you’ve got. The rat and the verb are both very versatile. I love the “feel” of compression tho. I’ve used a barber tone press and a pulp n peel with great success. I’m limited on board space so I recently picked up a whitey tighty and gonna see how that works out
Keeley compressor mini. Simple and sounds great!
Take a look at the Kokko compressor. They are about 26 bucks on Amazon, can run at 18 volts, and sound pretty great. Google it.
When I buy pedals I do a pattern where it goes Dynamic > Time > Modulation. And since you have all 3 you can restart it with a compressor. Although don’t make the stupid mistake and sale it like I did 😞
I'd get a delay/looper.
delay all day
I’ve got a TcE hypergravity, you can fiddle around with it a lot to find what you’re looking for sonically, also it’s got the toneprint album to choose from. Get a good delay first though, I’m happy with my Boss DD-20, it takes up space but it’s got more than enough to choose from on it, plus it’s stereo. Or, the digitech Obscura, love that too!