pedal for under $130? Is there such a thing? Anyone have experience with the Barber Tone Press Compressor Pedal for example? I've never been much of a pedal guy. i owned a Big Muff and a Cry Baby back in the day. No idea where they went. i recently got a Bad Monkey based on recommendations from this site. Had a Boss delay pedal for about an hour (was swiped). Never owned a compressor and am looking for sweet endless sustain. Thanks.
Recommendations for sustain
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Apr 29, 2008 11:14 a.m. Jopapa:
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Apr 29, 2008 11:26 a.m. gretschiam:
I think the MXR Dyna Comp is still under $100. It was my favorite compressor pedal, and it's the only pedal I really kept until I restarted collecting recently.
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Apr 29, 2008 11:30 a.m. MR TROUBLE:
Have you considered an Ibanez Tube Screamer?
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Apr 29, 2008 12:19 p.m. Jopapa:
Thanks guys. I'll try them both. I want to try to the Blues Driver too.
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Apr 29, 2008 12:19 p.m. Jopapa:
This post has been deleted
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Apr 29, 2008 12:54 p.m. JBGretschguy:
The Blues Driver has zero sustain to it - if anything, you'll lose sustain!
The Guyatone ST-2 is a nice option.
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Apr 29, 2008 3:09 p.m. ADR:
I got a used DOD milkbox for $20 at the local store. GREAT pedal!
Also recommend the Digitech Bad Monkey. It's like a tubescreamer, but with tweakable bottom end to spare.
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Apr 29, 2008 4:01 p.m. Jopapa:
Anyone ever try the Boss CS-3? Thanks. I'm psyched to hit the local GC during lunch tomorrow to try some pedals. Just realized that I have $45 in my wallet so whatever the actual price of the pedal, I can tell the wife it cost $45 less! Pathetic, I know.
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Apr 29, 2008 4:55 p.m. ObeJuan:
Ah Visual Sound's Route 66... a tube screamer, clean boost, and compression all in one pedal and it gets me sick sustain. The Dyna Comp is a great pedal but it will color your sound. If you like fuzz a Muff Pi will get some sweet sustain but its a one trick pedal. Lots of other good choices that others will share but route 66 its my fav pedal.
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Apr 29, 2008 9:41 p.m. Proteus:
You don't say what guitar you're using, what amp you have, or whether you're looking for clean or crunchy sustain. Those factors make a difference.
I'm a compressor junkie, and try every one I can get my hands on. Not ONLY for sustain, also for that characteristic compressor pop and to smooth my sometimes sloppy playing.
From the beginning of time (mid-70s) through 2000 or so, nothing knocked off the DynaComp. I'll admit to having been a sort of addict, but in that period if I was playing an electric guitar, a DynaComp was on.
Then I discovered the MilkBox, which did Dyna but with more flexibility and variability, particularly the tone knob which brings back some of the highs the Dyna can dull. I wouldn't say sustain was any better. But given its prices on the used market, I've found no better squeeze for the buck.
Next came the TonePress, which is considerably more subtle (or can be set up to be subtle) and doesn't leap up and scream "I'M A COMPRESSOR" every time you hear it. You can actually get sustain without the telltale pop on the attack. It remains on my pedalboard, but is not on all the time. (I've partially weaned myself from constant compression.)
Tried the JangleBox for awhile, and liked it fine but didn't find it compelling. I've played the Keeley 3-knobber, and liked it, but didn't have a chance to A-B it with anything else.
A local guy in my area makes a fine compressor (http://www.stigtronics.com/id2.html), which I like as well as anything I've tried: particularly great for sustain, but not as transparent as the Barber.
I'm interested to try the Diamond Compressor (I'm a sucker for optical compression), and the Build Your Own Clone 5-knob über Ross clone. Five knobs!
All that said, I'm back to what kind of sustained tone you're looking for. In general, Gretschs are not built as sustain machines. To me that's part of their charm. Sustain can be optimized and enhanced, but other guitar designs do naturally lend themselves to greater mechanical sustain. (Planks down the middle or truly solid bodies and stud-mounted bridges seem to enhance sustain - at some expense to individual note definition, to my ear.)
And the tools for sustain will vary considerably whether you're looking for clean sustain or gainier sustain, and the volume you play at.
Most overdrive/distortion/fuzz pedals enhance sustain, especially in consort with a compressor...and of course with more gain at the amp.
A different approach is employed in the Pigtronix Attack Sustain pedal (http://www.pigtronix.com/products08/attacksustain.html), which actually uses a synthesizer circuit in conjunction with compression to produce looooong ever-growing sustain. It does other things as well, and can tricky to use, but it's an interesting approach and produces unique results.
Here's a completely mad compressor comparison I did some months ago; it puts many of those I've mentioned head-to-head, and may be helpful.
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Apr 29, 2008 10:34 p.m. ADR:
Gretsch hollow bodies sustain beautifully on their own without any pedals, as long as you turn up the amp enough and ride that sympathetic vibration wave.
That said, pedals can do some tricks.
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Apr 29, 2008 10:56 p.m. J(et)D:
+1 ADR
The "best" sustain that I've ever heard, and felt, was a Gretsch White Falcon.
OK, Stills was playing it, and it was through TWO Marshall 100watt "stacks".
Controlled sustain/feedback at its' finest, with a ton of "honk".
"I'm a BluesMan"
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Apr 30, 2008 2:12 a.m. graaf:
I've tried the boss CS-3 at the store and i didn't like it. Too squashy or nothing, if you know what i mean. I ended buying the Marshall ED something. I like it.
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Apr 30, 2008 10:03 a.m. Jopapa:
Thanks everyone. Proteus, your shoot-out was great. Well-written and well-played. I thought that the Jangle Box and Stigtronics finished a close 1 & 2. If money were no object, I'd order one this afternoon. But money is always an object so I'll sneak over to the GC and try out the Dyna Comp, Milk Box and MXR Super Comp (I've lowered my target price to $75 or under). You asked about my set up. I play all styles and my current go-to guitar is a G&L ASAT Tribute (i.e., Korean made low budget version of the ASAT) that I found on Craigslist for $200 a few months ago and haven't been able to put down since. I'm mainly playing it thru an old Fender Vibro Champ. Thanks again, everyone.
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Apr 30, 2008 7:58 p.m. MarkW:
Jopapa
Hollows and semi's will sustain, but the semi will hold on a little bit longer. And solids are typically sustain machines with the right electronics.
I have to ditto the Bad Monkey with either the DynaComp or the Guyatone ST-2. Both will do nicely, depending on your amp and settings.
Hope you have fun with your try-outs.
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Apr 30, 2008 10:35 p.m. Proteus:
I have a Tribute ASAT, with the big MFD pickups. Great guitar! Which pickups in yours?
Any of the compressors will stretch your sustain, and you'll be able to get that Nashville chicken-pickin' pop. I think the MilkBox may earn your approval, though, since it's capable of such a wide range of compression ratios and tones. With the ASAT, you may be peeling the tone control DOWN to soften the bright high end a bit.
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May 1, 2008 12:02 a.m. MR TROUBLE:
I have a Milkbox, but I can't seem to figure out where in the pedal chain it's supposed to go...I get a lot of noise when I hook it up in a pedal chain. By itself it's great. Any ideas where it should go...I have an RE-20 echo, a tremelo pedal, and EH Holy Grail reverb.
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May 1, 2008 8:31 p.m. Proteus:
In my experience, always very early in the chain. A compressor WILL increase any low-level noise in a signal chain, particularly when you've muted your strings: remember, its whole job is to squeeze what's too loud and boost what's too quiet.
It will want to boost any cumulative noise produced by your other pedals. Putting it before the others prevents that.
Also, you want to hit a comp with the strongest straightest signal you can, not something already "effected" which might confuse it.
In my chain the comp comes just after the tuner and before overdrive or modulation.
By default, I would hook your chain up:
guitar --> Milkbox --> tremelo --> RE-20 --> Holy Grail.Have you tried that order, and if so, what were the results?
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May 1, 2008 9:39 p.m. Jopapa:
I bought an MXR Dyna Comp on Ebay for under $50. Hopefully, this will be the start of a beautiful friendship. Any secret/favorite settings are welcome!
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May 2, 2008 2:48 p.m. ObeJuan:
My fav setting is output 3clock and sensitivity at 9clock. Depending on my guitar I adjust sensitivity to taste 9-11 but its usually in that ball park.
Here's the manual with some helpful settings info: http://www.jimdunlop.com/files/1145590090_m102_manual.pdf
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May 2, 2008 6:12 p.m. MarkW:
Prot
Would you put the cpmpressor in front of your Wah or distortion/fuzz?
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May 3, 2008 1:15 p.m. MR TROUBLE:
I'll try that order within the next few days and see what happens.
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May 3, 2008 9:04 p.m. Proteus:
I do have the compressor in front of distortions, yes, in order to hit them harder.
I have been running my vol-wah behind the compressor and before the distortions. If I had separate wah and volume, I'd put the wah AFTER distortion, to take advantage of the notch-filtering tone-shaping effect of the wah on the dirt, and the volume pedal before the distortions so I could clean up my tone by backing the pedal down a little and not feeding the dirt pedals full signal.
I know there are proponents of putting the vol pedal at the very beginning of the chain, and of putting it at the very end.
There are no absolute rights or wrongs in effect order, and much fun can be had moving things around. I don't claim I have mine in the ideal order.
When choosing an order for any two pedals, I consider what the second pedal is going to do to the output of the first pedal: do I want to compress a distorted signal, or distort a compressed signal? In some cases, such as that, there's not a HUGE difference.
But in other cases, such as modulation or delay devices, there's a great sonic difference between delaying or wiggling a distorted signal, and distorting a delayed or wiggled sound. You can try it and see, but often just the thought experiment will tell you what you can expect.
Again, I put compression early so it doesn't amplify the residual noise of the effects...and so it doesn't squeeze the life out of anything coming later in the chain.
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May 4, 2008 11:27 a.m. MarkW:
Prot
Thanks for the tips, I wish I had more time to play with this stuff I have accumulated. As a result shortcuts and tips are always GREATLY appreciated!
MarkW
