Best Acoustic Guitar Compressor (2024 Update)

While some claim this compressor is an optical compressor, that couldn't be further from the truth. This compressor is an OTA (operational transconductance amplifuer) design, much like a Ross or Dynacomp. That being said it is an improvement in that design. A big one. If you're into great tone does it really matter whether it is OTA, optical, flux capacitor, or glow plug? No. The bottom line is that this compressor is awesome! It can do the Ross/Dynacomp thing where it DOES squash and color your tone, or it can be as transparent as you want it to be. The key is to put that blend knob to use along with the other controls.Guitar74

I have the Mini Ego on another pedalboard and I love the sustain knob on the big brother. The pedal has phenomenal versatility. The tone control is very interactive and when switching from single coil to humbucker pickups all is needed is a tone adjustment to dial things in. Built like a tank and the footswitch is as quiet as a church mouse.stillbillsmith

I was slightly influenced by a review video made by one of my favourite guitarists Brent Mason. He spoke very highly about the pedal so that, along with other reviews and comparisons, made me decide to go for the Ego. It is a brilliant pedal and does everything I want from a compression pedal.mike k.

I bought this compression pedal to boost my acoustic signal as well as fatten the sound a bit. I love the size as it fits on my board perfectly. I leave it on all the time so it neatly fits up top. I mainly lead worship at my church and was looking to make my Martin D-15 sound more like it is supposed to plugged in.Mark

The Xotic SP Compressor is without a doubt a 5 Star product! For many years I used a 1953 Gibson ES 175 or 1966 Telecaster plugged into a MXR Dyna Comp and grew to appreciate the warm squash this device had to offer as I lost the taste for most all distortion devices on the market. The Dyna Comp was a simple two knob device that squeezed my signal rather nicely to which I still have 3 of them floating about the house. I also have the more expanded version, MXR Limiter dating from the early 80s that also does a nice job modifying my signal. The only initial down side to the Dyna Comp was a little bit of noise. However the real down side to the old Dyna Comp was sometime in the early 90s, after Dunlop acquired ownership of the MXR Product, decided to reduce the cost of production by having all the jacks, pots, and switch connected directly to the PC Board via solder bath. Not only did this process of assembly affect the durability of this classic old compressor, it also compromised the tone and performance of a one great pedal. The vintage Dyna Comps wired point to point are far superior product. If you have one, keep it! In the wake of the cheapening of the Dyna Comp came the Keeley Compressor. I bought a Keeler Compressor somewhere around 10 years ago a noticed an improvement in performance over my old Dyna Comps with less noise. And with going into great detail, every guitar, from my old 1951 L5 to any of my old Fender sound great through this compressor. So now a new and somewhat revolutionary compressor has hit in the market by way of the Xotic SP. These guys are making some of the best pedals that I?ve run across in years. By the time I got my SP I was already the proud owner of an EP Booster and SL Drive. To later I have to say it is the only distortion that has come out in the last 30 years with a decent sounding tone that does not narrow the bandwidth of your signal path. Not to mention these pedals just happen to be the cutest looking signal devices on the market. What really makes the SP Compressor outstanding is the 3 position Hi/Mid/Low switch. The versatility to this pedal via of this switch is just amazing. In the Hi mode I can match the performance of my Keeley and Dyna Comp compressors for Jazz applications. However, I have taken using the Mid position for a great Blues/Rock tone. In this position the pedal allows me to play over the top of the compressor for soaring highs. This works in great combination with my 1960 Telecaster with Barden pickups. Anyway, I highly recommend the Xotic SP Compressor with its advantage in versatility over other compressors on the market. And here?s the bonus, this pedal is priced about $100 less than the Keeley. My hat?s off to you folks at Xotic for manufacturing a fantastic compressor at an affordable price that will thousands of guitar players sound better and better. Now if you can reinvent the Sola Sound Tone Bender in one of these small bud boxes, that would be fantastic!David A

I tried the Wampler and it was too much going on and I could find a sound I like. That was my first compressor so i'm Sure it was me. With this one I set it to Humbucker setting per the manual and it was fantastic. I just made the volume a little lower so that it was the same as my OD and TS pedals so that I control the gain there not with the compresssor. I leave it on all the time now. I never realized how much better the sound would be from just this. I always thought of it just pushing down the high parts but the making the lower parts a little louder made a big difference. This is going to be on permanently. Crystal clear sound wise too.Mike CT

I bought this compressor intending to use it with both Fender Strat and my bass guitar. I am a professional music producer and listened to the unit carefully in the studio headphones. It is a great tool if you know what to use it for. When used with a strat it makes the sound crisp and places the funky clean tone perfectly in the mix. The tone is somewhat on the colder side, with bright fluid sustain added to the sound. Think about it as a sustainer first and then compressor. Great tool in the pallette. However, there are a few things to keep in mind: – the unit makes a sub low cut when engaged even with the minimum effect added to the direct signal. Bassists bear this in mind (unless you are a hardcore punk bassist playing with distortion and a pick and don't care much about your sub bass tone). It can also be felt on the clean electric guitar sound (if it's funky tone in the band setting you would cut off the low end of the strat anyway). – with higher compression ratio settings you get more sustain but some noise is also added. – if you want to use the 9V battery with the unit keep in mind that to change the battery you need to use a screwdriver for 4 screws to remove the back panel of the unit.J

I love this pedal. I play an Epi Les Paul Classic, into my pedalboard, and into a 90's Peavey Bandit. The amp has a Jensen Mod soesker, not the original Scorpion speaker. The Bandit with this speaker has a great clean channel. I'm a long time Fender guy. Strats and Teles. I like a clear, bright fundamental tone. I found myself compensating with the LP and using the bridge pickup a lot. But still not satisfied with the clean tones from the LP. That changed when I put the Keeley Compressor Plus on my board. The conbination of the Blend control and the Tone knob gives me what I want. The Tone control is, to my ear, an exceptional circuit. I get the bright, clear tone I need and superb sustain. This pedal is a godsend for playing slide. The compressor goes before my dirt pedals with beautiful results-1-. I use a Boss SD-1 overdrive and a Donner Dark Mouse – a Rat clone. I'm very impressed with this compressor. I put all controls at about 12:00, which the manual recommends for humbuckers. Minimal tweaks from there to get what I want. I love that it doesn't squash the life out of my pick attack. It is always on. Works great with acoustic/electrics as well. Great, musical piece of gear. Well done, Mr. Keeley.Mister G.

Fantastic compressor with side chain. I'm using it for a live electronic setup where I want the bass synth to duck when the kick is playing. Basic really but since I'm using different machines for each sound the Emptess Comp has been a life saver. Great build and relatively easy to use although the side chain output needs strange cables. But you can get around it.Reviewed by SX Pro customer

Great compressor with LED lights to aid sound choices. Will have to be more careful with this one as the power input is a bit fragile.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Amazing compressor, super transparent but allows for some tone sculpting if transparency isn't your thing. Sidechain works a treat (you need a stereo breakout cable for it).Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I'd used a Boss M50B for a few years, and it had the potential to everything one could ask… but in reality I simply used the compressor function and as a tuner. I also play keyboard and guitar, and real estate on my pedal board is at a premium. So I got this and a Peterson tuner, and I have to say the compresspr has exceeded my expectations. The tube setting provides a really warm sound, and the compression is better than the Boss. All in all I sound better, and have reduced the footprint of my gear in the process. Yes, I'd buy it again. Quality seems top notch. Value… its expensive for a single stomp box, but worth every penny.maineprivateer

I bought this compression pedal to boost my acoustic signal as well as fatten the sound a bit. I love the size as it fits on my board perfectly. I leave it on all the time so it neatly fits up top. I mainly lead worship at my church and was looking to make my Martin D-15 sound more like it is supposed to plugged in.Mark

The Xotic SP Compressor is without a doubt a 5 Star product! For many years I used a 1953 Gibson ES 175 or 1966 Telecaster plugged into a MXR Dyna Comp and grew to appreciate the warm squash this device had to offer as I lost the taste for most all distortion devices on the market. The Dyna Comp was a simple two knob device that squeezed my signal rather nicely to which I still have 3 of them floating about the house. I also have the more expanded version, MXR Limiter dating from the early 80s that also does a nice job modifying my signal. The only initial down side to the Dyna Comp was a little bit of noise. However the real down side to the old Dyna Comp was sometime in the early 90s, after Dunlop acquired ownership of the MXR Product, decided to reduce the cost of production by having all the jacks, pots, and switch connected directly to the PC Board via solder bath. Not only did this process of assembly affect the durability of this classic old compressor, it also compromised the tone and performance of a one great pedal. The vintage Dyna Comps wired point to point are far superior product. If you have one, keep it! In the wake of the cheapening of the Dyna Comp came the Keeley Compressor. I bought a Keeler Compressor somewhere around 10 years ago a noticed an improvement in performance over my old Dyna Comps with less noise. And with going into great detail, every guitar, from my old 1951 L5 to any of my old Fender sound great through this compressor. So now a new and somewhat revolutionary compressor has hit in the market by way of the Xotic SP. These guys are making some of the best pedals that I?ve run across in years. By the time I got my SP I was already the proud owner of an EP Booster and SL Drive. To later I have to say it is the only distortion that has come out in the last 30 years with a decent sounding tone that does not narrow the bandwidth of your signal path. Not to mention these pedals just happen to be the cutest looking signal devices on the market. What really makes the SP Compressor outstanding is the 3 position Hi/Mid/Low switch. The versatility to this pedal via of this switch is just amazing. In the Hi mode I can match the performance of my Keeley and Dyna Comp compressors for Jazz applications. However, I have taken using the Mid position for a great Blues/Rock tone. In this position the pedal allows me to play over the top of the compressor for soaring highs. This works in great combination with my 1960 Telecaster with Barden pickups. Anyway, I highly recommend the Xotic SP Compressor with its advantage in versatility over other compressors on the market. And here?s the bonus, this pedal is priced about $100 less than the Keeley. My hat?s off to you folks at Xotic for manufacturing a fantastic compressor at an affordable price that will thousands of guitar players sound better and better. Now if you can reinvent the Sola Sound Tone Bender in one of these small bud boxes, that would be fantastic!David A

I tried the Wampler and it was too much going on and I could find a sound I like. That was my first compressor so i'm Sure it was me. With this one I set it to Humbucker setting per the manual and it was fantastic. I just made the volume a little lower so that it was the same as my OD and TS pedals so that I control the gain there not with the compresssor. I leave it on all the time now. I never realized how much better the sound would be from just this. I always thought of it just pushing down the high parts but the making the lower parts a little louder made a big difference. This is going to be on permanently. Crystal clear sound wise too.Mike CT

I have tried a LOT of compressors over the years, never kept any of them (as a solo boost) I can dial in the perfect amount of compression without killing the dynamics of the amp along with a mid boost and slight treble roll off to make my amp sing! I run the gain on the amp about 3 for "clean" and use the Bloom boost with just a little bit of bump to get into fat crunch and then the comp plus eq for solos. All controlled via MIDI Transparent, doesn't jack with my tone. I borrowed a friend's Synergy Syn 1 with the DS module for a week with the intention of buying one.. no more.Charles

Overall: This optical compressor, EQ, and boost pedal is an all around work horse. The optical compression is really smooth and subtle, which I prefer! The presets are nice to dial in different types and they can be tweaked via MIDI if you're looking for that level of tweakability. I found myself setting it the country mode and really only tweaking the blend knob to control the overall sound of the comp. I like that I can keep as much dry signal as I want to retain some of the dynamic while really pushing the compressed frequencies. The boost is a standard clean boost that adds nice clarity and sparkle. Then you have a three band EQ that adds extra flexibility. All three effects can be turned on and off independently of each other and their is a "bloom" mode with the boost where it will swell in if you press and hold. That's a nice little trick but I don't think I'll use it too much since the boost is almost always on. I use this as a table setter for the rest of my rig now. Great choice for anyone looking for studio quality optical compression!Adam

It takes a little experimenting to find the sweet spots with the simple controls but with a little patience you will be well rewarded. The output gain is bold and you could use this as a boost pedal alone and be very happy. The compression is subtle but quite dynamic without crushing your tone. If you can find one, get it!Chris

I like compressors on guitar, but most compressor pedals are too noisy or they go from no compression to too much too fast. This pedal is the quietest compressor I've used and the range is awesome, open and musical and you can dial it in easily. It really just works how you would want it. Highly recommended. Only negative, it's wider than a standard pedal, and I feel like it could have been standard size.Sean

Nice boost, however it is a bit dirty. If you're interested in buying one of these I recommend reading up about it as much as you can. can't beat it for the money it's well-built. It has good controls. I bought this in Hope of using it for an acoustic guitar boost that didn't work out so well but it's fantastic for electric guitar before and after certain pedals. For conversation purpose I also have a EP booster buy exotic effects. However there are very different just to draw a distinction.cashflowkid61

Great quick shipping in original box. Absolutely like-new (cool sparkly powder-coat type finish) – sounds terrific! too bad this box (itself a re-issue) is discontinued… great to smack your pedal chain or amp with a nice clean (but edgy) boost!helix-28588

I have been on the fence about boosting effects for a while, never Really Thought I NEEDED one but at this price I decided to give it a shot. Searching and transaction were both easy, the sale was awesome-PERFECT price and shipped in practically 2 days! I love the pedal, really breaths life into my secondary set up. I'm honestly contemplating if I want to grab the dod Comp or overdrive!BUCKROGEZ87

Studio grade compressor in a pedal. Can be as subtle or extreme as necessary. The auto switch and Hard/soft switches are very clever and really work. Very well built. Small footprint fits easily on a pedal board.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I pride myself on having a very minimal reliance on pedals. For the longest time, all I used in my rig was a delay for slapback, which I thought was enough to get my country/rockabilly tone. After watching the ad for the EHX Platform, I knew I had to incorporate this pedal into my rig. The compression and limiter functions are great as standalones, but the drive and swell features added an immense amount of versatility to this pedal. I can now create pedal steel sounds, and add as much fuzz to my tone as I'd ever need (and then some). My only gripe is that I wish the dials were constructed with metal, which would make the pedal more durable. That's a minor con for an otherwise fantastic pedal. Coming from someone who tends to steer away from pedals, I can't recommend this enough!rockabilly96

FUN pedal! Great compressor, with capability of very light compression, to very "squishy," if wanted or needed, And, the "Backwards" feature is an interesting, and Fun feature. Build quality, and ease of use are top notch, of course. The pedal was used, but in "Like New" condition, with all the "box candy" in tact. ProAudioStar was excellent to work with, and the pedal arrived well packed, and a day earlierthan anticipated. Great overall purchase experience. Would recommend, and buy from them, in the future, as the need arises. Cheers,Charlie BrownCourageousLizard-12820

Excellent compressor range with plenty of control and the added bonus of the swell knob to articulate your playing further. The drive option suits me perfectly as it is not the 'take your ears off' scream but a lovely smooth sound with loads of sustain, like the original Black Finger pedal (not the valve one). Three distinct and eminently useable effects, making the pedal very good value for money and a great addition to a player's arsenal.awrf53

I've been very impressed with this compressor. Simple to use, dead quiet, crystal clear sonics, and the ability to blend in uncompressed signal. I'm pleased that I went with this rather than something that takes up more space on my board. It's just what I needed. If I could subtract 1/2 star, I would, but only because the item shipped with absolutely no literature whatsoever. Not that it's needed, it's just nice to have. Jackson should print up some product literature and quit making so many corny YT videos.Matthew

Best 30 you can spend. Don't let the cheap price fool you, this thing is solid with a metal enclosure. The switch is actually the sturdiest I've owned. As for the compression, it can do very subtle to massive sustain, really makes my Roland JC40 sing.deany-5

Jeg er godt nok imponeret over min nye compressor- pedal, Nux Sculpture ! Den lyder lige så godt som tilsvarende pedaler til 2-3 gange prisen – forbavsende støjsvag af en compressor at være – fylder meget lidt på pedal-boardet – clip/boostfunktionen er glimrende til soloer og til at give en overdrive-pedal et ekstra spark. Til ca. kr. 300,00 er den helt klart et røverkøb – Best Buy !Jørgen J.

I was looking for an affordable compressor,this is a Solid build, simple and compact, it's perfect for my small pedal board and it makes the guitar tone sound great! I am happy with this purchase.Ezra J

I can get this pedal to do three things: a very subtle reverb that adds a touch of space, a room-like reverb, and a super long-tailed ambient reverb that's so expansive it almost sounds like it's mixed with delay. There are other reverb pedals for a bit more money that have more options built into them-spring, plate, hall, room, shimmer, modulated reverb, and so on. With this pedal I find it difficult to switch between the different sounds since it's a lot of knob fiddling. It does sound absolutely killer, which is why I gave it 4 stars, but I don't recommend it if you want to easily switch between different types of reverb. For me it will be more of a "set and forget" pedal for long ambient reverbs.Andrew

I was recently using one pedal board for all my guitars, and the chorus I had was mainly designed for use with acoustic guitar. Now I'm rearranging things to have one board just for my electric guitars and all I needed was a basic chorus pedal of quality build and tone. I knew from reviews the JHS 3 series was perfect for me. I've been playing for 57 years and have owned pedals in the $100 to $500 range to provide my chorus effects. No matter if I had mulitple options in some stomp boxes I usually settled on a good subtle setting, so I knew there was no need for me to get anything fancier than the JHS. It sounds are good as the little blue Boss Chorus I bought way back in 1980.Jon

I bought this compression pedal to boost my acoustic signal as well as fatten the sound a bit. I love the size as it fits on my board perfectly. I leave it on all the time so it neatly fits up top. I mainly lead worship at my church and was looking to make my Martin D-15 sound more like it is supposed to plugged in.Mark

The Xotic SP Compressor is without a doubt a 5 Star product! For many years I used a 1953 Gibson ES 175 or 1966 Telecaster plugged into a MXR Dyna Comp and grew to appreciate the warm squash this device had to offer as I lost the taste for most all distortion devices on the market. The Dyna Comp was a simple two knob device that squeezed my signal rather nicely to which I still have 3 of them floating about the house. I also have the more expanded version, MXR Limiter dating from the early 80s that also does a nice job modifying my signal. The only initial down side to the Dyna Comp was a little bit of noise. However the real down side to the old Dyna Comp was sometime in the early 90s, after Dunlop acquired ownership of the MXR Product, decided to reduce the cost of production by having all the jacks, pots, and switch connected directly to the PC Board via solder bath. Not only did this process of assembly affect the durability of this classic old compressor, it also compromised the tone and performance of a one great pedal. The vintage Dyna Comps wired point to point are far superior product. If you have one, keep it! In the wake of the cheapening of the Dyna Comp came the Keeley Compressor. I bought a Keeler Compressor somewhere around 10 years ago a noticed an improvement in performance over my old Dyna Comps with less noise. And with going into great detail, every guitar, from my old 1951 L5 to any of my old Fender sound great through this compressor. So now a new and somewhat revolutionary compressor has hit in the market by way of the Xotic SP. These guys are making some of the best pedals that I?ve run across in years. By the time I got my SP I was already the proud owner of an EP Booster and SL Drive. To later I have to say it is the only distortion that has come out in the last 30 years with a decent sounding tone that does not narrow the bandwidth of your signal path. Not to mention these pedals just happen to be the cutest looking signal devices on the market. What really makes the SP Compressor outstanding is the 3 position Hi/Mid/Low switch. The versatility to this pedal via of this switch is just amazing. In the Hi mode I can match the performance of my Keeley and Dyna Comp compressors for Jazz applications. However, I have taken using the Mid position for a great Blues/Rock tone. In this position the pedal allows me to play over the top of the compressor for soaring highs. This works in great combination with my 1960 Telecaster with Barden pickups. Anyway, I highly recommend the Xotic SP Compressor with its advantage in versatility over other compressors on the market. And here?s the bonus, this pedal is priced about $100 less than the Keeley. My hat?s off to you folks at Xotic for manufacturing a fantastic compressor at an affordable price that will thousands of guitar players sound better and better. Now if you can reinvent the Sola Sound Tone Bender in one of these small bud boxes, that would be fantastic!David A

I tried the Wampler and it was too much going on and I could find a sound I like. That was my first compressor so i'm Sure it was me. With this one I set it to Humbucker setting per the manual and it was fantastic. I just made the volume a little lower so that it was the same as my OD and TS pedals so that I control the gain there not with the compresssor. I leave it on all the time now. I never realized how much better the sound would be from just this. I always thought of it just pushing down the high parts but the making the lower parts a little louder made a big difference. This is going to be on permanently. Crystal clear sound wise too.Mike CT

First Dynacomp I've owned , so not sure how it compares …. same circuit as the script so it's a good value with more control . It's comparable to my Keeley comp plus , just different , but it also has enhancing properties for the guitar and is quiet in operation …I have like 30 guitar pedals and it will be a keeper . I like rack Dbxs and vca compressors , but this pedal does the job well …. doing research on different types of compresssion circuits helps u understand how they afffect sounds …. anywAy , a good pedal to own ….Dee

Essentially it's as good as the standard version but with extra control with clean blend and tone on the top plus the attack button. Supposedly similar circuitry to the retro re-issue, haven't compared versions, what I can say is this one is nice. Personally find the wet/dry clean blend most useful of the added features over the 'normal' one.Samuel H.

I don't usually like doing reviews, but this box is worth its price of admission, and then some! Its no secret that this chain is what I call "THE SAUCE"! Using the 76 side to tame the peaks abou mt 2 or 3 db and the using the 2a side so do the actual compression to taste, by setting the gain reduction and gain! If I wa limited on rack space and needed this exact chain I would choose this over an actual 1176 and and la2a and be extremely happy! Dont think about it, head on over to AMS and purchase yours today, you will not be disappointed! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MINE!MYSTA MYSTA SMOOTH

There is only one Artist Toneprint (by Rudy Sarzo) for bass. But I've been able to use it for both of my basses (a very hot pick up G&L L2000 and not so hot Sire V7 Fretless) with minor adjustments to the knobs. I've also been able to use knobs only to get good sounding compression for finger, slap and pick on the G&L. I had a go with the Toneprint editor with one of the templates. I got a usable compressor within an hour or so based on settings someone had given me – but I preferred the Rudy Sarzo one so stuck with it. If you understand compression, the toneprint editor is logical. It's cleaned up my tone. I'm very happy with it.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

This is a great compressor, with lots of options. If you're not very used to hearing compression, you can set it to be really unsubtle so your ears can easily pick out the compression effect – and then you can make it as transparent as you like as well. Really adds a bit of pro polish to your sound.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

First time with a TC product and apart from colour (which I love but is a personal choice) this pedal is bullet proof. No power supply but that's a small issue as my last purchase was a True Tone CS12. Pedal isn't a straight out of the box product as the overall tone benefits from experimentation, more with this pedal than some others I've used, but the flexibility and variety of compression somehow seem to make each string sound rounded and full of character. Will probably become a permanent part of my pedal set up.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.