Best Compressor Pedal For Acoustic Guitar (2024 Update)

First of all, I already own other Boss pedals and I can say that it is a quality brand. The pedal in question, not cheap but in an average price range, does just what it needs to do! The sound is clear, well finished on all frequencies, the dynamics improve and the overall level of the guitar sound is also raised and leveled. There is a fairly long sustain of the sound. I recommend this pedal to professional musicians.Stella B.

I usually play clean or near-clean through a Fender-ish Carvin SX-100 Combo. Until today, no matter what I did, my thin hollowbody Ibanez AFS-75 always had just a little "crud" in the tone. After reading another review talking about how they used the CS-3, I experimented around and here's what I've done. I've put the CS-3 between the guitar and the amp and run the rest of the effects including EQ through the effects loop setting the CS-3 (from Left to Right) at 1, 1, 10, 11. At these settings, my Flat Wounds have a new sparkle and equal level from string to string. There is no distortion pedal in my effects setup although I do dirty up the signal just a tiny bit using the Carvin Amp Distortion to add just a bit of life to my playing. I'm a Jazz Student (emphasis on student) seeking that organic jazz guitar sound and the CS-3 has improved the tonality and removed the crud. It's actually pretty startling.Ed

I'll directly get down to the Pros & Cons: Pros: *Good sustain *Rich & clear tone *Produce a kind of slapping & sharp tone once you increase the attack knob. *It suppresses the sound of hard strumming & boost the sound of soft strumming & produces a well balanced sound. Cons: *Creates noise, I'm not sure either my order of placing the pedal is not right or is it due to power supply kind of problem which Daisy chain that I was using earlier. But now I've shifted to voodoo lab power supply & I've started using Noise suppressor. So. overall it's a good pedal, but it creates a lot of unwanted noise too & that's the only drawback this has. I think Boss should take this into consideration. And if you buy this pedal, then I recommend you to buy a noise suppressor too & if possible buy a all in one isolated power supply like voodoo lab, etc. Thank you!!!N S.

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 of all, I already own other Boss pedals and I can say that it is a quality brand. The pedal in question, not cheap but in an average price range, does just what it needs to do! The sound is clear, well finished on all frequencies, the dynamics improve and the overall level of the guitar sound is also raised and leveled. There is a fairly long sustain of the sound. I recommend this pedal to professional musicians.Stella B.

I usually play clean or near-clean through a Fender-ish Carvin SX-100 Combo. Until today, no matter what I did, my thin hollowbody Ibanez AFS-75 always had just a little "crud" in the tone. After reading another review talking about how they used the CS-3, I experimented around and here's what I've done. I've put the CS-3 between the guitar and the amp and run the rest of the effects including EQ through the effects loop setting the CS-3 (from Left to Right) at 1, 1, 10, 11. At these settings, my Flat Wounds have a new sparkle and equal level from string to string. There is no distortion pedal in my effects setup although I do dirty up the signal just a tiny bit using the Carvin Amp Distortion to add just a bit of life to my playing. I'm a Jazz Student (emphasis on student) seeking that organic jazz guitar sound and the CS-3 has improved the tonality and removed the crud. It's actually pretty startling.Ed

I'll directly get down to the Pros & Cons: Pros: *Good sustain *Rich & clear tone *Produce a kind of slapping & sharp tone once you increase the attack knob. *It suppresses the sound of hard strumming & boost the sound of soft strumming & produces a well balanced sound. Cons: *Creates noise, I'm not sure either my order of placing the pedal is not right or is it due to power supply kind of problem which Daisy chain that I was using earlier. But now I've shifted to voodoo lab power supply & I've started using Noise suppressor. So. overall it's a good pedal, but it creates a lot of unwanted noise too & that's the only drawback this has. I think Boss should take this into consideration. And if you buy this pedal, then I recommend you to buy a noise suppressor too & if possible buy a all in one isolated power supply like voodoo lab, etc. Thank you!!!N S.

I was a little skeptical of the price of this compressor but since I already own a VAMP 3 and it is very good so I decided to try it. The unit is made of a kind of indestructible plastic and is very solid. I like the added controls for volume and tone as well as the compression controls. The compression is excellent and the attack sweep is pronounced and has a wide range that is really useful. It sounds especially good on the split coil settings and is smooth and extremely quiet. I would definitely recommend this pedal to anyone. It may not be as good as ones that cost 4 or more times as much but it is pretty close.Jerzy

Maybe its just because its the first compressor Ive owned, but this paired with a Behringer noise suppressor has completely made my playing time more enjoyable. Its clean and quiet and makes everything you play sound lush, warm, and interesting. Lots of ability to dial this pedal to your taste. If you are losing faith in your playing or just getting bored with your sound, pick this pedal and a noise suppressor up. You wont be disappointed. And the price/value ratio couldnt be better in my opinion.yellowbrickroadcommodities

I'll try to keep this short. I was looking for a 'Trey tone' type compressor that could give me that dynamic attack that Trey's Ross Compressor gives him. This pedal does that very well. In fact, this is a damn good compressor, slightly different than the Dyna Comp and not just because of the attack but an overall slightly different flavor.I put the Super Comp after my Barber LTD (Sliver=Awesome) and wahla! Instant Trey tone.. kinda, you gotta fiddle with the Overdrive and EQ on your amp to get close to that tone. But overall this is a good compressor.Huge CON: Its terribly noisy. Its very difficult to tame this noise because i like to keep the compressor on all the time (except with the Q Tron on). I have to use my Volume pedal to silence my signal when im not playing or else deal with feedback or noise. (Not feedback due to other effects on as well, just w/. compressor on)Other than the noisy-ness, this is a pretty good compressor. Attack nob is very useful, you can go from Trey Tone to complete transparency. Check one out and fiddle with it, it takes some real fiddling if your gonna use it with other pedals to get your sound.Jesus-i9BdY

Overall: I was building a 'short board,' and I got a Super Comp. It is really priceless at the beginning of my chain. I have a DynaComp, a Soul Preacher, and a couple of digital multis that do compression. Sould Preacher is by far the best. Edges out the Soul Preacher on having a really fine attack adjustment. The EHX comp is just lacking. DynaComp is okay, but it is NOISY. The noise difference alone is enough to justify the $10 to step up to a SuperComp. It's maybe a little bit better sounding than DynaComp, and slightly more adjustable with the attack setting. SuperComp is for sure my favorite comp right now. I know I will draw some complaints with this one, but I would see absolutely no reason to own a DynaComp with the SuperComp available. $10 gets you soooo much…. IMO of course.Michael

I can't profess to be an expert on compressors but I understand the concept. I wanted to add a ringing sustained fullness to a fairly full sounding rig and browsed myriad reviews of the MXR line. [Going to MXR was a no brainer. They are analog – Boss and most others are digital.] The Super Comp seemed to best suit my needs and it has made a remarkable improvement in my overall sound. Having the attack control knob is a huge plus. I play a lot of sustained notes and placing the Super Comp between the MXR 10 band EQ and Dist.+ creates a creamy fluid sustain that oozes for several full measures – it can begin to feedback but that isn't entirely bad, is it? The compressor isn't a drastic pedal like an OD or distortion but once you find your 'right' setting, it is a pedal you will turn on and leave on. Attached is a photo showing the FX chain with the settings for the Super Comp. and the Dist.+ highlighted. [Not shown is a reverb and Bad Horsie wah. The wah goes in between the Super Comp. and Dist.+] (For more "zing" bump up the gain slider on the EQ to a +3.) A Gibson Les Paul, Epiphone Les Paul, and Fender Tele and Strat were all used and all sounded more powerful and dynamic. A Kustom KG210FX 20w was the amp I used. I first used my vintage 6 watt 1979 Fender Champ and quickly learned that you could blow up a small amp with this rig. I built a home studio in a spare bathroom and a compressor is a must-have piece of equipment for recording, especially undistorted sounds. I didn't notice any coloring of tone on clean settings, the Tele lead pup is a Duncan vintage model and it rings like a bell and sustains almost like an organ. Almost. I have one of almost every type of pedal and a compressor was the last effect I bought. Hindsight being 20/20, I would have bought it years ago. Oh, and make sure you get the Super Comp. The attack control knob is worth its weight in gold.Les Paul Disciple

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

I’m more of a Keeley Compressor Plus fan, when you turn one of those in it’s like oh yeah! The Pulp n Peel, however is much more subtle and more of a tone-shaper. I have a Katana boost immediately after and they work well together. The dirt switch is useless for me. It has a strong bump in the midrange that colors the tone too much. Maybe if you don’t have an overdrive.. All in all it’s a great pedal, but given the choice again, I’d probably go with the Keeley again.Michael R.

I originally bought this effect pedal because I play keyboards on Saturday morning/afternoon at a local restaurant and the way the sound system was set up, there were a lot of peaks and valleys in the sound. The waitresses would come over and ask me to turn down (and rarely, turn up) the volume. Remembering that I used an MXR DynaComp before in one of my Top 40 groups to smooth out my synth solo lines and add "punch" to certain sounds, I located one on Ebay and bought it. At first my intention was to run it on the effects send/return lines of my Yorkville KB-50 keyboard amplifier, but when I did that, I noticed that there was noticeable distortion in the resulting sound output. Taking the signal straight from the keyboard mixer into the MXRs input solved that problem. I also now get rave reviews from nearly all my performances- not that I have gotten any better, but the sound quality has been markedly improved with my addition of this effect pedal to my setup. One quirk I did notice is that the device powers on when you plug into either the input or the output jack. The MXR DynaComp I had years before only came on when you plugged a cord into the INPUT jack. I'm not sure if they changed the wiring design or if something might be miswired somewhere. The pedal is solidly built and all the controls have a rugged, professional feel. The OUTPUT and SENSITIVITY knobs move smoothly, with no clicks or hangs and I love the rubber grabber rings on them that respond to your toe's lightest touch. One alkaline 9V battery lasts for many many gigs (months) so you're not always spending money buying batteries.so_kuhl56

The Dyna Comp deserves its reputation as a classic, an industry standard. The compression is natural, not too obvious, and with minimal tone coloration. There are just two knobs: 1) the Output control, which is equivalent to the make-up gain control on other compressors, and 2) the Sensitivity control. The latter combines the typical threshold, ratio, attack, and release controls into a single knob optimized for guitar. It makes finding the right setting a breeze. If you're looking for more extreme compression for a more "squashed" sound, this unit won't do, but for most applications, I recommend it. I've had a Dyna Comp in my studio for years. I never turn it off when I'm recording electric guitars. (Doesn't matter if it's clean or overdrive; single coils or humbuckers. They always sound better when the pedal is engaged.) Now I've added a second Dyna Comp, this one for my live rig.Gordon the Pro

I've played as a very avid hobbyist for most of my life. I recently decided to try out a compressor and did a ton of online research. I thought I wanted one with a parallel blending function but that added a bit more cost and this (basic) pedal was sort of the "standard choice" so it seemed like a safe purchase for my first compressor. I had a chance to try it out last night and was very impressed with its effectiveness. It very powerfully evened out the volume to a desirable consistency. I gently fingerpicked a bit, then took a pick and strummed very aggressively – they were very consistent volume. There was a little more sustain – not a huge amount but a nice added bit. I did notice the pedal settings might seem "finicky" but there is a "sweet spot" where it just works like magic – so the trick is to play a bit and adjust the controls until you get the sweet spot for you. Once you find that setting it's a really wonderful pedal and I wish I would have done this years ago. Now, it's not perfect and it tends to add a little noise to the chain. Again, this is more/less noticeable depending upon the settings – once you fiddle with the settings you can minimize the noise. Also, I read that it is recommended to put this first in your pedal chain, which makes sense, since you are evening out the guitar's signal and sustaining right from the guitar into all the other effects. Doing so, made this a much more transparent effect without that weird "squished" sound people talk about. I did not find this to be a tone killer at all – Again, if you use it as a subtle evening out of your input volumes it won't be noticeable. If you heavily compress your signal then, yes, you will get some tone loss.fazool

I originally bought this effect pedal because I play keyboards on Saturday morning/afternoon at a local restaurant and the way the sound system was set up, there were a lot of peaks and valleys in the sound. The waitresses would come over and ask me to turn down (and rarely, turn up) the volume. Remembering that I used an MXR DynaComp before in one of my Top 40 groups to smooth out my synth solo lines and add "punch" to certain sounds, I located one on Ebay and bought it. At first my intention was to run it on the effects send/return lines of my Yorkville KB-50 keyboard amplifier, but when I did that, I noticed that there was noticeable distortion in the resulting sound output. Taking the signal straight from the keyboard mixer into the MXRs input solved that problem. I also now get rave reviews from nearly all my performances- not that I have gotten any better, but the sound quality has been markedly improved with my addition of this effect pedal to my setup. One quirk I did notice is that the device powers on when you plug into either the input or the output jack. The MXR DynaComp I had years before only came on when you plugged a cord into the INPUT jack. I'm not sure if they changed the wiring design or if something might be miswired somewhere. The pedal is solidly built and all the controls have a rugged, professional feel. The OUTPUT and SENSITIVITY knobs move smoothly, with no clicks or hangs and I love the rubber grabber rings on them that respond to your toe's lightest touch. One alkaline 9V battery lasts for many many gigs (months) so you're not always spending money buying batteries.so_kuhl56

The Dyna Comp deserves its reputation as a classic, an industry standard. The compression is natural, not too obvious, and with minimal tone coloration. There are just two knobs: 1) the Output control, which is equivalent to the make-up gain control on other compressors, and 2) the Sensitivity control. The latter combines the typical threshold, ratio, attack, and release controls into a single knob optimized for guitar. It makes finding the right setting a breeze. If you're looking for more extreme compression for a more "squashed" sound, this unit won't do, but for most applications, I recommend it. I've had a Dyna Comp in my studio for years. I never turn it off when I'm recording electric guitars. (Doesn't matter if it's clean or overdrive; single coils or humbuckers. They always sound better when the pedal is engaged.) Now I've added a second Dyna Comp, this one for my live rig.Gordon the Pro

I've played as a very avid hobbyist for most of my life. I recently decided to try out a compressor and did a ton of online research. I thought I wanted one with a parallel blending function but that added a bit more cost and this (basic) pedal was sort of the "standard choice" so it seemed like a safe purchase for my first compressor. I had a chance to try it out last night and was very impressed with its effectiveness. It very powerfully evened out the volume to a desirable consistency. I gently fingerpicked a bit, then took a pick and strummed very aggressively – they were very consistent volume. There was a little more sustain – not a huge amount but a nice added bit. I did notice the pedal settings might seem "finicky" but there is a "sweet spot" where it just works like magic – so the trick is to play a bit and adjust the controls until you get the sweet spot for you. Once you find that setting it's a really wonderful pedal and I wish I would have done this years ago. Now, it's not perfect and it tends to add a little noise to the chain. Again, this is more/less noticeable depending upon the settings – once you fiddle with the settings you can minimize the noise. Also, I read that it is recommended to put this first in your pedal chain, which makes sense, since you are evening out the guitar's signal and sustaining right from the guitar into all the other effects. Doing so, made this a much more transparent effect without that weird "squished" sound people talk about. I did not find this to be a tone killer at all – Again, if you use it as a subtle evening out of your input volumes it won't be noticeable. If you heavily compress your signal then, yes, you will get some tone loss.fazool

Overall: I really understand compression as a science, and I was interested not because I could hear someone like David Gilmour turn it on or off. But that it’s been part of guys like that’s rig made me want to see why. So I ordered the mini ego after watching demos. And I asked Wampler by commenting on his YouTube video about having heard of excessive noise from these pedals. He answered, so I decided to try his because of him taking a minute to answer. First, there’s no excessive noise. Period. So, I have been experimenting and found right off you can’t really get a bad sound. I tried the controls in different settings and they change the sound and feel but I couldn’t get it to sound bad. I was able though to use it to provide a nice sounding boost, and the knobs are wide ranging. Putting the depth control at about 2 o’clock, and then using the blend knob I can get just a little volume boost, or add some liveliness and sparkle, or while using distortion from one of my 3 drive pedals I can get it to make say, my fuzz sing longer and almost like cleaner, but that’s not the right word. The Fulltone MKII, Morning Glory, and Dirty Little Secret can all be great with out the mini ego, but you can enhance them with this, or add different characters and sustain levels too. So with them all, my mild to hard rock distortion and fuzZounds are even more versatile. When I play clean, I am now just leaving it on, and turning down the blend until it is just adding note length. So clean Princeton RI or dirty Princeton RI goes from gorgeous to all kinds of amazing gnarliness! I got the Princeton from zZounds in December and with it is the first time I have been truly happy with a tube amp and pedals. Those 4 and delay, phaser, with the amp’s reverb and vibrato gives me more beautiful sounds than I have had before and I love the addition of the mini ego!Jason

Beautiful micro pedal. All the features of it's bigger brother at less than half the size. This mini Wampler provides plenty of flexibility for different sounds. Great dynamics, punch, and sustain. Makes all my other pedals sound better. Great investment.thegoodsoldier216

I don't like to use a lot of compression but I like having it in the toolbox. Cheaper compression is too difficult to blend and control, more complex compression takes up too much pedalboard space for an average user. The Ego mini is a great balance of professional quality, lots of control, while not costing too much money or taking up too much real estate on a pedalboard. I HIGHLY recommend it!COLLEGE

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

My first Keeley(s)… my first pedal board for a decade actually, after years as a Kemper user. Lovely thing, robust and progressively smooth in effect. As a pensioner I could have done with bigger writing on the controls though!Nigel G.

Awesome compressor and overdrive in one housing! The ability to flip a switch to determine effect order and to also tell the pedal which pickups (single coil or humbucker) you're using provides even more flexibility! Aesthetically, this pedal, bought in "mint" condition, has a great look with a sparkle finish;ranrob_4298

I've had several Keeley pedals from overdrive to modulations to compressor. This pedal is I think the best thing Robert Keeley has ever released. You get the best of the Red Dirt Pedal and the 4-knob compressor in one compact unit. I'm so happy I pull the trigger on it. I've owned the Keeley D&M and I think this pedal sounds better.805musician

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

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

More like a silent running, clean boost pedal, this unit does not squash like the MXR Dyna Comp. Of course, nothing does! What it does is lend a little compression, with a ton of good clean boost in the volume knob. The tone sweep is great, much like the one on their 5 watt tube amp. This could either warm it up, or act as a treble boost. In a way, this reminds me of a sonic maximizer, and is an inexpensive little pedal that can be used for quite a few different instruments and recording applications.Matthew

The compression effect is subtle. This is not one of those dramatic compressors that destroys all the dynamics and sustains forever. It just kind of smooths out the peaks while still allowing you to create softer dynamics by picking lightly. The level and tone knobs have a dramatic effect, giving options in creating different boost levels and different tones. I really like this pedal. I mostly use it as an always-on, but it also works as a treble boost for pushing the clean channel, or as a lower/mid boost to squeeze a fatter sound out of the lead channel when using single coils. I'm buying a second one so I can have one on my pedal board and one to throw in my backpack to use for rehearsals when I don't feel like bringing the full pedal board.RYAN

The item description is right on the money. You pretty much can't get a bad setting. Most multi knob compressors have most settings just unusable and you really end up pretty much what this simple compressor is. I would not use it for country pop though. like a Boss CS-3. I use it simply to smooth of the strings when playing rhythm with no effect on tone and not being obvious. It does this well. Strangely the manual is word for word the same as the yellow Mooer compressor which some say is the same as the little Fender brand compressor. So it is eluded to that all three are the same device, just that Monoprice is a fraction of the price. Well I really don't care, but that info led me to this Monoprice compressor which I would have never learned about. I did not want to spend a lot on a compressor so I took a chance on this and am very happy. It does what I want and it is not in your face noticeable – meaning rather than be an effect it just is subtly improves. Many people have very strong opinions on such things. In my case I just wanted it for rhythm with some little leads here and there between chords. In the past I hated compressors and until I viewed a Youtube tutorial on them, I did not understand why I would use one for rhythm. This is my first Monoprice purchase. It shipped right away too. PROS: Transparent.. Subtle. Hard to get a bad sound out of it.. Small. Strong case. Nice bright blue LED. Extreme bargain. CONS: Nothing I can find for me. It does what I want and cheaply. I wish though they tell what type of compressor this is. Not for old type country string popping.DW

I catch myself being a snob with brand names, and I left Maxon off of my radar (for no good reason). I'd heard enough good things about this pedal, I had to try it. I was genuinely surprised by this pedal. I'm now trying to pick between this and two other compressors (both cost $100 more than the CP101) that allow much more control. I'd put this in between a Ross/Dynacomp style compressor and one of the more "transparent" compressors in terms of coloration. It has a very pleasing sound. The lack of control is nice in its way, set it and forget it. If it had a control that let me choose the amount of dry signal combined with the compressed signal I'm almost certain this would be my favorite compressor. I want to end up with one compressor, so I'll use two for a while and let time help with my decision. Highly recommended.redwoodtie

It's simple, once you have it, you need it! Everytime I bypass the pedal, the sound is missing. I'm not a fan of compression in a guitar chain setup but this one is exactly what it needs to keep a good sustain on distortion and on clean as well. You can use it for more than only guitar. Use it on bass or any instruments that need that natural sustain effect. It's solid, it's simple and I'm happy I bought it!davidmeshow

I bought this guitar at a boutique and vintage guitar dealer; I couldn't figure out why the guy carried maxon with his 500-dollar tube compressors and even pro-modded Dyna-comps. I needed a good compressor because my Fender tube amp was way too dynamic, and certain high notes tended to "pop" out of the amp when I didn't want them to, not to mention that my guitar has no sustain through the amp's clean channel. I told the salesman about my problem, and said I was looking for a dyna-comp, or at least something in that price range. He showed me this pedal, and claimed that it was actually closer to the older Dyna-comps, which had more sustain. I plugged it into my Fender, and I even used my crappy stratocaster to really see how much sustain this pedal has. I was astounded at what I heard. It truly sounded like a vintage MXR. So my conclusion for this pedal is that, it works great, is easy to use (although a couple more knobs would be nice); I figure if you can't quite afford a ross or keely compressor, and want that old Dyna-comp sound that everyone's raving about, this pedal can definately to the job for you.SuperJr1600

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 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 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