Extensive compressor reviews and FAQ

Dedalo Jet: The Jet is a new JFET based comp from the Argentinian company that brought us the Gorila. This one was designed for guitar, and it has some aspects that definitely separate it from the rest of the pack.
 
The tone has a somewhat thick, warm quality. There is no loss of highs, and most of the frequency response is fairly flat, with no humps or valleys. The lows roll off a bit, to pretty much the same degree as most other guitar-oriented comps; but just as with them, some bassists might still like it. The noise level is fairly low, not quite as low as the MXR M87, but better than the Gorila.
 
Instead of a tilting EQ or tone knob, it has a knob labeled "dynamic EQ", which adjusts the range of frequencies fed into the sidechain that controls the compression. Turned all the way to the left, the full range is compressed equally; as you turn to the right, the frequencies that reach the sidechain sensor are turned down from the lows up through the mids, until at the maximum position only the highs go through, meaning only the highs are noticeably squeezed. So you can sculpt your sound by allowing the lows, or the lows and mids, to be much less compressed. This can result in more sustain without removing "beef" from your sound, or it can result in a darker, softer high end, in case you want to dial back harshness from your picking or from a bright piezo pickup.
 
There is an LED that indicates the amount of compression, but it only lights up much if you send it a very strong signal, or set the threshold quite low. The Comp knob controls the threshold, going clockwise from high to low (less to more compression). The Attack knob has a wide useful range. The ratio doesn't have its own knob, but it varies between 2:1 and 4:1 depending on the threshold and the Attack setting. So it is really just meant for some smoothing, thickening, and boosting, rather than controlling any big peaks. The action is smooth, and does not have any "dip and swell" squishy effects or other noticeable artifacts.
 
It has a clean blend knob for mixing your dry signal back in, which helps retain your articulation and allows for very subtle compression. The Gain knob has a huge range of extra boost available, so this is a great pedal for driving the input of your tube amp. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this pedal to everyone for all-purpose compression; but if you are looking to give your guitar tone an extra push, with more character and sustain than a clean boost, but less obvious effect than an overdrive, this is a really strong choice.
 
The construction quality is very good, and the footswitch is "true bypass". The housing is the "medium" size of Diamond or Barber. It runs on standard Boss-type 9V DC.
 

 
 
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