Extensive compressor reviews and FAQ

Here are some comps that I intend to try out and review when I get the opportunity.
(By the way, I update this page every time I review one of them, so if you see a unit on this list, I have not tried it yet.)
 
Special note, May 2017: I have not been keeping up with new products on the market lately; there are several recent pedals that I have not added to the list yet, but it is not because of anything wrong with those pedals. Eventually I will catch back up... hopefully.
Onkart Gromt Grompressor
Orange Kongpressor
API TranZformer
Carl Martin Andy Timmons sig
Joyo Pipe Bomb
Keeley Bassist Pro/Deluxe (FWIW Keeley himself says it sounds exactly identical to the one I already reviewed; the Deluxe just has a couple more controls.)
Bogner Lyndhurst and Harlow
Katanasound Blue Stripe
Korg Pandora Stomp
Zoom B3 and any other newer Zoom units
Rivera Sustain Shaman
Nemphasis VT Comp Bass
Alto rack units (various)
Fishman Platinum DI
Grace Designs M102
Presonus Studio Channel
Mars "Sweet Comp" with tube stage
Maxon RTC600
Roger Mayer RM58
FMR A.R.C.
BSS DPR-901 II and DPR-402
Fodera X-Caliper
Drawmer DS-241/251, 1968, and TS1/TS2
ART TCS and Pro VLA
SPL Charisma (though nobody outside SPL thinks it is actually a comp/limiter)
TL Audio C-2021
Rocksonics MB-3X
Mindprint En-Voice
Also I intend to review more multi-fx that include compression.
 
Have you found a comp that is not on this list, that I have not reviewed? The usual reason is that the vast majority of "boutique" comp pedals are nothing more than tarted-up Ross/Dynacomp clones and variations, and I am absolutely sick of those. I've already reviewed enough of them, and they're all tediously similar to each other. And frankly I'm irritated by the driveling, asinine hype written up by most of the people that build them. Same goes for some of the more boring Orange Squeezer clones. So please bear that in mind when asking me to review that "brand new" super awesome boutique custom pedal.
 
Also note that most of the ones on the list are either pedals or 1-space rack units. There are many fantastic compressors in 2RU or "API lunchbox" module formats which I probably won't review any time soon because they are impractical for most stage musicians' rigs, and honestly I just can't afford to buy many of them.
 
Here are a few that I probably won't review, for other reasons:
Janglebox JB-2: Apparently it's just as noisy as the original, but bigger.
Akai Hexacomp: Probably cool in a geeky way; but discontinued many years ago, prone to internal breakdowns, and nearly impossible to repair.
MI Audio comp: it got poor reviews for build quality and low end loss, and is no longer in production.
Aphex silver-box Punch Factory: it was ugly and overpriced when new, and is no longer in production. I'll review it if I can get one for super cheap.
AMT Slap Bass: It's actually a distortion pedal, not a compressor per se.
Artec Turbo: Two knobs, and one of them controls a noise gate? No thanks.
Original Ross and Dan Armstrong units: What I've read about them so far indicates they are just noisier, dirtier, and more prone to tone-suck than the newer copies and variants.
The same goes for any of the more ancient and obscure ("vintage and rare") guitar comp pedals that show up on Ebay; with compressor pedals, older is usually not better, and often the reason a pedal is "rare" is because it was a failure in the first place.
 

 
 
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