Compressor shoot out Strymon MXR BYOC

Compressor shoot-out notes
The talking ends and playing begins at 1:20 for those of you who want to hear the compressors right away. All of the units are connected with George Ls cables. The output of the Loop-Master is routed through the Rat (which is switched off some of the time) and then to the THD BiValve.
Ive tried to make the audio quality of this video good enough so that you can hear the noisiness and frequency response of these these compressors. To that end, the audio was recorded with an Olympus LS-10 recorder, and then synced with the video in iMovie. Sorry about the airplane noise at the end, but I didnt have time to re-shoot as the supercomp was on loan and had to be returned.
There are no loud sounds after 3:40 in the video so that you can turn up your monitor speakers and really hear the audio without getting blasted. The narration being mixed very low is done intentionally so that you can hear the different noise levels of the compressors.
My impressions of the different compressors were:
Strymon: Very high quality, and by far the least noisy. The processed sound of this compressor is the most similar to the original input signal, only louder and more controlled. You can notice at the end of the video that even when the output knob is maxed, the noise does not increase. If you want a compressor the you can leave on all of the time, this is the one. The boost feature is nice and useful, especially before the distortion pedal.
BYOC 5 Knob Comp: This compressor has the biggest tonal coloration of the four (it accentuates the low mids and rolls off the high-end a medium amount). It compresses the signal quite a bit, and the way it releases the signal and blends in the original makes it feel like power steering while you play. This unit also has massive output gain if your looking for a big boost. If you want a compressor that changes your sound and gives you sustain for a solo, then this may be the compressor for you. The Strymon and the BYOC Opti-Comp are quieter than this unit.
BYOC Opti-Comp: This is the second most transparent and the second quietest compressor after the Strymon. The output does go a little louder than the original, but not much. If youre on a budget and looking for a subtle compressor, and you dont mind building your own pedal, this may be a good choice.
MXR Supercomp: This was the noisiest and least subtle of the bunch. It colored the signal as much as the 5 Knob Comp did, but wasnt quite as smooth and pleasing to me for use as a clean solo sound.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Strymon
• OB.1
• compressor
• MXR
• BYOC
• THD
• BiValve
• Proco
• Rat
• Mesa
• 112
• EV12L
• Olympus
• LS-10
• George
• L's

[dashboardmenagerie]

Dude, there is no point in having a loop switcher when you only have one pedal in each loop. And all those pedals are true bypass already. The whole point of a loop switcher is to have MULTIPLE PEDALS in each loop to switch between whole signal chains.

[surfguitarshredder]

@dashboardmenagerie I used the loop switcher to take the cables out in addition to the pedals. It was as clean as I could get. That's also why I used a Twin Reverb. I have found that some pedals are marketed as true bypass, but aren't really (the Rat is one of those). With the loop switcher, the YouTube viewer can be sure that everything is out of the signal path when the loop is off.

[GtrDudeL]

thanks!  this helped me decide... I picked up an OB.1 - very happy w/ it!!

[surfguitarshredder]

@GtrDudeL Did you get your OB.1? If you did, did you think my comments were correct?

[toysrusroks]

o wow, the rat distortion STINKS for rythem stuff...leads are ok but the lower notes sound like CRAP..is that just the camera or is that like lajit

[surfguitarshredder]

@toysrusroks The Rat sounds like that. I think the video gives a pretty representation of the sound (except that it's hard to hear the noise of each pedal).

[MinningAround]

Ah, what about the Joe Meek Floor Q?

[GtrDudeL]

@surfguitarshredder - yeah, I'm the proud owner of a OB.1. I can't comment comparatively - but I think U'r assessment was spot on! Its a VERY transparent compressor and really does exactly what I want out of a compressor - and VERY quiet. The OB.1's clean boost works great too. Strymon makes some great pedals!

U did a great review!! : ) thanks again!!

[surfguitarshredder]

@Antestor The 5 knob comp could add more highs if you also dial in more compression. The mids are what they are. The soldering is good and clean. The BYOC is similar to the dynacomp or the ross comps, and they are all somewhat noisy.

[surfguitarshredder]

@gmlasam The soldering is good (I am an engineer). The parts are good. I think the noise is a result of the circuit design.

[surfguitarshredder]

@firehandszarb I don't know how the Yamaha recorder sounds.