Searching for compressor

[David Pendery]

I was using a Home Brew Electronics Compressor Retro that I very much liked. I believe it is not made anymore. Can you recommend a compressor that has similar qualities, the rich election of mids and highs that I found with HBE? Thank you. 

[Larryz]

Welcome aboard David!  I really like my Boss Compressor CP-1X.  I use it mostly for a fast clean boost shifting to higher volume for lead work and back to lower volume for rhythm without having to adjust any amp or guitar knobs. It gives some very high quality compression and takes up little space on the pedal board. Boss pedals are known for their long lasting quality. This pedal has 4 controls: Level, Attack, Ratio and Comp.  It has an active led digital readout bar graph for -1db to -40db, making it easy to adjust the amount (or lack) of compression.  Place a compression pedal in front of a Dist/OD type pedal and you can really boost the effect and sustain.  Not sure how it will compare to your Home Brew.  But, take it for a test drive at your local GC, and see what you think.  It's studio quality out in the field IMHO, and it's the only pedal I still use. 😎

[CEB]

I’m a huge advocate of compression pedals for guitars with clean blend controls. Personally I’m using either the Wampler Ego or the Visual Sound Route 66 comp.  I’m not one to be overly fanatic over brands. There are generally three circuits everyone uses.  I just really like a clean blend to blend in your initial pick attack regardless of your comp effect settings.   Barber Tone Press used to be a fairly affordable clean blend compressor. There are probably dozens of different ones available now. 

[Caevan O’Shite]

On 1/18/2023 at 7:30 PM, David Pendery said:

I was using a Home Brew Electronics Compressor Retro that I very much liked. I believe it is not made anymore. Can you recommend a compressor that has similar qualities, the rich election of mids and highs that I found with HBE? Thank you. 

I have two HomeBrew Electronics ComPressor Retro pedals- a 'two-knobber' and a 'three-knobber'- and I love them for use with Fender style and other single-coil pickup guitars; MAGIC with a Tele type! (Neither are for sale.)


May I ask, David Pendery, is there something wrong with yours? Or did you just want an extra, a back-up, or a similar compressor-pedal that could more readily be replaced if necessary?


You're right that they're not made anymore. Used HBE CPR's can be found for sale, often for decent deals. There used to be more of them turning up, and they used to often go for dirt cheap prices!

Now, the HBE CPR's are based on the vintage Ross and MXR Dyna Comp compressors of the '70s, but upgraded- higher quality, lower noise.

Those Ross and Dyna Comp compressor pedals- and the HBE CPR's, and many others- are "Operational Transconductance Amplifier" circuit types, aka OTA. Keeley and Wampler both make EXCELLENT high quality OTA type squeeze-stomps, you won't go wrong with any of their offerings.

I and others find that the Ross and Dyna Comp pedals tend to be hissy and noisy; personally, I'd look for another used HBE CPR, or a Keeley Compressor or a Wampler Ego Compressor.


I love these OTA types in general for use with single-coil pickups; but for humbuckers, an optical circuit type with a direct/clean-blend control is much better. I don't care for using my CPR's with my Les Paul, but I love how its humbuckers sound and feel with an optical type with a blend like my VFE White Horse Optical Compressor, for example.

[David Pendery]

Thank you for your replies. In fact my HBE compressor appears to still be working. Apparently the battery (never used), had gone dead inside the compressor, and although it was not used, it appears that that can interrupt the circuit. I replaced the battery and it was okay, and then I simply removed the battery altogether, and it was okay again. Thanks for the suggestions, but the HBE is doing it's excellent job now. 

[Caevan O’Shite]

8 hours ago, David Pendery said:

Thank you for your replies. In fact my HBE compressor appears to still be working. Apparently the battery (never used), had gone dead inside the compressor, and although it was not used, it appears that that can interrupt the circuit. I replaced the battery and it was okay, and then I simply removed the battery altogether, and it was okay again. Thanks for the suggestions, but the HBE is doing it's excellent job now. 

Which variety of the HBE CPR do you have, David? Two, three, four controls? Full sized, mini... ?

I have a 'two-knobber', with the usual Sustain and Level controls; and, another, a 'three-knobber', which adds an Attack control.

I actually really like the simplicity of having just the Sustain and Level knobs; with single-coil pickups, it's hard to go wrong, one almost can't- and the squeeze and squish bring back countless classic tracks from over the decades. Like I said, MAGIC with a Tele- even a cheap, crappy T-style knock-off suddenly feels and sounds better and special with this pedal!

[Larryz]

13 hours ago, David Pendery said:

Thank you for your replies. In fact my HBE compressor appears to still be working. Apparently the battery (never used), had gone dead inside the compressor, and although it was not used, it appears that that can interrupt the circuit. I replaced the battery and it was okay, and then I simply removed the battery altogether, and it was okay again. Thanks for the suggestions, but the HBE is doing it's excellent job now. 

Believe it or not David, I had the exact same thing happen to me while testing out some new guitar cords last night.  I threw in a new battery and the problem was solved.  The battery had been in the pedal for a few years and I was not really using it, as I was using a 9v wall wart.  I'm going to be using it without the wall wart (which will go with me in a bag) if I decide to start playing gigs again and keep a spare 9volt battery around from now on LoL! 😎

[desertbluesman]

@Larryz check your pvt messages.

 

[David Pendery]

For those asking, it is an HBE Retro, with three knobs, as noted, Sustain, Attack and Level. I raise Sustain to full level--it seems to make a positive difference, and is very much noticeable as sustain. I turn Attack all the way down, although at this point I am not quite sure why I did that. I think it added some noise. Level is just Level, and generally I try to match the output level on the compressor to whatever the normal output level is on the Cube amp. Thanks again. 

[KuruPrionz]

1 hour ago, David Pendery said:

For those asking, it is an HBE Retro, with three knobs, as noted, Sustain, Attack and Level. I raise Sustain to full level--it seems to make a positive difference, and is very much noticeable as sustain. I turn Attack all the way down, although at this point I am not quite sure why I did that. I think it added some noise. Level is just Level, and generally I try to match the output level on the compressor to whatever the normal output level is on the Cube amp. Thanks again. 

Attack is the time (in tiny increments) that it takes for the compressor to begin compressing after the note is played. 

All the way down is probably the shortest possible time and the most "compressed"sounding. Sustain is probably the ratio, how much the signal is compressed. All the way up would be a Limiter, maybe 20:1 ratio. So, you are going for the most possible compressed sound that your HBE can provide. It's a sound, if you like it then it is good!

[Scott Fraser]

13 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

Attack is the time (in tiny increments) that it takes for the compressor to begin compressing after the note is played. 

All the way down is probably the shortest possible time and the most "compressed"sounding. Sustain is probably the ratio, how much the signal is compressed. All the way up would be a Limiter, maybe 20:1 ratio. So, you are going for the most possible compressed sound that your HBE can provide. It's a sound, if you like it then it is good!

I'm guessing more likely 'Sustain" is the threshold, whether it's just nicking the tops of the peaks or the whole dynamic range. Ratio would have a lot less utility in a pedal, unless it's attempting to recreate a full featured studio comp, like the Cali76. In the 45 years I've been using UREI 1176 compressors in the studio, I can't recall ever choosing a ratio other than 4:1.

[KuruPrionz]

1 hour ago, Scott Fraser said:

I'm guessing more likely 'Sustain" is the threshold, whether it's just nicking the tops of the peaks or the whole dynamic range. Ratio would have a lot less utility in a pedal, unless it's attempting to recreate a full featured studio comp, like the Cali76. In the 45 years I've been using UREI 1176 compressors in the studio, I can't recall ever choosing a ratio other than 4:1.

You're probably right. 

I'm a big fan of limiters on bass and kick drum, just enough threshold to tame the peaks. Doesn't sound so squashed. 

That's probably where my thoughts meandered, wishful thinking... 🙃

[Caevan O’Shite]

4 hours ago, Scott Fraser said:

I'm guessing more likely 'Sustain" is the threshold, whether it's just nicking the tops of the peaks or the whole dynamic range. Ratio would have a lot less utility in a pedal, unless it's attempting to recreate a full featured studio comp, like the Cali76. In the 45 years I've been using UREI 1176 compressors in the studio, I can't recall ever choosing a ratio other than 4:1.

 

2 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

You're probably right. 

I'm a big fan of limiters on bass and kick drum, just enough threshold to tame the peaks. Doesn't sound so squashed. 

That's probably where my thoughts meandered, wishful thinking... 🙃

For context, these HBE CPR compressor pedals are OTA types largely based on vintage Ross and MXR Dyna Comp compressor pedals.

Whatever the Sustain/Sensitivity and Level/Output controls are on the Ross and Dyna Comp, is very likely the same as the Sustain and Level controls on the CPR.

[Larryz]

Update re; the Boss Compressor CP-1x, I can only recommend it when it's run on a power supply or on a wall wart.  I put mine through the test using a brand-new battery today while playing 4 hrs. at a friends' house without unplugging it for a break.  A new battery will last for a 4-hour gig, but I will run mine on a power supply from now on.  It eats too much juice if used on battery power alone IMHO.   My old standard MXR Compressor lasted a lot longer on a battery.  I'm not a fan of the MXR Dyna Comp.  The Boss CP-1x does a great job. 

 

 

[Winston Psmith]

@Larryz- Any of the current line of Boss pedals with an "x" in the name, like your CP-1x, are Digital pedals, running off of a recent Boss DSP chip. They have a much higher Current Draw than old-school Analog Compressor pedals.

 

The old Boss CS-2, my first Compressor, drew 4mA, and the later model CS-3 only drew 11mA. Your CP-1x draws a whopping 90mA, which will suck the life out of a battery in no time. By comparison, even the Boss DD-7 Digital Delay only draws 55mA. Put a non-alkaline battery, like an Eveready Black Cat (yes, they still make them) in the CP-1x, and you might get an hour out of it.

 

[Larryz]

Thanks for the info Brother Winston!  Yeah, I had two MXR Compressors in the past that ran 10 times longer than the Boss CP-1x on a battery.  I had them mounted on a board using a OneSpot power supply as I really didn't trust playing gigs battery operated.  Now that I ran a new battery test on the Boss CP-1x (it lasted 4 hours on a new Duracell), I won't be running it on battery anymore LoL!  I still really like the pedal though... 😎👍

[desertbluesman]

So far I have not had the need for a stomp compressor, I have several rack mount ones. I am about to open up my road case and see what is in there I have one made especially for guitar it is 2 rack spaces (I forget the name of the unit and manufacturer at the moment). I do have a small Really Nice Compressor https://www.fmraudio.com/rnc.html  I am thinking of using it in front of my Egnater Tweaker, as it is a superb unit. For my Super Champ X2 I don't need one for the in house volume levels. I do have a little trick on my volume pot, I do not use the treble bleed (I think that is the name of the capacitor) that keeps the trebs up when you turn down the volume pot. I only use the one cap between the volume and tone pot. That way when I turn down the volume a tiny bit, it mitigates the treble peak when you pick a note with a flat pick. So far so good.