GB-CP Optical Compressor Guitar and Bass Effects Pedal, Black

This optical compressor is an incredible bargain. Optical compressors have advantages over other types: they're predictable and won't compress strangely when confused, like digital compressors, they're reactive, sensing the music organically, automatically and adjusting their behavior, & the optics provide disconnection from the electronics lessening noise and providing a measure of both physical and auditory safety. This pedal has most of the compression controls you'd find in a recording studio's rack: attack, release, knee (or slope), ratio (compression, etc.. Most pedal compressors, including those costing 5X more, generally have two functional knobs: attack & ratio (compression). Sometimes they'll add a level control (which this one has also) and/or a tone control (bizarre and unnecessary, they're just giving you an extra knob to help you pretend they're adding audio "value." Thankfully this does not include that absurd nonsense). That's what I wanted, a compressor that was similar to the compressors I was used to using in the studio. I got what I wanted, but found when gigging live fidelling with & fine tuning compression settings is a pain and it's probably better to just have two knobs, like most have. The compressor is physical solid & impressive. It sounds fantastic. It's inexpensive, and super inexpensive when consider its feature set. Best usage case would be to dial it in before the show, & then tape the knobs down, or just leave the ratio/compression knob untaped so you could turn it. Setting the slope might be super necessary, but when playing live it just gets in the way if you're the one both playing and fiddling with knobs..

Before I give you my first impression, I think it important to know a tiny bit of background so you have some context. I'm a 34 year old bachelor who has been playing guitar, on and off, for almost 27 years. I am by NO means a Kenny Wayne Shepherd or Joe Bonamassa. I'm not even "your high school best friends cousin whose band is going to play the homecoming dance". I plink and plonk until something resembling blues, jazz, or classic rock hits my ears. Speaking of which, I'm almost literally "tone deaf", so I very nearly gave up on trying to figure out what compression on an instrument was supposed to sound like. Everyone I knew whose opinion I trusted on matters of audio production impressed upon me the importance of compression and mastering. Every explanation kind of used the same wording: "It squashes the peaks and valleys of the sound." I'm not a complete dullard, I know what compression means in modern vernacular, but knowing what it's supposed to do to a visual representation of a signal and knowing what it sounds like and when to use it are two VERY different kettle of fish. Well I saw this pedal for less than most of the Keeley/Wampler/JHS/J. Rockett's and it touted "professional quality optical compression". Great, not only do I not know what regular compression sounds like, I have to contend with different kinds!? Luckily I found the most amazing description of the difference between electronic (or maybe digital?) compression & optical compression in The Gear Page forum. I digress. I bought this pedal because it was inexpensive, and I knew I would regret not having one when I understood the effect. Well, it showed up today. It does not accommodate a 9V battery, but I had a power supply for my Orange Micro and used that. I'll get a 1spot eventually. I plugged it into my Focusrite Scarlett Solo, opened Amplitube 5, chose an "American Clean" amp (generic Fender) and started messing with the knobs. Didn't touch any settings within the software or on the audio interface and I got excited immediately because the difference between attack, release, and ratio (knee/slope) was all at once apparent and even obvious. I may not be able to tell you how this compares to a Model 670 Rack Compressor or anything. What I can tell you is that I now have one pedal that can work pretty well as a clean boost, a distortion pedal, and a fantastic and responsive compression pedal. I was sooooo skeptical, but I really like this. I do wish it supported batteries, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Took a chance with this Chinese off- brand. While I must admit when the pedal intermittently worked in the few days that I had it, the sound was exceptional with the compression even and smooth and doing the job it was intended do to, and for under $100 the features were also impressive. However within a couple of days of gently using the pedal and dialing in my sound which was securely mounted on my pedal board , it started shorting out and finally lost all power. Either faulty solder connection or cracked circuit board in the manufacturing process. Also the output jack was experiencing connectivity issues. For a new pedal just outside the box this is unacceptable. A new item should work without any issues. Hopefully for the company's sake, this is either an isolated incident or they are fixing this issue on future units. No choice but to return the pedal.

With the slope below 3:1 and the gain above 3/4 the output has a scratchy sound when plugged into amp. Connected a oscilloscope to the output and observed a ~1.2MHz sine wave oscillation. Bought a second one. It too had the same design flaw (oscillation was 2.3MHz on second unit). The ultrasonic oscillation can damage the equipment that is attached to it so I sent them both back. Other than this design flaw, it’s a great unit. And you should not have this problem as long as level knob is below 3/4.

Generates a liiiiiiiiiitle bit of noise when in use. And when set to limit, still slightly compresses everything even before threshold is reached. I wouldn't use it to record straight to board, but through an amp.....especially in a live setting.....it's a real gem. Way more control parameters than your average guitar compressor.

I fell in love with this pedal in like 5 minutes. I ordered it because I wanted to try an optical compressor on my bass pedalboard. I ordered this without reading any of the reviews, I wanted to formulate my own opinions. After playing with it, I wrote a review on the bass forum I am on, and I said I would bet this pedal is modeled after, and / or similar to, the Keeley Bassist, Lamplighter, MXR M87 Bass Compressor. I said I did not have any of those pedals, but I bet this one works like them, and might be just as good for a sweet price of $66. Then I read the reviews of people saying just that, but they have had the pedals to compare them too. I can't say enough good things about this pedal. I am a bit of a compression geek, I really love it. I have used every model in the Zoom Multi-stopm (which has some good options, modeled after Dyna, 160, LA, etc..) and Boss Limiter / Enhancer, Boss Compressor Sustainer. I have used TC Electronics Spectra Comp, MXR Dyna and Bass Dyna, and Behringer Bass Limiter / enhancer (boss copy, and a pretty good copy), but none of them stuck with me, I ordered and returned, or sold or traded, always looking for something else, and this was that something else. One other pedal that I really wanted to try was the newer Boss Bass Comp BC-1X, but I was not ready to fork out the $200. Then, somehow, I was offered one in trade for a couple pedals I was getting rid of, not long after getting this one from AMAZON. I was still within the return window. I also fell in love with the Boss BC-1x, but for different reasons. That is like compression and a boost in the same pedal, and there are times where that is just what I want, but it is not the ALWAYS ON compressor I need. So, I now have two compressors on my board, and I could not be happier. I love this pedal, if they ever get more, I would highly recommend getting one. it compresses, but does not suck the life out of your tone. it just takes the edge off, but leaves the richness you want to keep.

This kind of control at this price point is amazing. While I usually prefer FET compressors this is a pretty good LED one. Controls are very functional with an acceptable noise floor and small box form. I compared it side by side with a Barber Tone Press(the newer small box form) which is my current favorite because it really makes clean tones bigger and better. The construction is solid, switch feels good, and the control pot motion is well-damped. The text is sharp and clear. The SanJune has a noticeable bass roll-off on some guitars. I had to adjust the guitar tone control to recover that bass. With some tweaking I was able to get fairly close to the FET sound that I like. The compression control is too sensitive. The range for usable compression is very small but when it is set right it sounds good. i would have preferred a blend control instead of a gain control which i find of little use. Because of it's blend control I prefer the sound of the Barber Tone Press but it costs more than twice as much and has fewer controls. For those that love to tweak there is nothing close in price that covers what the SanJune does.

I was sceptical of this pedal at first due to how affordable it was. I play the bass guitar though and have been looking for a nice compression pedal for awhile now that wouldn't brake the bank. I have to say that this pedal delivers on everything it claims. All the controls work as advertised and it also come with a manual that explains and breaks down how all of its features works. I'm very happy with this buy but I have to say my favorite feature on this is the compression light. It basically a visual representation of how much effect you're actually using on your tone and it's very helpful for dialing in the perfect amount of compression. I recommend this for anyone who doesn't want to spend 200 dollars or more on a compression pedal.