|
Post by John on Sept 9, 2006 6:04:19 GMT -7
I've never used a compressor before, always thinking the amp should do the compressing. (and we all should have the luxury of playing so loud that it does)
But I purchased a Boss CS3 compressor and I love it!!! The Tele/Maz combination is great...very percussive. But since it's not a high gain amp and no humbuckers...there's no singing sustain. (That's not to say there isn't sustain...it's just different)
But the compressor adds a whole new flavor. I couldn't stop playing. Very inspirational.
I installed the Monte Allums Mods last night, and the wife is leaving in a few hours, so I'm excited about cranking it up to see if I can tell the difference. I only had the pedal a few days before I installed the mods, so I hope I can tell the difference.
I also received back from Keeley, my modded DL4...can't wait to try that out too. (standard Keeley mod for the DL4)
And... I also installed the Allum mod to my Boss SD1 super overdrive. Not a pedal that I use much...the reason being it's loss of bass when clicked on....but the mod is supposed to (among other things) fix that.
|
|
|
Post by Bill on Sept 9, 2006 6:38:39 GMT -7
I remember when I bought my CS-3, shortly after the Stingray came home. Like you said, the Boss was great IMO. Country Shawn had recommended the "lowly" Boss, and he was right on. Then I had the Allum mod put in...which made it better yet, well worth the $20 investement...really puts the "country" in the rig.
I tried the Keeley comp (love Keeley products) but it didn't work for me, the Barber Tone Press did and is on my board now. It is an upgrade to an Allum CS-3...at least to my ears. But I still have the CS-3, can't bring myself to sell it!
Comps owned so far are the ones mentioned above, Carl Martin, Visual Sounds, Digitech, MXR, several others. Obviously I've had a love/hate thing going on with these boxes for years.
Have fun when your wife goes out, I totally understand where you're coming from there! ;D
|
|
|
Post by hdahs143 on Sept 9, 2006 7:25:37 GMT -7
That's the reaction I had the first time I tried a compressor ;D ;D.
Have fun with your testing session!
|
|
|
Post by John on Sept 9, 2006 7:42:59 GMT -7
Alright, here's the 15 minute review:
Keeley Mods to the Line 6 DL4:
Yes, Keeley seems to have fixed the loss of volume when engaged. THANK GOD! That's 95% of why I did it in the first place. As for the enhanced sound? A little clearer. Presence and/or high end of the delay seems crisper. But why...why did they change the LED lights from red to blue? Why? I think it's something they did to try to justify their $100 price tag. This mod seems WAY overpriced in my opinion. Some would argue that, saying the loss of volume is really noticable with a non high gain amp...which it is. Perhaps not in a gig, but when playing alone it really got on my nerves.
Boss CS3 Compressor:
At first I didn't like it. VERY dissapointing. However I had the knob settings the same as before the mod. There is a noticable presence boost from the mod. So I turned down the tone control to compensate. I think there is a volume boost, so I turned that down too. I even had to turn down the sustain from 2:00 to noon. The 'attack' knob did nothing...as it did nothing before the mod. Perhaps I need to not be at such an attenuated state to hear/feel the difference in the attack knob. Overall opinion? It seems like the mod wasn't really needed. By just turning the volume, tone and sustain knobs a little clockwise, the original sounds fine.
Boss SD-1
They increased the bass response. Now it is actually a usable pedal. I did not install the 'extra gain' mod (Allums even tells you it's an option), but even so, I had to turn the drive/gain knob down quite a bit...just personal preference. Still LOTS of midrange. Did not have the ability to A/B it with my Fulldrive II. Hope to do that soon.
Keep in mind this is only a first initial impression with only about 15 minutes of playing time. And was done with a Tele and a Maz Jr 2x12.
If/when I have anything else to say as the result of spending time with these, I'll report back.
|
|
|
Post by taswegian on Sept 10, 2006 7:13:53 GMT -7
I have a Boss CS-2 that I haven't even plugged in, in 20 years. I've seen this pedal in gilmore's rack but haven't found a use for it. (used to use it with my little peavy or gorilla or something ;D) Although...I'm rehearsing in a "Police" band at the moment and I suppose it could come in handy for the "Zenyetta Mondatta" era stuff. Anyone know what this pedal is worth?
|
|
|
Post by Dr.T on Sept 14, 2006 1:26:54 GMT -7
I own a Keeley comp, very nice, good for country style But with Dr.Z's natural sustain (as I wrote in other places of this forum) I don't use it very often. Sometimes I help my clean parts with Fatboost swelling down guitar's volume.
|
|