What’s going on your pedalboard now that you’ve unlocked the secret to dual-compression tone-crafting? Let us know in the comments and be sure to grab your compressor (or two) from Sweetwater 👉 sweetwater.sjv.io/CompressionAndEQPedals-PAQCLYwqi24
Great to hear, since I was about to order one of those for use with guitar, too. :-) MXR just isn‘t get enough attention. I already have their reverb pedal, and it works great, without any tone suck (unlike tons of other reverb pedals).
I run a Cali 76 and a Compadre, sometimes in parallel sometimes in series. at different positions in the chain. All are valid. If you've tried compressors but not bought it, experiment, I guarantee there will be a setup where you take out the compressor and suddenly realize the value.
I would also shout out Source Audio's Atlas Compressor. It does everything these two pedals do and then some, albeit digitally (56-bit). I really wanted a Cali76 Stacked, but couldn't resist the lower price tag and MIDI capability of the Atlas. It's been amazing.
You should have paid the extea price tag i just got my stacked and its much better than the deluxe and source audio. Sorry bud but you made a grave mistake. Only downside is no midi other than that ill take the tone control over midi
I have been been running two comps ever since I discovered Demonfx pedals with their low prices I bought a Cali76 for $72 and a dark glass super symmetry for $68 . I didn’t intend to use them both at the same time never was my plan but I was messing around and hooked them both up at the same time and accidentally found out that it sounded pretty dam good and never took them off my board again. Also started buying alot of Demonfx pedals they are dirty cheap n sound amazing
Hmm I don’t like compressor but I have a lot of pedals in the chain, I use it for a boosting purpose. I use a boss cs-3 and not gonna invest in on just a compressor pedal.
Mitch, back in the 90's I had two ties with the same pattern as the shirt you're wearing in this video. The only difference was that their base colors were brown and black instead of blue. Good stuff!
@@MajorSeventh At my 8th grade graduation I wore elephant bells and platform shoes. Do you go that far back as well? Ahhh, the good old days Hahahaha!!!
I really can't name a single chicken picking player I admire who ever used the Dyna? Only singer songwriters who were not that great at lead. I always remembered it being used by blues or rockers back in the day or country guys who basically strummed electric & used it to help balance the sound when strumming to create a more acoustic type of sound before there were emulation pedals. I remember the Boss Compressor as the more go to for the chicken picking players.
I feel like this didn’t really deliver on the promise. Just demonstrating tones out of context and talking abstractly about the application didn’t really help me understand the application. It would have probably have been better to show a part in the context of a tune/track to demonstrate the “problem” without any compression and then show how one compressor doesn’t do the whole job. Then show how adding the second compressor completes the solution.
Hi, kennethcohagen3539. The most common place you see compression used is first in the pedal chain. Since it’s main task is smoothing out the dynamics of the guitar, this is best accomplished when it receives the guitar signal before anything else. That said, some people will use compression after distortion to mimic the feel of a cranked amp that is started to compress on its own. This can be very effective if you have a great sounding amp but can’t run it loud enough for it to be in it’s sweet spot. Like with all pedals, there are no rules and it’s whatever works for you and what you’re trying to achieve. Thanks for your interest! Charlie Davis, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 1320, charlie_davis@sweetwater.com
Hi, jasoncheshire6153. You could certainly do that if you wanted to. Like anything else with pedals, there are no rules and if it helps you achieve the sound you want, everything is fair game. Thanks for your interest! Charlie Davis, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 1320, charlie_davis@sweetwater.com
Not really, there are some nice rack options that cost around the same as these pedals and are designed to work with that type of signal chain. Plus better meters for GR metering is hugely useful when recording vocals and plenty of other sources for that matter. It’s not that a guitar pedal won’t work, but should really be because you have no other choice.
Cool. I accidentally bought two... forgot I entered an auction and found a good deal on another the same day at my music store 😅. Now I'll just put it on my board I guess...lol
"Even dynamics"? Isn't that more like "no dynamics" or "less dynamics". Nothings wrong with compressors and its effects, its just the "even dynamics" definition that sounds wrong ;-)
Well, both of these pedals fixes that problem with only needing to buy one pedal to get two compressors? It's almost like they were trying to achieve something and find a solution to a common problem...
Perhaps it's just me, but isn't sustain supposed to come from the instrument? Yes, the hull curve can be shaped, but to me that looks like a rather specialized application.
"supposed to" is kind of the operative phrase. Can certain instruments have extremely high sustain on their own? Yes. But what most electric guitarists associate with "sustain" is largely due to compressors used in studio recordings, or the effect of things like tube saturation in amplifiers. One could debate about what an instrument is "supposed to" be all day, but if what you want is "that" sound, these are the types of tools that get you there. Plus, compressors affect the dynamics and the resulting harmonic content in a way that isn't possible through technique alone; while a skilled player can be controlled enough in their playing dynamics that a limiting compressor is not needed, the effect of heavy compression sort of defies the physics of the plucked string in a way that you can't get through technique alone. FWIW, while I don't think everybody "needs" compression, I find it to be invaluable in certain situations. For example... if you are a bass player who plays slap, everybody who has to hear you through the sensitive PA cabinets will thank you for applying appropriate compression.
@@jdjk7 I see. We're talking about different notions, it seems. I like little interference with the "pure" instrumental sound, while you go for all that electronics can give (or at lest express understanding for those who do). Well, to each their own.
is there a compressor that automatically sets the thresholds for your compression and also the ratio by examining the input signal. Perhaps an AI based compressor may be in works....
@@incubusrok Still searching for the right one, you can do that with the SA Atlas. Think I am going to go analog and get a Cali 76 Compact deluxe, just waiting on my yearly cash infusion from Uncle Sam (taxes).
@@masterofreality230 that “infusion of cash” is actually the government paying back the interest free loan you gave them by overpaying your taxes on every paycheck. You could just change your withholdings, keep and invest the extra money (with interest), and most importantly set aside the money you will have to pay in taxes anyway. The main point here is that the REFUND you’re receiving is exactly that, YOUR money that you chose to give to the government for free (which they invest and earn interest on).
Being analog the Cali is way superior to the UA unit. It sounds WAY warmer. The digital UA just sounds very harsh and kinda "cold", if you catch my drift, my lords.
I have an experienced ear and I'm listening on IEMs, and I can barely tell a difference in the quality of the tone. It's close enough that, in a blind test, I would chalk it up to being two performances through the same equipment. Digital stuff has really come far. What doesn't tend to impress me is stuff like Line 6s and Zoom boxes that are do-it-all solutions for an entire pedalboard. When you have to have enough processing power to run all the algorithm necessary to meaningfully recreate these types of analog sounds, there are compromises. The difference I've seen with stuff like the UA is that because it's dedicated to just a couple of algorithms, each one can get both the development time and the processing power that it needs. A great example of this is the new Fender Tonemaster amps. Digital recreations of old Fender style amps. No "get 128 amp emulations in this one box" bs... each model is a dedicated recreation of a particular vintage model. I was at a jam recently where the house amp was a Tonemaster Princeton Reverb. Listening to it, I didn't realize it wasn't the real thing, and a slide guitarist friend of mine who played through it didn't realize it wasn't a real tube amp until he looked at it afterward. When the processing can be focused on achieving one goal instead of compromising many goals, it can work very well. Of course this is also dependent upon good programming and quality components, such as the AD/DA converters, etc. But nowadays components usually aren't the issue, and the programming tends to be a human factor. Passionate manufacturers can get it done
Why are you holding a guitar? I watched the whole video waiting to hear what it would sound like. Good information but I could have got that off the specs.
I came here to see if you can get the 2 x 1176 'Black Dog' sound from the Max or the Cali76. Wasted my time. I found this video to be completely timid and dull.
What’s going on your pedalboard now that you’ve unlocked the secret to dual-compression tone-crafting? Let us know in the comments and be sure to grab your compressor (or two) from Sweetwater 👉 sweetwater.sjv.io/CompressionAndEQPedals-PAQCLYwqi24
I’m actually using an MXR M87 “Bass Compressor” on my pedalboard, and it works great with guitar.
Great to hear, since I was about to order one of those for use with guitar, too. :-) MXR just isn‘t get enough attention. I already have their reverb pedal, and it works great, without any tone suck (unlike tons of other reverb pedals).
Mitch you do such a stellar job on these reviews! You keep it straight forward as well dive deep into the complexities without going over our heads!
I run a Cali 76 and a Compadre, sometimes in parallel sometimes in series.
at different positions in the chain. All are valid.
If you've tried compressors but not bought it, experiment, I guarantee there will be a setup where you take out the compressor and suddenly realize the value.
I would also shout out Source Audio's Atlas Compressor. It does everything these two pedals do and then some, albeit digitally (56-bit). I really wanted a Cali76 Stacked, but couldn't resist the lower price tag and MIDI capability of the Atlas. It's been amazing.
You should have paid the extea price tag i just got my stacked and its much better than the deluxe and source audio. Sorry bud but you made a grave mistake. Only downside is no midi other than that ill take the tone control over midi
Atlas is as good as it gets. The End.
Do u think it's better than the UA Max? @@joeymc5272
I have an MXR Dynacomp. It's good, but I would like something more versatile, like one of these pedals.
Great presentation Mitch 😎👍
I can use UA MAX for my voice! and add another pedals!?
I have been been running two comps ever since I discovered Demonfx pedals with their low prices I bought a Cali76 for $72 and a dark glass super symmetry for $68 . I didn’t intend to use them both at the same time never was my plan but I was messing around and hooked them both up at the same time and accidentally found out that it sounded pretty dam good and never took them off my board again. Also started buying alot of Demonfx pedals they are dirty cheap n sound amazing
How good is it compared to the Cali76 Stacked Edition which is the benchmark imo.
Hmm I don’t like compressor but I have a lot of pedals in the chain, I use it for a boosting purpose. I use a boss cs-3 and not gonna invest in on just a compressor pedal.
Mitch, back in the 90's I had two ties with the same pattern as the shirt you're wearing in this video. The only difference was that their base colors were brown and black instead of blue. Good stuff!
Paisley pattern. I had a paisley shirt in the early 90s that was tan/brown/red. Nice to see it back in fashion.
@@MajorSeventh We're showing our age. LOL
@@MajorSeventh At my 8th grade graduation I wore elephant bells and platform shoes. Do you go that far back as well? Ahhh, the good old days Hahahaha!!!
Back in the 60s sneakers were rare. Every guy wore leather shoes.
I really can't name a single chicken picking player I admire who ever used the Dyna? Only singer songwriters who were not that great at lead. I always remembered it being used by blues or rockers back in the day or country guys who basically strummed electric & used it to help balance the sound when strumming to create a more acoustic type of sound before there were emulation pedals. I remember the Boss Compressor as the more go to for the chicken picking players.
stanley clarke has been doing this since the 1970's. one compressor into another.
I feel like this didn’t really deliver on the promise. Just demonstrating tones out of context and talking abstractly about the application didn’t really help me understand the application. It would have probably have been better to show a part in the context of a tune/track to demonstrate the “problem” without any compression and then show how one compressor doesn’t do the whole job. Then show how adding the second compressor completes the solution.
Is his voice captured by that tiny lav??? It looks like a high end shotgun mic above
Where would you place it in the pedals train. Before or after distortion?
Hi, kennethcohagen3539. The most common place you see compression used is first in the pedal chain. Since it’s main task is smoothing out the dynamics of the guitar, this is best accomplished when it receives the guitar signal before anything else. That said, some people will use compression after distortion to mimic the feel of a cranked amp that is started to compress on its own. This can be very effective if you have a great sounding amp but can’t run it loud enough for it to be in it’s sweet spot. Like with all pedals, there are no rules and it’s whatever works for you and what you’re trying to achieve.
Thanks for your interest!
Charlie Davis, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 1320, charlie_davis@sweetwater.com
I really like the MIX or BLEND dial on my XOTIC SP compressor. Seems like ALL companies would offer this feature. Why not?🤔
This is exactly why I use the Ego Compressor, you want both the compressed sound for more sustain but also the clean tone for the dynamics.
can I run 2 cali76 compact deluxes on the same board?? Maybe one up front and the other in the back? Thanks
Hi, jasoncheshire6153. You could certainly do that if you wanted to. Like anything else with pedals, there are no rules and if it helps you achieve the sound you want, everything is fair game.
Thanks for your interest!
Charlie Davis, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 1320, charlie_davis@sweetwater.com
Would this be good to use with a microphone in a project studio?
Not really, there are some nice rack options that cost around the same as these pedals and are designed to work with that type of signal chain. Plus better meters for GR metering is hugely useful when recording vocals and plenty of other sources for that matter.
It’s not that a guitar pedal won’t work, but should really be because you have no other choice.
@@3rdStoreyChemist That’s what I thought initially. Thank you for the breakdown. ☮️
If only they had put xlr/1/4" ins and outs on the max it could change the whole market
Cool. I accidentally bought two... forgot I entered an auction and found a good deal on another the same day at my music store 😅. Now I'll just put it on my board I guess...lol
You have two UA max?
wish i had this guys job
Looks like a winner from UA. This and a Strymon Flint and I'd be good to go.
Why? Because it has more knobs and flip switches?? You’ll find actual users of both prefer the Cali.
@@EJH-jn6mowhat makes you say that?
"Even dynamics"? Isn't that more like "no dynamics" or "less dynamics". Nothings wrong with compressors and its effects, its just the "even dynamics" definition that sounds wrong ;-)
My LEDs don't change color. Just green the whole time.
99% of guitar players don't understand what a compressor is and you want them to buy two.
Maybe if those guitar players opened themselves up to learning more about their craft, music would get better.
Haha. Good one.
Well, both of these pedals fixes that problem with only needing to buy one pedal to get two compressors? It's almost like they were trying to achieve something and find a solution to a common problem...
Even that 99% number were true, there are millions of guitar players out there. Even selling to a fraction of that 1% would be lots of sales.
😂😂
Need a shootout with these two units ASAP
could have used some compressed air to blow the gibbles off the top of the pedal in closeups :)
Perhaps it's just me, but isn't sustain supposed to come from the instrument? Yes, the hull curve can be shaped, but to me that looks like a rather specialized application.
"supposed to" is kind of the operative phrase. Can certain instruments have extremely high sustain on their own? Yes. But what most electric guitarists associate with "sustain" is largely due to compressors used in studio recordings, or the effect of things like tube saturation in amplifiers. One could debate about what an instrument is "supposed to" be all day, but if what you want is "that" sound, these are the types of tools that get you there.
Plus, compressors affect the dynamics and the resulting harmonic content in a way that isn't possible through technique alone; while a skilled player can be controlled enough in their playing dynamics that a limiting compressor is not needed, the effect of heavy compression sort of defies the physics of the plucked string in a way that you can't get through technique alone.
FWIW, while I don't think everybody "needs" compression, I find it to be invaluable in certain situations. For example... if you are a bass player who plays slap, everybody who has to hear you through the sensitive PA cabinets will thank you for applying appropriate compression.
@@jdjk7 I see. We're talking about different notions, it seems. I like little interference with the "pure" instrumental sound, while you go for all that electronics can give (or at lest express understanding for those who do).
Well, to each their own.
is there a compressor that automatically sets the thresholds for your compression and also the ratio by examining the input signal. Perhaps an AI based compressor may be in works....
Why not use 75 compressors? Maybe 150?
David Gilmour... you may have heard of him... uses two compressors, FOREVER, on his guitar. Hes and Okay guitar player if you get my drift.
@@John-e4p1x Gilmour, the guy who uses my pedals, I think I know who he is, LOL.
All these features and no side chain input 🤦
There is a sidechain option in the uamax pedal, there is a app where you can control different parameters of the compressor and pream.
At this price I feel like they should have 4 jacks to run it in two places.
Why they don't have a loop function is insane to me. Series or parallel, having both compressors in one location is pointless
@@incubusrok Still searching for the right one, you can do that with the SA Atlas. Think I am going to go analog and get a Cali 76 Compact deluxe, just waiting on my yearly cash infusion from Uncle Sam (taxes).
@@masterofreality230 that “infusion of cash” is actually the government paying back the interest free loan you gave them by overpaying your taxes on every paycheck. You could just change your withholdings, keep and invest the extra money (with interest), and most importantly set aside the money you will have to pay in taxes anyway. The main point here is that the REFUND you’re receiving is exactly that, YOUR money that you chose to give to the government for free (which they invest and earn interest on).
The chair is too compressed and leathery
"Why you should be using dual compression: because it gives us twice the cash."
- Sweetwater's Wallet-Nom-Nom Department
Just admit you don't know how good compressors are ahah
Being analog the Cali is way superior to the UA unit. It sounds WAY warmer. The digital UA just sounds very harsh and kinda "cold", if you catch my drift, my lords.
I watch the video comparing the two and I forget which one I like better...this isn't it but I can't find that video now 😢
I have an experienced ear and I'm listening on IEMs, and I can barely tell a difference in the quality of the tone. It's close enough that, in a blind test, I would chalk it up to being two performances through the same equipment.
Digital stuff has really come far. What doesn't tend to impress me is stuff like Line 6s and Zoom boxes that are do-it-all solutions for an entire pedalboard. When you have to have enough processing power to run all the algorithm necessary to meaningfully recreate these types of analog sounds, there are compromises.
The difference I've seen with stuff like the UA is that because it's dedicated to just a couple of algorithms, each one can get both the development time and the processing power that it needs.
A great example of this is the new Fender Tonemaster amps. Digital recreations of old Fender style amps. No "get 128 amp emulations in this one box" bs... each model is a dedicated recreation of a particular vintage model. I was at a jam recently where the house amp was a Tonemaster Princeton Reverb. Listening to it, I didn't realize it wasn't the real thing, and a slide guitarist friend of mine who played through it didn't realize it wasn't a real tube amp until he looked at it afterward.
When the processing can be focused on achieving one goal instead of compromising many goals, it can work very well. Of course this is also dependent upon good programming and quality components, such as the AD/DA converters, etc. But nowadays components usually aren't the issue, and the programming tends to be a human factor. Passionate manufacturers can get it done
Can’t tell with PRS pickups
Why are you holding a guitar? I watched the whole video waiting to hear what it would sound like. Good information but I could have got that off the specs.
Oops watched it again you did play it. I guess I shouldn't have skipped around so much my bad.
🤣@@Dan-gn2xo
I came here to see if you can get the 2 x 1176 'Black Dog' sound from the Max or the Cali76. Wasted my time. I found this video to be completely timid and dull.
"LIKE" 44
Amazing pedals with ZERO midi functionality.
😅
Yeah welcome in 2023
Never needed MIDI in any guitar rigs in 50 years of playing.
That was my first reaction to the new UA pedals too
MIDI in a compression pedal 😂
want to ruin your tone, use compression x 2
I literally just got my cali stacked last week and i will tell you this i would take the cali dual comp over a digi uad dual comp any day.
If u don't need stereo or the preamp. the cali is a better shout.
@@stephenvale937what's a preamp and what's it good for?
Not diggin’ the PRS…..would have been better with a real guitar……