Arion SCO-1 Compressor

As a limiter, very easy to use. To use it as a compressor/sustainer, impossible, due to the lack of adjustability in the compressor/sustainer attack (resulting in the pick attack being compressed into a loud clicking noise), as well as the considerable hiss introduced by the compressor section.

It's the substandard design that limits the ease of use, not the controls, which is why I've given it a 5 on this area.

Doesn't really matter with this pedal. Tried it with SS amps, tube amps, tube modeling floor boards, modeling amps. The fundamental problems of non-adjustable attack for compressor/sustainer (and the resulting clicking/"clucking") and the constant hissing make it impossible to configure a high-quality sound. If you put this hiss-factory in front of any gain-boosting device like a distortion pedal, the hiss becomes unbearable.

However, all is not lost. I swapped out a large number of the aluminum electrolytic capacitors in the stock pedal with metal film caps. I also replaced the NJM4558L with an OP2134PA to tame the mid-range hump in this compressor. With those changes, I use this pedal as an effect for non-distorted passages when I need a squashed sound. As an occasional "effect", it works. As a compressor, it's useless.

It hasn't broken yet, so at least it's dependable if you take care of it. I actually like aspects of the pedal housing's design. If I could buy after-market housings like this in metal, I'd use them for my own pedal designs.

They no longer exist, so no rating here.

If you have this pedal and like, I'm honestly happy for you. I myself have found a limited use for it as an effect. The Arion SCO-1 will stay on my home studio shelf for occasional stunt-pedal use. Given what I paid for it, it's worth the money for that in itself. However, for those of you looking for a widely useful compressor pedal, you really should look past this pedal and consider getting a BOSS CS-3 or a Ross compressor clone...almost anything other than this pedal.

Why did I buy it? I heard good things about the Arion SCH-1 and the guts of the SCO-1 pedal looked moddable, so I figured for $15, it would be a cheap evening's worth of entertainment to mod the SCO-1. For $15 to purchase it and about $3 worth of caps and $3 worth of op amp upgrade, it's still worth something to me. I rated this pedal so low as an honest appraisal of it to those who aren't interested in modifying it, which it desperately needs to be even barely useful.

Stompbox compressors are not rocket science. Don't know which of the very few circuits this one is based on, but it does the same thing the rest of them do - a very obvious, colored compression with variable attack/release times. This one does the same as the rest. You can do funk chords, country pickin, or pop clean strat sounds. It has a softer feel than most - sorry can't explain it better than that, just has a soft feel to it. Most cheap pedals use cheap components throughout, which doesn't seem to matter except in the bypass buffer circuit. That doesn't matter to me b/c I use external stuff for signal routing, but beware.

It's certainly plenty good enough for someone who just needs a cheap compressor. There was a time when this was the only cheap compressor I knew of. Now there is Behringer, Danelectro, and others. If I got rid of them, I would have to clear out my collection of compressors with a snow shovel - I have a lot of them. For me this one is just another subtly different flavor from all the others on the cheap stompbox compressor formula.

EAsy!!

Sounds fine to me not that noisy I have the early Japan Gray box type, as a mattr of fact all my Arion pedals are this first issue.

Well lets see I have a SCH-1 that I have been smashing on for the last 23 years and in fact it looks like Hell it still sounds the same.

I think they moved to Pluto?

I paied $15.00 for this gray stompper and in like new condition, I have a friend that builds pedals I will give it to him to do some upgrading better filters, resisters and such and return me a Ross/Dynacomp pedal back!!

It's got a lot of knobs and stuff so there are thousands of possible parameters to set. A decent set of instrucions would have been handy

It was as noisey as hell and the sound was all over the shop!

It's lasted well but as I hardly ever take it out of the box I'm not surprised. It is plastic after all.

I used it as an on/off footswitch for a drum machine!

This is one of noisiest pedals I have ever used, new, right out of the box. Whatever I paid for this, it was too much. Not even worth FREE cost. Absolultely unusable.

I won't even go into any of the features- there is NO SETTING THAT DOESN'T ADD SIGNIFICANT NOISE.

A total piece of plastic junk. Unbelievable.

Garbage. Like our government.

The hardest thing about making these reviews useful at both ends is establishing the writer's context. I am using this first in the signal chain as a guitar compressor effect. I am used to a soft of blind tweaking method for getting a good sound from a stompbox compressor, and this one is no worse than average for usability. Like all simplified, stompbox type compressors, the controls are interactive, so there is some juggling.

The sound with slide switch left, all knobs at 12:00 seems like pretty extreme compression to me; I like to tame it down a bit. I use stombox compressors mainly to make my live sound more intelligible, plus I like a little splat on country gigs. I have no problem getting what I need out of this compressor. It definitely has a nice personality, too. Realistically, most stombox compressors are very simple circuits compared to the type used for recording vocals. Very few are very transparent - not by normal standards. I get a subtle compression effect from this unit and I very much like the resulting sound. It isn't dark like B*ss CS-X compressors; it easily recovers brightness with the tone knob at about 1:00, and sounds very natural doing it.

I know from experience that the PCB mounted switch that the springloaded footpedal thing operates tends to go after a while. That's fine with me, b/c (A)it is an easy fix, and (B)when I am going through a pointy-pinky audiophile phase, I use an external bypass, anyway.

I collect compressors the way normal people collect overdrives. This one is one of my favorites. I got to thinking while filling out this form - I am going to get an extra just to be sure I always have one. There are different kinds of compressors: transparent can't-tell-it's-on compressors for recording, the hard edged kind that make a track stand out more (e.g. Joe Meek), and then there are guitar stompbox compressors. Stompbox compressors shape the signal in a way that makes sense for a guitar - they are not transparent, but not unnatural. This is a great entry in the last category. I am rating high considering the price. If it cost $90 or more I'd probably give it an 8.

The Arion Compressor is easy enough to use but do scan the pamphlet.
Easy to use but NOT easy to get the sound you are looking for!

Like trying to polish a turd. It seems only useful when combined with distortion. Maybe some Nashville bright, sharp, clucky tones.Maybe if slide playing or hybrid picking.

I'm always cautious with plastic pedal. Step with caution!

Overall the basic use I'm getting out of the Arion Compressor is when
I'm set on Marshall type distortion I use it as a "filter" to clean up the muddiness, to get better articuation and sustain. Otherwise I find it useless! I wouldn't lose a second's sleep if lost or stolen.
Good riddance. A good (& expensive) transparent compressor is a wonderful thing. This is a hissing,clucking,tone altering, mess!

After playing 30 + years i never really used a compressor so maybe i don't know what it's supposed to sound like. I've been told and have read what it's supposed to do but since i have never used one in the past i don't know a good one from a bad one. Anyway everyone has their expectations of something and i guess the tone i was looking for isn't to be had with any compressor, no matter what brand. I know that when you hold a note a compressor really adds to the length of the sustain however my playing style is such that i seldom hold on to a note long enough to reap the benefits. Other than that,it's easy to use.

Strats and Sovtek MIG-50s and various pedals. We guitar players are a "picky" bunch, no pun intended. I bought this to try to take some of the pick attack out of my playing to get more of a violin type tone and i thought a compressor was what i needed but i found that my TS-7 and my Tubulator are doing that already. I think adding a compressor to my existing pedals is overkill and it's my fault that i thought otherwise. With my setup now i can hold a note and it goes into feedback mode so nicely anyway. The setup i have now with my tubulator,Sovteks and delay i can nail Eric Johnsons tone right on the mark. But this tone is not for every song or everyone. Everyone has ,what i call a "tone goal". Everyones tone goal is different. This pedal may not be what i need to achieve the tone i'm looking for. I'm certainly not going to slam this pedal because i may have made a error in my judgement when i bought it. Example,a lot of people use Boss products so they must be good. However,i have yet to get a decent tone from a Boss.It boils down to my tone goal.I happen to find Arion pedals to be some of the best "for me" without going into the custom market.It takes experimentation with different pedals to find your tone.

I own several Arion products and have not had any problems with any of them. However they are plastic encased. I gig a lot and i guess i just take better care of my stuff than other players.

Never had to deal with 'em. I do all my repairs myself so i wouldn't contact them anyway.

Blues based r&r with jazz/fusion overtones. I just don't have a need for a compressor. I'll hold on to it just for principal though.

easy enough to use

using this with a variety of electrics and effects, modelers, and solid state amps...but most time just guitar>compressor>amp. Through a clean amp, the sound is slightly distorted "to my ears". The attack dampen-release effect is just not right, regardless of settings

it is plastic, not heavy duty construction

Musician's Friend are OK people...Arion I don't know about

bought this to replace my old Ibanez CP-5 (soundtank series) which has a bad input jack and switch. So much for my thinking "they're probably both about the same anyway"...the attack range on the Ibanez is way better and it has no "long-short" switch. For the price I paid for this, I could have had the Ibanez fixed. We live and learn I guess. The Arion is "OK" for a crunch-squish with distortion. Didn't like it for clean or light overdrive sounds.

This compressor is surprisingly deep It has controls for level, tone, sustaine and attack. It also has two attack modes short and long.

I'm reviewing the made in japan version. It is just as good as boss. I've had a cs-1 and cs-3. I highly reccomend these japanese arion units for players who wan't classic japanese sounds but don't the money for vintage boss effects. These are as good and often better sound wise.

It doesn't mave much self noise. A compressor makes a a quiet signal louder and a loud signal quiter. The end result is a more uniform sound. Keep in mind that noise is quiet signal and is therefore increased in level as the sustain is increased. By the same coin if you turn your amp up you'll hear more noise, but that doesn't mean your amp is noisier it just means the noise is now at a higher volume.

A compressor can smooth out the rough spots in your picking. It is one of the few effects that really can make you sound like a better player, but only if you use it correctly. Don't put all the controls on 10 unless your going for a special effect type of sound. Overcompression creates the trademark artifact called pumping and breathing. It is usually considered something to avoid but it can also be used to good effect. This unit has enough range of control to create some sweet pumping and breathing effects at the extreme settings. a fast attack and slow release will usually be best for single note leads, but a faster realease can work better for rhythm.

just try to kill it! I'm tired of people saying "boss is built like a tank". The boss footswitch always gets messed up, but the switch on these always works. Knobs get lost easily and battery cover breaks on these tho and that don't happen w/ boss.

Yeah it's not as good as the carl martin compressor, but this rating is based on value and for what these go for they are the best value in the compressor world. A keeley cost $200 and these go for $20-$40, plus you can do a hell of a lot more with this. I can't use those two knob style compressors for anything but lead. They are like a compression preset. I wan't control. I think that anyone who can't get good results with it probably doesn't understand compression.