Barber Electronics Tone Press

This is the "Pedal Killer"! It will force you to throw away, sell, or otherwise remove any other compressor from your rig! It's not just a compressor, it's a booster, it gives you awesome sustain, it makes your notes both single note runs AND chords sound bigger, fuller, rounder, thicker....I'm not an electrician, and have no serious knowledge about what goes on inside that little box on the floor but it's for lack of a better word....magical!

The sound is unmatched in the world of compressors,...Ross......Ross WHO!!?? This thing is a godsend for those of us who want a "sound", not just a sound to identify us! I use this through a Peavey XXL head running through a TruTone 2x12 cab loaded with Eminence speakers, (Swamp Thing & Texas Heat) and it makes my cab sound 10 times bigger than it really is, it also tames the higher end of my amp's tendency to get brittle, I can get those bluesy riffs that seem to hang on forever!

Construction wise this thing is a TANK!! And I'm not just saying it because of how it looks feels, (which would be STURDY as H*LL!!) But I'm talking from 1st hand experience! About 2 weeks ago I was traveling along the highway that runs close to where I live, and unknowingly to me or my bass player the pedal was had fallen out of the back of the pickup we were driving, but it didn't just go overboard, it was tangled up in some other pedal's power supply cord and so it was dragged for about 2 & a half miles, when I got to the gig I was devasted, I thought I was going to have to replace it, but surprisingly it worked as if NOTHING had happened to it! I was so thankful!

I've never had to deal with Cust. Serv. even after my little "roadside incident" so I'm giving them a 10 for merit alone!

I play a mix of "Hendrix-Meets Metallica-Meets B.B.King" with an emphasis on the psychedelic blues of the past and a healthy does of power chords thrown in for good measure. I focus more on the fuzzy side of town as that's where for me it seems to all come together. I've been playing now for about 20 years, (and I still suck!...LoL!) If this pedal were lost or stolen I would DEFINITELY get another one, maybe even 2, so that I had backup. The only thing I would recommend for this pedal? (and this is more of a personal preference and has no bearing on the pedal's sound!) would be an option for different colors...other than that it really is the best compressor that money can buy, speaking of which it's nowhere NEAR as expensive as some other "boutique" pedals out there, yet it's construction and sound outpace them by leaps & bounds!!!

much easier to use than others that have knobs for attack, tone, etc. Dial in the volume, the amount of sustain, and then blend in how much natural vs. compressed sound you want out of it. I haven't used the internal pot control as I found a great tone on the outside already thus I'll give it a 9.

I hate to be one of these guys giving stuff high ratings all of the time, but this thing sounds great. The overall tone of your guitar changes none-very little with blend b/w zero and half way up. On their recommended "magic dust" setting (Blend and Sustain at 11:00), all you get is better sustain, the harshness of the E/B/G strings that sometimes twang on you if you don't strum a chord perfectly smooths out, and just an overall fuller (and did I say smoother) sound. I really like it on my Mesa Stiletto Ace. You get a tad of noise if you crank the knobs but I really don't crank 'em so it's fine. If you do crank the blend, you can get that compression "popping" noise when you hit the strings which is sometimes cool. It's nice to know it's there if you need it, or can completely dial it out if you don't want it. What it doesn't do is give you that big compression effect (like the Boss CS3 does). Maybe it would if I messed with the pot inside but I haven't. I'm leaving it on all the time whether distorted or clean.

yes

been playing in a classic rock band for nearly 30 years. Warming up and smoothing out a Mesa Stiletto was what started me on this quest, and I just can't stand a clean channel when you're strumming chords and one or two strings sticks out a lot more than another - thus compression. I bought this pedal based on reviews as no store near me carried one, and sure enough it sounds like a lot of the reviews. Very transparent, you barely know when it's on but you know when it's off. I'm just glad it's easy to dial in, you can set it and leave it and get back to playing.

3 knobs in sight, one hidden behind the backpanel. I allways like these surprising hidden buttons when you come home and bother reading the manual. The shopowner didn't even mention it so he probably didn't know. The knobs simply do what day say.

I can only confirm what was written 52 times before me. It's superb. I have to admit that I bought a behringer compressor to check if I needed one at all. The worst thing to do! I compared it in the shop with a boss cs3 and the effect on the overall sound was "cleaner" on the tone press. And that is what I expect. No tonal changes, only bigger sound.

It feels rock-solid. Metalcases have their weight as a benefit. They wont move if you stomp them a bit rough. I'm not gonna trie and throw it against the wall though but it might survive

hope i never need that

Finally, I've found my compressor. If my playing doesn't sound good from now I can't blame it to my sound anymore. It allready became friends with my danelectro collection (chorus, overdrive, wasabi delay), big muff, vox and fender stratty.

10/10 all the way!

Compressors are subtle, and so generally difficult effects to tweak. The more controls it has, the more difficult it is to know if you're getting the best sound from the unit. Even with just three knob with straightforward functions, this one is no exception.

The manual's descriptions of the VOLUME and BLEND controls are very helpful. Less so for the SUSTAIN knob, but after experimenting it seems that like the others, the effect passes the point of subtle after 2 o'clock. Even rolled all the way down, there is a bit of squashing and pumping though.

It would be nice if the BLEND control were on the right where your boot could get at it, rather than the center. Nicer still if you didn't have to loosen four screws and go underneath to adjust the COLOR pot. These two controls have most effect on the sound for me, since I only need only just the tiniest amount of sustain and smoothing. The controls are all very sensitive and responsive.

I play bebop and soul jazz on a Tacoma archtop with a Kent Armstrong single-coil, so I can't tolerate the loss of any attack, but I needed more sustain for playing heads in unison with horn players. This does this better than an Ibanez CP-9 or EBS Multi-Comp -- perfectly, actually. If I keep the SUSTAIN and BLEND below 10 o'clock, it doesn't add feedback or kill attack. VOLUME just over 12 o'clock gives me the boost I need for single notes, then I click it off to comp.

The pedal sounds very transparent, which is actually a bit of a disappointment since I like how compressors darken the sound of guitars. However, with the internal color pot rolled down to about 12 o'clock, the vocal character of my Polytone Mini-Brute IV really came through without loosing too much high end. Full on, the pedal can bring out the harshness in single-coils. I could get away with cutting the bass and boosting the treble on the amp as well. It also helps the amp to sound better when playing at lower volumes.

With my Mesa/Boogie Studio.22 it sounded a bit harsh. The amp naturally has more bite than a Polytone, so it's pleasing that the pedal should bring out the character of the amp, rather than imposing.

Recently I was bothered by some distortion when I used the pedal. It turns out the battery was dying!

The knobs are big and awfully close to the side of the pedal, and so the settings can get messed up easily. Also, one of the transparent gum-drops Barber used for rubber feet came off when I carried the pedal to a gig in a paper bag with some other gear. This is not a criticism of the pedal as much as it is an admission of clumsiness on my part. Oh, and the battery rattles around inside the case. Maybe the previous owner lost what might have been some foam inside there (like I lost the gumdrop)?

This is THE compressor for jazz. I have a virtual-friend who plays jazz that loves it, too. No one who hears me play says a thing about it which is just how I want it. Stomp-boxes are clumsy and embarrassing. So I like the fact that it's totally black and nondescript, because I really don't want other guitarists to know I'm cheating with a stomp-box!

The only thing I would change is the control layout and the LED color from red to blue because I like adjusting the BLEND knob with my foot and the color blue respectively.

It's got 3 knobs and a footswitch. Very clear. Very straightforward. I'm not an effects genius, though, as I'm a bass player by trade. I bought this to use with my acoustic on the recommendation of a friend. I was told that because of the blend function, it maintained the "acousticy" sound, which is true. However, it took me a little while of fiddling with the sustain versus blend knobs to get the right balance. For somebody better than I am with effects, it would probably very simple to get the right sound, so I'll give it a 10.

I play a Larrivee D-05 acoustic with a D-TAR wavelength UST pickup, into a TU-2, to the Tone Press, to a D-TAR equinox preamp. The sound is perfect. It was exactly what I was looking for to help even out some of the harshness and dynamic changes in my less-than-professional strumming. It also helps to smooth out the fingerpicking. Sounds great. Not noisy at all.

Haven't gigged yet. I only use it in my bedroom for now. However, seems built like a tank. Feels very solid. The inputs, footswitch, and knobs feel very well-made and sturdy.

Haven't had to yet.

I bought this to play acoustic worship music with (Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman). Sounds great. Just what I was looking for. I highly recommend it to any other acoustic players. My friend uses a Boss CS-3 compressor, which in comparison to the Barber, sounds like garbage. Once I got into good, boutique-esque pedals like fulltone and the barber, I'll never go back to Boss again. I higly recommend looking into this pedal. I wish it was a little cheaper, but if you want the good stuff, you gotta pay for it. It's totally worth it.

its easy enough to use and figure out. Ive had it for a few days now and feel ive found plenty of usable settings. It comes with a manual or piece of paper to be exact but thats all you really need.

I use it with my boogie rectoverb mostly to add sustain to lesser gain applications. Ive never owned any other compressors but have tried a few over the years and have found that I cant stand that clicking sound when hitting single notes. If you like that effect dont get this pedal. I tried to get the click but its just not there.
You may find it if you mess with the internal trim pot though. Like I said I dont like the clicking so I have found the factory settings to be just fine for me. Im able to get a tight compression or a very subtle one using the sustain knob but able to blend in more or less with the blend knob. Its a really nice feature ive never seen on any other compressor. The pedal is very quiet although I do get some noise when I max the blend and sustain knobs. The noise is very easy to live with and by no way would keep me from this pedal. I will give the pedal a 9 in this catagory simply because its not perfectly quiet at all settings which isnt really fair to it comparing it to others I have tried. I run it in my pedal board with a visual sound 1 spot daisy chain and it works well with it.

I believe I could deffinatly depend on the pedal in a gig. Seems plenty sturdy enough,,solid. I opened it up to tape some paper over the battery terminal like the manual said and the insides look nice and neatly done. It deffinatly wasnt just thrown together.

never spoke with them yet.

I play everything from blues to rock to metal. I find it works well in all these styles if your looking for more sustain. I pretty much just find the setting I like at the moment and leave the pedal on from there on out. Even playing the pedal with my boogies high gain channel 2 works very well,,the sustain on the amp alone is damn good but add this pedal and it will sustain till I turn the amp off if need be. I love the sustain I get when holding a note playing leads and power chords just ring on. I would replace the pedal if it went missing,,it really is nice and deffinatly unique.

Very easy and self-explaining, useful settings are shown on the instruction sheet.
Three knobs plus a trimpot inside. Though it??s a set-and-forget-thing for most users, this should be located on the outside.

WOW!

It does everything you would expect from a good vintage-style compressor, plus a few other things.

Basically, I use the Tone Press as a clean boost and sound enhancer rather than a comp effect.
The blend feature allows you to mix the dry signal with the processed signal, thus reaction to your picking attack remains unchanged while sustain and upper harmonics are increased. It makes the instrument simply sound bettter and I leave it on most of the time.

Build quality is excellent, best I??ve ever seen in a pedal.
No problems yet, none expected.

Can??t say, I??ve never dealt with Barber.

I used to hate compressors until I tried the Tone Press.
If it were lost or stolen, I??d order another one immediately.

Couldn't be easier to use. True bypass. 3 control pots. Single stomp switch. In and out jack sockets, standard Boss-type 9v tip-negative power socket. There's also a 'colour' pot on the inside of the pedal. Having this inside the pedal is no big deal because I feel its more of a set and forget thing. Once i had experimented with this control to find my desired overall operating...er...colour I don't feel I will be changing this very often if at all. However, if you use a battery, the need to remove the backplate (4 screws) is a minor hassle. Hence, I give ease of use a 9, although I couldn't care less because I don't use battery power. As for the 3 controls and dialing in the desired compression, it couldn't be simpler.

I agree with a previous reviewer about build quality. This has not been thrown together. You can immediately tell that this is a quality pedal and the PCB and wiring inside look exceptionally neat. The box is a sturdy Hammond-type case similar to those MXR use for their larger pedals such as the Phase 100. The Tone Press also has a quality paint job that is not the usual thin layer of silk screen that easily chips or rubs off.

The manual (if you can call it that - it's one piece of paper - simple pedal anyway) suggests some settings to get you started, which I found useful. When it comes to pedals, simpler is definitely better.

Have only owned it for a day or two and have only experimented with it as the only pedal in the signal path (although it shared a power source with several pedals that were on at the time). So far this pedal is totally silent in operation. No hiss and no pops or clicks when operating the switch. There was also no degradation in sound quality when using extreme settings.

My test setup was Fender US Standard Tele with Bareknuckle Yardbird pickups -> Tone Press -> Frenzel FM5E3 tube amp with custom 2x12 cabinet and spring reverb unit. Time will tell how it behaves with some of my other effects in the chain, but I don't predict any problems.

I was looking for a compressor that didn't have the usual feel of compression because I don't want to use it as an 'effect'. I wanted it to provide subtle dynamics control and/or sustain without giving the obvious gain reduction and pumping that I hate about heavy compression. This pedal achieves that goal superbly. It enhanced rather than squashed my guitar's tone which inspired me to noodle around for hours! I could also easily find settings where perceived level and tone were equal to that when the pedal was bypassed, but with extra sustain and subtle, very gentle control of dynamics. At slightly 'richer' settings the tone was sublime with piano-like sustain that really made we want to play on, and this was just going direct into my amp. Pushing the controls further, you can achieve the more obvious types of compression typical of the competetion. The trouble is, that's all they do. The Tone Press is just so versatile. As for the 'colour' control inside the pedal, this is a nice touch. The manual describes the highest colour setting as the most open, clean setting, which basically means its the setting which imparts the minimum of alteration on the tone of the original signal. Turning down the 'colour' pot actually increases the colour to more "vintage tones" which I found very nice indeed. I could set this to add just a touch of warm sparkle to my guitar tone (6 o'clock on the dial) which gave me the best of all worlds: warmer compression, sweet singing sustain but subtle (not squashy) control of dynamics. Bloody magic!

Too early to tell, but it's built like a tank and the controls all feel solid.

Haven't needed it yet so no opintion. I didn't buy the pedal direct from Barber, but I have contacted David Barber once already. That was just to congratulate him on a first class product which was worth every penny and gave me exactly what I was looking for and more. He replied within 24 hours to thank me!

I have been playing guitar for bloody years and I'm a certified tone junky. I am very critical when it comes to audio gear and nothing remains in my studio if it isn't earning it's keep. Overall I would say definitely put this pedal on the list if you are in the market for a compressor. Of course, everyone's tastes differ, but this one seems to cover so much ground and is totally silent in operation. Build quality is also better than most mass-produced pedals. The tone and sustain were so harmonious with my amp and guitar's natural tone that it really inspired me to play with no additional sound colouration other than my amp's natural tube breakup. A pedal that makes me smile in such a simple test is a keeper in my book. If I wanted to smother my natural tone and turn it into to a replication of the tone of the world and his wife, I'd buy a POD and a tranny amp. I can't wait to try this pedal out with some overdriven sounds. No pedal is likely to make a poor setup sound good so YMMV.

You're probably thinking "well, what a surprise, another glowing review and 10s all round for something on HC". Well, I'm not impressed easily and I have tried and discarded more bits of audio equipment than my arse has hairs. This pedal is here to stay.

3 knobs - volume, blend, sustain - that's it. Very easy to use. Inside you find a trim-poti for the colour of compression - from modern style compression (full clockwise) to vintage style (counterclockwise). You have to open the pedal for this adjustment by turning the 4 screws. This is the only disadvantage. Therefor a 9.

This pedal is by far the most versatile compressor i've played. You can adjust the amount of compression by tweaking the blend-knob. This knob mixes the original signal with the compressed signal. So you can adjust the amount of compression you need and the intensity of compression with the sustain knob . From little "angels dust", which enhances the Guitar-sound and the sound of rhythm-chords to full compression for country-pickers - you can have it all and in very good sounding quality. I had the Keeley compressor and the Analogman comprossor - both excellent pedals as well - but the Barber's advantage is its blend knob. A fantastic feature.
I use it together with an Analogman Juicer, RMC Picture-Wah, a RC-Booster, a Keeley TS9plus, a Xotic BB-preamp, sometimes a Fulldrive II, an Analogman Chorus and a Carl Martin Delayla XL. Amps are Fender Super-Amp and Marshall 6101 LM. The pedal is not noisy!

Barber Pedals are built for eternity - super-solid!

There was no need to contact Mr. Barber yet.

I play mainly Blues and Classic Rock (for about 25 years). I owned and own a couple of other "boutique" style - pedals. As I wrote above - there are a hand full of other excellent compressors like the Keeley and the Analogman, but no one has this blend-function the Tone Press has. That's the feature which I love - besides the good quality of sound.

I mailordered a TP due to the great things I've read about it here and the innovative design idea behind it. I think the idea of mixing the compressed and original signal is a good one, but the compression part of the circuit sounds very squashed and really colours my tone in a way I do not like. Not a bad sound, just not what I had hoped for. Sent it back and got me a T.Rex Comp Nova instead which gives me a subtle, uncoloured but effective kind of limiting/compression.