Barber Electronics Tone Press

Very easy to use, three simple controls and trimpots.

The thing with a compressor is that's exactly it - everything sounds squished and compressed. Not this sweet little stomp box.

I've tried the ross compressor, dynacomp/mxr, and several others including your garden variety boss CS-3 junk and the likes.

This is the only compressor I'd leave on all the time. It is very transparent, yet providing that lovely juicy thickness and sustain to the tone without sounding over the top. Your picking dynamics are unchanged.

Solid rock.

not used.

This is the only compressor I'd use. It sweetens up the tone and makes it more musical. True bypass too. After you play with this, you will take your boss etc and put it in an industrial shredder.

this is to add a section that is missing from my previous review.

excellent.
transparent, and doesn't take away anything from the original sound.
smooth transisition from original attack (with blend knob tweaked) to sustained sound.

dirt simple to use.

Blend knob, is unique, and takes some experimentation to find the best settings for your particular style, guitar and amp

really works

haven't had it long enough to comment...
but i do have a Barber Direct Drive SS....
and it has hit the floor from the top of a stack, and is still kicking good as new.

i'd say, based on that, i'd place a large bet on the tone press lasting forever.

Dave Barber, one of the nicest guys in the gear business.

got a question, email, or in my case, i just called....
he answered, and was completely open and forthcoming on any of my questions.

got it to me, in no time.

as good as it gets for this kind of stuff.

at the price, it's a no brainer.

considering how it sounds, it's a winner even more.

(compared this against a Ross, dynacomp, keeley, Boss, Menatone, Maxon, and several rack mounted units.)

i've been playing and recording and gigging for 28 years.
would buy another one if it was stolen or lost.

As easy to use as any other compressor. My only complaints are that it's a pain to go inside to change the trimpot instead of it being on the outside. Also, you have to take the back off to change the battery instead of there being a little plastic backing that clips in/out of place like on wah pedals. It's seriously not a problem though, the pedal is so good.

Amazing quality. I use this pedal for clean arpeggios and chords, and some lead work. Great clean compression that's very transparent, not that uber squash you get from say a Keeley. I use this pedal with a Carvin Bolt with Duncan Distortion/59 and ESP KH-2 with Duncan JB/Jazz (both with coil splits) into the clean channel of my Traynor YCV-50 1x12 tube combo with Vintage 30. I prefer using it with the single coils, but it sounds great with the full humbuckers too. It only seems to get noisy with the sustain all the way up and as the notes have faded for a while, so the pedal is working really hard to make them sustain, which is normal for all compressors. I like the sounds of having the blend knob all the way to the right for that classic compressor sound, and at about 12:00 to a more transparent, subtle compressor. It's almost hard to know it's on, which can be nice.

I haven't had it that long, but it looks and feels to be extremely solid. Impressive! Certainly wouldn't need a backup.

Never had to deal with them, though I did send them an email telling them how much I like their stuff (also see my review for the Barber LTD Silver)

I use this pedal mainly for jazz and rock clean parts. It works amazingly. I've been playing for about 8 years and this is my favorite compressor to date, again, because of it's transparency. If it were lost or stolen, I'd buy it again, for sure. You won't find a better compressor for the money, especially. My favorite feature is the blend knob, allowing for transparency to be dialed in or out. I compared this pedal with the Line 6 Constrictor, TC Electronics Vintage Compressor, Boss CS-3, and Keeley Compressor, and it was by far my favorite.

Great, three easy knobs and a trim pot on the inside for voicing. My only complaints arethat the trim pot could have been on the outside as a normal knob and that it had an external battery compartment so I don't have to take the backplate off to get to the battery.

Great sound, particularly if you are going for transparency in a compressor and not the funky/country squash. Hi end and low end are preserved well. It can get a little noisy as the input signal gets low (as notes fade out). I use it with the (great) clean channel of my Traynor YCV-50 50w tube combo with Celestion V30. I play a Carvin Bolt with Duncan Distortion/59 and ESP KH-2 with Duncan JB/Jazz, both with coil taps, through a Barber Silver LTD, Maxon OD9, Dunlop Crybaby from Hell, Boss CE-5, Line 6 Echo Park, Line 6 Otto Filter, and Line 6 Verbzilla. I also play a 5150ii through a Mesa Traditional Recto 4x12 with V30s for my heavy stuff, but haven't used my compressor with that rig.

It seems to be built extremely well! Strong metal casing and sturdy knobs.

I've never had to contact them, but I did send them an email letting them know how great I think their pedals are.

This is a great compressor for clean sounds (I never use comp on dirty sounds). Brings clean solos to life, and lets chords ring forever. I prefer using it with single coils, but works with humbuckers as well. My favorite feature is that you can blend compression with the unaltered guitar signal for added transparency and subtlety. I've been playing for 10 years, and this is the best compressor I've tried. Again, just with it had the voicing trim pot on the outside, and a poppable battery box on the back. If it were stolen, I'd get another one for sure!

As this unit offers various sounds, finding out what is best for your own set-up and taste takes a while. The manual has some very good starting points though, and once you understand it isn't your average Ross or MXR, your in tone heaven.

Well, I must admit: I never liked compressors. I have always felt they were a bit too-obvious, a bit like chorus after 1986. If you're a cowboy you use a MXR, if you're part of Funkadelic you use Ross. The squash was always too much for me. What I was looking for was a studio-like compressor, one that does miracles to your recorded vocal or guitar track. You think your recorded guitar sounds good, until the engineer adds some tube compression...

The Barber Tone Press does exactly this: it enhances your tone. It raises the bass projection but makes sure it never becomes muddy, it adds sparkle to your high end, and it increases to sustain, especially when played clean. This is the kind of pedal you rather keep running the entire gig than using it for specific parts. It makes your guitar just sound much more musical, and it does make YOU sound like a better player (especially when finger picking clean, or playing Curtis Mayfield style licks). I do like that you can sound like an old MXR-unit: turn the blend fully clock-wise, and you have all the vintage squash you need. My rig now is Tone press - Fulltone Clyde - vintage Ibanez AD-9 - Pearl AD-5, vintage Boss CE-2, MXR Phase 100 script, Boss EQ-7, HBE Germania - Boogie Mark IIB / Fargen Miniplex. Guitars: Historic '59 Les Paul, Custom Shop Mary Kaye Stratocaster, '77 Fender Tele, '73 Tele Custom. The best results are with the single coils through the Fargen, mainly due to the fact that the Boogie has a 5 EQ (which also works as a compressor) and I find the Antiquities in my LP do not need much more compression. The Tone Comp is now on most of the time, and with the LP I set the sustain higher for slide playing. For the price of this unit, this is a must have for any serious guitarist.

The build quality is excellent, although I find the casing a bit generic, and especially the way the scews are adjusted is not "high-end". But reliabilty can only be judged after at least 5 years of work, and that's not the case here.

I have never had any contact with any builder or supplier, and I don't I ever will.

Up to this point, I find it a necessity in my set-up, especially if I play the Strat and Tele's. This is a typical case of "why didn't I know about this 500 gigs ago". The price is excellent. I hate it how some manufacturers charge hundreds of dollars for a Ross clone, which basically is 5 dollars worth of '60's electronics and half an hour with a soldering iron. The Tone Press is, for a compressor, quite affordable.

Couldn't be simpler, and lends itself well to experimentation

I'm a big user of slight compression - on a clean or slightly distorted strat. I've previously had a big crush, boss cs3 and mxr dynacomp. When the boss broke down I thought I try something else and the difference is astonishing. Its transparent but warm. My rig is strat into budda wah, barber tone press, dunlop univibe, zen drive (mild o/d) crowther hotcake (full one o/d), boss flanger, boss accoustic pedal, matchless chieftain. You can hear the results at www.doonicans.com

Too soon to judge

Too soon to judge

The instruction sheet that comes with it gives good starting points.

Tried it first with a Strat>Tone Press>Barber DD>Twin. Used the single coil magic dust setting as described. The clean sound was very good. Did add a little magic to the clean. Turned on the DD and it sounds like the two were made for each other. I was able to turn the gain down on the DD and still achieve the sustain that I used to have to add too much gain to get. Very nice. Have to be honest, it was a bit noisy though but, I had my Twin on 5 so, anything would be noisy at that volume.

I have three Barber pedals now and they are all rock solid.

Dave and his company are first class all the way. He modded my DD and got it back to me very fast. Do not hesitate to buy/try on of his pedals.

This has been said a thousand times before. This is the compressor for those that hate compressors. Really is. I did not like compressors before I bought the Tone Press because ones I had tried before did not sound this good. Always too squishy and took most of the dynamics out of my tone. This pedal sounds good distorted and clean. Thanks Dave. The Small Fry is next for me!!!

Simple 3 knobs-volume, blend, sustain. Manual is as simple.
Trimpot on the inside adjusts voicing to classic or modern.
Could this have been put on the outside?? Not a huge deal though.

ernie ball volume,tuner pedal-Tone Press into Bogner shiva.
I have an old lap steel with a pickup that doesn't have a lot of output-The tone press works wonders on this. I won't play the lap steel with out the Tone Press now. Definition, sustain, its all there. My tele, clean, sounds ripping as well.
Distorted, it gives a nice little boost, plus again, giving you great sustain for leads, and awesome attack for everything else. It does all this DEAD QUIETLY!!
Show me another compressor pedal that does that for 140.00.

Appears solid. I don't backup anything. Im not a pro player.

I emailed Dave on a pop it was making when engaging the footswitch. He got back to me within 5 hours and suggested trying a different patch cable. Cleared it right up. Apparently (cheap) cables will "store" signal or current sometimes, and then release it when you step on the pedal, resulting in a thump or pop. I should have tried that before I bothered him. Huge props for Dave on that.

I've tried some other pedal compressors, and while some were more extreme with the amount of compression, none worked as cleanly. Im still experimenting with this pedal, and find myself NOT using this pedal more and more.

Its awesome there are independant guitar,amp, and effect makers. It would SUCK BALLS BIG TIME if we were all just stuck with Boss and Digitech crap. I would probably have quit playing years ago and took up f*$%cking golf. I give this pedal a nine just to offset the constant 10's that get handed out here to everything that doesnt deserve it. The bottom line is, if a pedal makes me want to beat the shit out my guitar, its great. The Tone Press is great.

Ease of use is one of this compressor's strengths. Just dial in as much sustain as you want and set the blend knob for as much uncompressed attack as you want.

I use this with a variety of guitars, but I particularly like it with my Strat, which has a percussive sound with very little sustain unless I use a compressor. I use it with a half-dozen different amps, and it makes all my amps and guitars sound better. I like a lot of sustain, so I can change pitch and add different kinds of vibrato during a single plucked note. Any compressor increases the entire signal, including any noise that is present, but this unit adds no noise of its own. I always use a noise gate for any high-gain playing, that is, virtually all the time. Incidentally, I have had very good luck with the Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor, and I have two of those units. NOTE: Don't be afraid to crank the sustain to the max. Some people seem to think this is bad for some reason, but the Barber unit sounds great with the sustain maxed and the blend knob set for only the compressed sound.

I have never seen a unit built with better quality! It's a beautiful unit INSIDE, with high-quality components and beautiful solder connections. I recommend always having a backup unit for key components, however, and I now have two of the Barber units, to be on the safe side.

I've never dealt with the company directly.

I play all kinds of music from clean to grungy. The compressor sounds great in all contexts. I normally just leave it ON. Have you ever heard anyone complain that his guitar has too much sustain? I haven?t! I love the complex sounds a Strat makes, but I often wish it had more sustain, and I was frustrated by the staggered pickup pole pieces, which reduced the sustain of some of the strings. Well, about a year ago, I bought a Barber Tone Press. It was the fourth compressor I had bought. The one I bought right before it was a Carl Martin compressor, which was better than the first two compressors I had bought, but, like my earlier compressors, the Martin unit produced an annoying click or pop at the beginning of the notes I played, something that was very noticeable when I played with a clean sound. I had read that the Barber compressor did not have this problem, so I decided to try it. I loved it! It made all my gui-tars and amps sound so much better, and I got a smooth, natural compressed sound without any of that annoying noise at the beginning of the notes. My affection for the Barber compressor continued to increase during the last year, and I finally decided to buy a second one as a backup unit. Then, today, I got the wild idea to connect the two Barber compressors in series, to see how it sounded. It sounds great! Even more sustain, and without much noise. (I use a Boss NS-2 Noise Supressor right after my guitar, and I get good results from it.) I maxed the sustain knob on the first unit and turned the blend knob all the way to the right (5 o?clock) so no uncompressed signal results. On the second unit, I also maxed the sustain, but I set the blend knob straight up (12 o?clock). This gives a wonderful, lush, full, sustained sound from my Strat. Kind of like a Strat that sustains like a Les Paul. At last, I have the sus-tain I always wanted from my Fender guitars. Thank you, Mr. Barber!