Barber Electronics Tone Press

Ease of use? Well, just plug the cables in and go! Ease to get a "good" sound? - A bit more trickey. Yes, there are only three knobs (plus the internal pot) so how hard can it be? Answer- depends on what sound you are trying to get, but more on this later

Probably like you, I had read quite a few good reviews about the Tone Press. I bought online without playing one, just based on that. Compressor sounds, like so many effects, can have a very subjective element to them. What sounds like the bull's eye to one guy may sound completely off the target to another. For me, the Tone Press was off the target. Not that it is "bad" in any way, just that it is not the sound I was looking for. I wanted a clean, sustained sound without a huge "pop" on the pick attack. I thought that's what the TP would deliver, and it does to a certain extent. I felt that the compression had to be set at 1 o'clock or less and the boost blend up quite a bit too. With those settings, there was not much "pop" or noise, and the sound was quite clean. Problem was most of the time, I and the other guys I was playing with were not sure if it was on or not! (Only partly kidding here!) Not a huge amount of sustain/compression, almost more of a limiter-booster sound, which may be perfect for someone whose goal is staying below the vocals. For me, there was not much use for it.

For me, the Analogman Bi-Comprosser is much closer to the mark. I now have the one with the Ross and Juicer sides. Very versatile unit. The Ross with the adjustable "attack" knob turned way up gives a similar sound to the TP when the TP is set with higher compression and lower clean blend. With the "attack" turned down there is that more legato sustained sound, which I was looking for. Plus the Juicer side is an added bonus with a sort of different, more organic sound.

Looks very well made. Did not have it very long for real world testing, but just based on appearance, I give a 9.

No contact

As I said above, the Tone Press was not the sound I wanted. But, I can see there is a fuction it does serve pretty well, so I am giving it a 7.

Very easy to get a good sound out of this pedal. Editing is simple, 3 knobs...SUSTAIN, BLEND and VOLUME. There's also 1 internal trimpot which adjusts the color of the sound. It comes set to 10 for a more transparent type of compression but you can roll it back to get more vintage tones (Ross, for example). The manual is pretty straightfoward and easy to understand.

My setup is Suhr Classic (Bardens /Duncan JB in bridge) into Marshall JCM 1/2 stack.
This pedal is very quiet and only at the most extreme SUSTAIN settings will you hear any noise.
The Tone Press is the most transparent compressor stomp box I've ever heard. The BLEND knob allows you to dial in the amount of compressed signal so you can preserve as much of your attack as you want while still getting extra sustain. I found myself able to get big, open clean tones with nice articulation and super squashed vintage sounds by simply altering the amount of SUSTAIN and BLEND. Really versatile.

I just got it so I can't rightfully say one way or the other but...
this pedal is built rock solid and I would bet it will hold up.

I spoke with David Barber on the phone and he was really cool, very helpful and informative. I paid him through PayPal and he shipped the pedal the next day. 2 days later it arrived on my doorstep.

I play many different styles and this is a really versatile compressor. It's capable of subtle dynamics shaping and sustain, the kind of sound you can leave on all the time especially for clean tones. I don't use the squashed sound much but when I do this pedal delivers in a really musical way. I've had a bunch of compressor pedals over the years and I've used top shelf studio units. The Tone Press has more in common with the studio compressors than the crappy stompboxes. This is a very high end sounding pedal. If stolen I'd replace immediately. With most boutique compressors over $200 the Tone Press is a steal at $140 (direct from Barber). It can do what all the others do, but this kind of transparency from a pedal? That's an feat only the studio boxes can achieve. I highly recommend this pedal to any professional guitarist looking for a great sounding compressor. My pedal board will never be without it again. ( I give a 9 because I hope Barber will out do themselves next)

This pedal is very easy to dial up, the manual is helpful but like most guys, I leave the manual in the box until I have problems.

I first tried this pedal with my electric strat rig & I like the sustained sounds while playing clean but I'm not one to use compression with my overdriven or violin lead sounds at all, it just takes away from the dynamics IMHO.I wasn't blown away by this pedal as I am not a big user of compression,,,,,,BUT,,,,,I recently purchased a Godin Accousticaster.
I never really liked the sound of piezo bridge accoustic guitars because of the terrible quack & the transient spikes assosiated with them, I desided to try the Tone Press with this guitar,,,,& boy am I glad I did.

The Tone Press smoothes out the spikes & reduces the quack enough to enjoy playing solidbody accoustic without squashing the pick attack.
It's very transparent, now I can live with playing this accoustic live, & strum hard till my hearts content without the annoying spikes!!!

The only problem I've had so far with this pedal is the footswitch is a bit inconsistant, but I primerily use this with my accoustic & I leave it on all the time.
For this I'll give it a 5.
Other than that it's been working good.

Havn't tried, I bought it second hand so I am not going to bother, I could just replace the footswitch if I need to.

I would definately get another if this one was lost or stolen, I am excited about how well this pedal works for accoustic, I can't see myself playing a piezo equipped axe without it!

This is about as easy as it gets - 3 knobs. The volume and sustain are pretty self explanatory...It's the blend control that sets this thing apart. Wonderful feature - it's kinda like mixing dry and compressed signals in the studio, only condensed into one knob on a foot pedal. It's relly well designed and it works.

I've used this with a variety of stuff, but the real barometer is on my church gig. I play at a large church in LA, with big sound system...everything is miked up or DI'd and they like low stage volume. I play mostly a great strat, thru the tone press, into an early 70's SF Fender Vibro Champ (6 watts!). No reverb or FX - the sound guys add all that stuff on their end. It's primarily an R&B gig, sometimes I'll add old ProCo Rat and a Cry Baby, sometimes not. The sound is sweet, brilliant, and beautiful. I get so many "ultimate strat sound" comments - I love it. The Tone Press is also a great 7db clean boost when you crank the volume and blend out most of the comp. Just a great sounding little pedal, to the point where, at some setting or another, I almost never turn it off. It's dead quiet, and wonderfully responsive.

Feels solid as a tank. I don't bother with backups - if it were to break, which I doubt would happen, I'd just keep playing. The sound is in my ears and hands, not in the gear, but as far as gear goes, it's nice to have stuff like this that really matches my "musical muse".

I talked to Dave Barbour a couple of times, just talking to him about pedals, amps, bicycling, life, and within a couple of minutes, I knew that just as the Tone Press was a top quality pedal, the guy I had on the phone was a top quality person. I have no doubt, going by our conversations, that this guy is extremely committed to both his products and his customers.

I play everything - lots of sessions in LA, records, jingles, etc. I play casuals, lots of church - the whole pro musician thing. Been playing pro for over 25 years. I would definitely buy this thing again if I lost it. The only thing I would add is a battery access door to avoid having to take the bottom off. Great pedal...yeah, Dave!

The pedal is designed with simple features and very easy to use. Three knobs - Volume, Blend, and Sustain, a pilot light to tell you that the pedal is on, one input jack and one output jack, an internal trim pot, and the actual foot switch. The owners manual is one page and is written in plain English. It is concise and gets you started with some suggested settings that show the versatility of the box and the various ways it can be used. Changing the battery is time consuming since you have to remove the bottom plate to access the battery compartment. Mine didn't come with a battery so I learned this right away. It would also be nice if you could adjust the trim pot with a simple screw driver port located on the top of the box, or by turning an external knob instead completely removing the bottom plate. Voodoo Labs does the same thing with their pedal design. I guess companies can keep their designs simple and the cost down by doing this, but it transfers the problem to the user and makes accessability more diffucult. These are the only negative things I can say about the Tone Press. They are not really significant enough to keep you from buying this pedal.

I typically use an American Standard Stratocaster, or my semi hollow body Ibanez Art Star AS120, which is equivalant to a Gibson ES-335. My amps are both all tube, hand wired, Fenders. A 1977 silver face Princeton, and a 1984 blackface Deluxe Reverb II that was designed by Paul Rivera while working for Fender in the 80's. Both amps sound so good that effects just serve as seasoning to the incredible sound that they produce on their own. I bought the Tone Press to replace my trusty Boss CS-3 Compressor/Sustainer that I always had on full-time while playing. The Boss, for the money, is a good compressor. But mine, after so many hours of use, became very noisy while at idle or while playing at very low volume levels. The Boss is solid and offers plenty of squashy sounds, but it does produce the infamous popping sound if you are not careful with the knobs. In comparisson, the Tone Press is dead quiet until you turn the Sustain knob past 4 o'clock. Even then the noise is so low that you could play with the Sustain knob full on and not be bothered by the amount of added noise in your signal. My favorite setting is Volume: 3 o'clock, Blend: 1 to 3 o'clock, Sustain: 3 o'clock to full on. The idea of turning the blend knob off (fully counter clockwise) to use the pedal as a signal boost is also a great feature. The added boost (with or without blending in compression) that the Tone Press gives your sound is a big plus. Especially when I am using the small 12 watt Princeton tube amp. It brings the volume of the amp up and allows me to use a low wattage amp, wide open, with the tubes really working, and lets you keep up with the drummer in a band setting. I really like the sound I get with this pedal. Too many people over buy and get these large powerful amplifiers and then crack the volume knob open to 1 or 2. You have to open the amp up and let the tubes work. Most players will never play venues that allow them to turn an amp up to 8 or 10. With the Tone Press you get smooth compression, no popping, a meaty signal boost, and zero to low noise added to the signal. It sounds fantastic with clean or distorted settings. My typical pedal chain is a Boss TU-2 Tuner, Vox V847 Wah, Barber Tone Press, Fulltone Distortion Pro, Voodoo Labs Micro Vibe, Boss RV-3 Digital Reverb/Delay. According to the Guitar Player mag review, and the Barber manual, if you go inside the box and adjust the trim pot, you can get the more squashy sounds of famous vintage compressors of the past. I have not tried this because I like the factory setting with the trim pot turned on all of the way. The foot switch is quiet and does not add a clicking-popping sound to your signal when switched on. This is a great sounding pedal.

I haven't owned it very long but this pedal is built with military grade components. The inside is very clean and arranged nicely. The true bypass is a great feature, but I will leave the Tone Press on all of the time. Compression is something that I use all of the time. I can't stand to play without it. Even if I were stuck with my old noisy Boss CS-3, I would still use the effect. The benefits of compression are very subtle but the touch of sound it adds is something I can't live without. Once you get used to the effect and then turn it off your sound is just missing something. The knobs on the Tone Press are large enough to tweak with your foot in between songs. The housing is both lightweight and sturdy. My gig bag is getting heavy so this is a great feature. I don't even pack the old CS-3 since the Tone Press sounds great and should hold up to anything that I will put it through. You have to respect your gear. My pedals are packed in their boxes before placing them in the gig bag.

I haven't called because I haven't needed them. Based on other reviews here they sound very supportive. How many companies out there let you talk to the guy who designed the product. Support should not be a problem and the quality of the product should keep the calls down.

I play a variety of music styles. Mostly rock and blues. I have been playing for 33 years. I don't just run out and buy anything on the market. I try to carefully research everything I buy since money for guitar gear is not on the top line of my budget. Mistakes from impulse buying can be costly with guitar gear. If it doesn't add tone then why put it in the chain and why carry it around? The Tone Press is a high quality pedal and the tone is superior. Again, compression is a subtle thing and is something that is not going to knock your socks off when you stomp on the switch. It is not nearly as noticable as a distortion box is when activated. The silk and smoothness that compression adds to any sound, clean or dirty, is one that I can't live without. If I could only own one pedal it would have to be a good quality compressor. My Deluxe Reverb II gives me all of the dirt that I need by using the channel switching feature. After compression, all other guitar effects are secondary to me. The blend knob on the tone press is the best feature. You can mix the compressed signal from the pedal with your unprocessed guitar signal and find the exact amount of compression that is needed. I chose the Tone Press after reading HC reviews and after reading the GP magazine review. GP gave it the Editor's Pick Award. The Analog Man Comprosser and the Keeley Compressor were my next choices. The lower cost of the Tone press and the great features also made my choice an easy one. High quality true bypass, quiet operation, military grade construction, serious hi-fi tone, at a very reasonable price. What else do you want? A great value for the dollar. Thanks Barber for a great product at a fair price. I will investigate their other pedals. Build your guitar sound by starting with a good quality all tube amplifier. This is where most of your tone budget should go. You don't have to spend a fortune for good tone. I have two fantastic "vintage" amps and only spent $550.00 for the both of them. A good guitar is important but secondary to the voice of the amplifier. Sprinkle in effects only as needed.

Easy to use, if you know what you're after. The manual gives some suggested settings that help you find a sound you like right away. The "Color" knob (located inside the box) is a little inconveient to get at, but I just set and forget.

I really like the sound of this box with my setup (Am Tele, Deluxe Reverb). It simply makes my guitar sound "better." Works completely as advertised. I have had no problems with noise. I have to give it a 10.

I use this box in the studio only right now, so it's well cared for. The construction looks both sturdy and clean, so I would not hesitate to gig it without a backup if necessary.

I have not dealt with the company so far.

I play rock music. This pedal is my friend. I have played for 15 years. I own a lot of other gear, including Fulltone stuff (which I like), Ibanez TS9, AD9, etc. I would buy this box again if anything happenend to it. I have used many other compressors such as Boss, Guyatone, Oxygen, etc. I like the Barber the best, hands down. I wish the color knob was on the outside of the box, but oh well. The Tone Press helps me make music.

A bit tricky at first (this is a very original design). Once you get the hang of it you will never want a nother stompbox compresser.

The only downside to most Barber pedals is that there are so many options (he puts internal trim pots in everything) that it can get overwhelming. And having to unscrew the back plate to change batteries or turn a knob is a big pain in the ass.

This is THE best stompbox compresser ever. Yes, really. I have an Analogman BiComp that I waited eight months for. The BiComp is great if you are using single coil pickups, but humbuckers hit it too hard and cause that "pop".

The Tone Press is an original idea that I am surprised no one ever thought of before. The ability to dial in an uncompressed "Class A" boost to the squashed sound is a godsend.

All Barber pedals are built to military specs. I don't see it breaking anytime in the forseeable future.

Haven't needed it.

This is THE compressor in a pedal. Although the Analogman and Keely units are popular, they are old school and are too squashed all the time.

The Tone Press can get just as squashed, but can also breathe some open-ness back in. It is something to hear, really. No "pop", yet the sustain is there. Much more natural.

If Mike Fuller of Fulltone is the king of recreating the old classic sounds (which he does very very well), David Barber is the guy pushing the envelope and coming up with unique ideas that people say "why didn't anybody ever think of that?"

Oh yea, and this pedal is $135 brand new. Hello. Half the price of the Analogman BiComp. And BiComps go for $350 on eBay since there is such a long wait. This pedal is even better and unbelievably affordable.

THIS is the best compressor ever made. A no-brainer.

Extremely easy to use, just use the blend and sustain control to dial in the desired amount of compression. I tossed the manual after the first five minutes of playing through it, you know what you want, twist til you get it!

My dream compressor, and believe me, until now it WAS just a dream, is a compressor that is silent, transparent and twiddle little (not having to tweak endlessly). A great compressor is one that you don't even know is there, its just providing you with that even, yet boosted bandwith that allows you to stretch a note or chord when needed. This is it!

Time will tell, but its built well.

I play all styles, but I mainly use compression for slide and rythym comping (chicka,chicka, chicka). A must have for those applications. Click it out for straight up rock or blues. Keep it on ALWAYS if you're in a Steely Dan cover band (ha!). I wish nobody knew about it, but word gets out fast!

Very simple. Just dial in the amount of sustain you want and turn the blend control till you get the desired balance of compressed and uncompressed sound.

I bought the Tone Press because I read that it allows compressing clean guitar sounds without the annoying artificial pop at the beginning of notes. And it works!!! I have three other compressors, all of which work okay with distorted guitar but which are unsatisfying for clean guitar. Now, at last, I'm getting the compressed clean guitar sound I've wanted for so many years. And it's easy! I don't know why other manufacturers cannot do this. I have a Carl Martin compressor, which is good, but for clean guitar it doesn't sound right, and it doesn't have enough gain when you use a lot of compression. My advice: Buy a Tone Press!

I've only had it a few days, but it looks and feels rugged.

No contact with the company.

I play many styles. I like a lot of sustain from my guitar, and this gives it to me in a clean, pure, natural way. I've been playing 40 years and have tons of gear. I would definitely get another one. If fact, I may buy another one just because I like it so much. The natural, pop-free sound with clean guitar is the best feature, but the ability to blend uncompressed guitar with the compressed guitar provides desirable richness to the sound. The only thing I would change would be moving the tone control from the inside of the unit to the outside, but this tends to be a set-it-and-forget-it feature, so it's not a problem.

This is a tough category, because it's easy to get a good sound out of it, but it takes a bit more time to find the one you're searching for. The blend knob, which is completely brilliant, adds a bit more complexity than the typical compressor. Also, the knobs are interactive, so you'll need to tweak it a bit, but the sound you want (short of a massively squished sound) is definitely in there.

I am using this with a 2004 American Deluxe Strat (with the S1 switches and SCN noiseless pickups) into a Boss TU2==>Tone Press==>Fulltone OCD==>Zoom PD01==>Zoom PD01==>Boss DD20 into a stereo amp setup with a Music Man HD130 and a Music Man HD150. I know you're not supposed to give 10's here, and it is true that there are so many 10's on Harmony Central that it's impossible to tell what is real, so my 9 here means that this is a FUCKING GREAT PEDAL!!! This is the Compressor for people who hate compression (like me). The most important thing I can say about the Tone Press is that it makes my Strat sound more like a Strat. The second and fourth position, which normally are muddied up by distortion, are now recognizable with a little grind on. The overall sound is focused, but never smothered. I can still slam rhythm lines and never feel like the notes are being pinched or overly squashed. I liked my sound before, but now when I turn this thing off, I feel muddy, flabby and low class. Something to mention is that when I first fired it up, I put a slightly weak battery in it, the LED fired up nice and bright, so I thought everything was AOK. At this point I thought it was more of a limiter; I heard a little sustain, but I wasn't overly impressed. Then on a whim, I ran the Tone Press off of the daisy chain from my TU2, and the pedal took off! My sound became so clear I couldn't believe it, and with NO NOISE AT ALL from the power supply. So either use a really good battery, or a power supply, and you will love this pedal. It really is absolutely beautiful, and it's the first pedal I ever bought that I felt I needed to review here (I've given it 5 months, so it's not just the Honeymoon, I really can't live without it). One other thing to mention, which I think other reviewers have already said, is that this thing will not squash the shit out of the notes like traditional compressors; it is more subtle than the old school stuff ( which I never liked). So if you do want massively squashed notes, you might go with Keeley or Analogman.

I opened it up because I wanted to look at the trimpot ( which I still haven't needed to mess with), and this thing is exquisite! I wish that I looked half as good as the insides of this pedal. I actually laughed out loud. I am proud to own something that was so carefully and lovingly made in this plastic and styrofoam, McDonald's, Coke or Pepsi world. I will confidently use it without a backup. I leave it on all the time anyway, so I don't have to worry about the switch going bad, which would probably be the only thing that ever would go bad.

Haven't dealt with Barber, and if I did, I'd just have to tell him how much I love his pedal.

I play big, beautiful, funky, sometimes rough, new classic pop songs, and this pedal has lit the fuse for my tone. It makes me so damn happy, I would absolutely buy it again if I lost it. The other compressors I've played are a vintage Boss CS1, and a Boss CS3. First of all, let me say that the CS1 is so wildly overrated that it makes me sick. The notes were squashed and pinched, the tone was colored, it was awful. Please don't listen to the vintage snobs. I actually played the CS1 AFTER I bought the Tone Press, and for a minute, right before I plugged it in, I was worried that I was about to hear one of those Holy Grail pedals that everybody talks about. Man was I relieved! The CS1 is barely better than the CS3, which is cold monkey dung. I've never tried a Keeley or Analogman, so I can't dis them, but armed with the Tone Press, which is a fraction of the price, I really don't care if I never try them. This pedal helps me make music, because I love my tone and I want to hear more of it, so I keep playing. Fuck it, for the overall rating I have to give a 10!