Behringer CS100

It's a basic pedal so can't be that hard. Tone control extra feature that most compressors don't include, but can be useful. On the other hand...see sound quality.

Basically unusable sound quality. Others have mentioned the bass rolloff, which is bad enough, but I can't stand the breathing/pumping. I wasn't able to get a setting of attack and sustain that I ever felt improved the sound. Change the sound? Yes. But no control setting made my instrument sound better. Mainly wanted to try this for acoustic guitar - forget it - totally mutilated the sound. With appropriate levels of compression, can hear the level bounce all over as the compression releases. Same was true for electric although if you want to use it as a sustainer, don't care about loss of bass, and can tolerate the jumpy release you might find something useful. Glad it was really cheap, but not worth even that small amount.

Wouldn't use it on a gig so reliability won't matter. In fact I won't use it at all so it should last forever :-) I'll give it a 9 despite the plastic housing.

Never had to deal with their customer support. For this cheap stuff, nobody expects to get it repaired anyway...I certainly wouldn't.

Overall - It's an ugly green paperweight. I can't stand the way it sounds. I guess this where people generally tell you how qualified they are to write a review so here it goes: Been playing for 31 years, started building amps and effects 27 yrs ago, career as electrical engineer designing audio products (CD players, speakers, amplifiers, equalizers, mixers, surround sound systems, etc), currently designing/building custom effects. I also make about 20% of my annual income as a performing musician - solo acoustic and blues/rock band. Play Martin D-16, DCX-1E (no giggles please), Carvin SH-575, Carvin CT-6, Carvin DC-135, Tele Nashville Deluxe, Strat 50th Anniversary Deluxe.

First, it's not a boss cs3 clone, I have one and the behringer sounds way different.
To begin with, the cs100 has some bass-cut when engaged and this is why this pedal is not for bassists. Take the ble100 for this use.
Power supply is important, but behringer usually are more tolerant than most other brands in this department. To be sure, use an ibanez ac109.

Compressors are not easy to use, but if you want to use one as a special effect well it's simpler.
The cs100 has a great tone section, but remember it has some bass-cut always on.

I am going nuts, trying all those compressors... What I am after is a special effect, chicken pick, clearly different from my normal clean sound.
This cs100 is great in this view, since your sound is clearer and lighter (bass-cut...) at once, and the tone at 3 o'clock does a nice edge job without adding noise.
The sustain knob gives me what I need at noon, after it is too squishy/saturated and before I don't have the chicken effect.
That is with my fat tele, take another axe and you're up to redo the whole thing. Nuts, I said...
It sounds way good, clean and lively in my application.
With my light crunch channel the same compressor settings help a lot, giving articulation and freshness. But I only use it clean, basically.

Beware of this line of Behringer stuff, I've had quite a number of them and some trouble. But my cs100 always worked flawlessly.

On my clean special tone quest, I a/b-ed with:
Ibanez cp5 (no bass-cut, no shimmer, lacks treble), Ibanez bp5 (same but nice treble and saturation-free), Boss cs3 (no tone at all, and stupid power supply), Dod MilkBox (very full, not that clear, hisses), DamageControl Womanizer (only comp-eq, not a special effect-type of sound hence no match), Behringer minicom (many options but not the clear thing the cs100 produces), Boss lmb3 (curiously that one does a nice special chicken/Knopfler effect, but hisses like a rattlesnake) and Behringer ble100 (good for bass but no guitar effect).
The only thing that bugs me with the cs100 is that it saturates a bit past 11 o'clock on the sustain, and being plasticANDbehringer I can't trust it for good.

My next step will be for a whole other type of compression, the bbe orange squash. I think the ross-type compressors are not what I am after.
The cs100 is my favourite compressor so far, very useful in a clean tone application (for soloing and some bite), very different from the normal tone. A special effect rather than an inaudible one, like the scandinavian ones (compnova, multicomp, tc).
In any case, a fantastic value indeed!

Having bought a Behringer graphic equalizer and being very pleased with it I thought I would try the CS100.

Picking strings and fiddling with the knobs did not seem to do much, but when I began to play seriously the difference was incredible and very satisfying.

The 'Manual' is a single sheet of paper but it becomes obvious what the knobs do when you start using it.

I use the CS100 mainly with a Fostex digital recorder and headphones. With the tone control towards the treble end there is a faint hiss in the headphones but nothing serious.

There is also a very short noise as notes are picked, again this is more noticable with headphones and does not distract too much from the music.

I have only had this unit for a short while so reliablility is not an issue, the other Behringer pedal I have has had no problems.

Have not dealt with Behringer directly.

I play mainly 60's type music (Shadows, Spotnicks etc), this unit goes a long way to sounding more like the music I am trying to play.

Having played for nearly 50 years I have tried all sorts of guitar effects, this has to rate as one of the best. There is no distortion, even when playing chords, as happens with a lot of other devices.

I like the fact that the effect is very subtle but still manages to make a tremendous improvement to the overall sound. I would recomment it to a friend and would replace it without hesitation if I lost it.

For the price of the unit it has to be worth every penny.

Easy enough to use if you are familiar with compression, if not it should not take long to figure out what does what.

I like that it has a wide range of control - not just knobs "suggesting" it has a wide range of control

behringer? its my first.

Ive been playing a little over 20 years, had my fair share of gear. I wanted to point that out early.

I almost didnt even try it because of behringers rep, but i heard alot of good things about the cs100 and had to give it a shot. Im glad i did. I have not used compression in years, but Im getting more into country/twangy chicken picken type stuff and decided to go for it.

this is one sweet pedal. I dont have another compressor to compare it to right now, but it works as cleanly as i remember my old boss, and the high end still comes through!

this is my 3rd compressor ever. ive had a crapload of other FX but like i mentioned, never really needed comp. my first was a boss but i hated comp. at the time and ditched it. 5 years later or so i picked up a cheap compressor and it squashed the signal so much and colord it in such a nasty way i was turned off of compression for years.


anyway to make it short i tried it and i have nothing but good things to say. you can actually set it so you cant tell its on, but still get some nice compresiion going. i love the fact that it does not color the tone. you can keep your tone and have compression too!

it really has a wide range of uses, from barely there to squashed, from added attack tp long sustain. and the when using long sustain settings the swell is so smooth and transparent that it overshadows what i do remember about the boss i had years ago. thats saying alot considering its $30 new

it is plastic, so we'll see. i treat gear pretty nicely. the plastic danos hold up fine so ...........

OK. ill try and keep it short.

i mentioned how long ive been playing because i know how alot of reviews get written by someone who just started playing and are new to FX. ive had at least 100 pedals over the years - not all at once of course but still.

this compressor is a fine pedal. again, i almost didnt try it and i feel like a fool for not at least waiting to give it a chance.

what surprised me most is how clean and transparent it is. yes, with higher settings you can tell a compressor is on, but as far as sound quality and operation, and wide range of uses this thing is great. i was pretty young when i had the boss but i remember it killing the highs and coloring the tone enough that i ditched it. this is not like that at all.

i keep it about half (all knobs) and its a nice amount for twangy comp. i play so loud i get slight natural compression from playing my amp at loud volumes - but this pushes it right wehre i was hoping it would.

tone is important to me, and i am impressed. i dont use alot of FX (tubescreamer, EQ, and occasional echo in the loop) but if i need something else one day i may give behringer another chance.

too bad they dont make a noise gate in pedal form this fine.


sorry about the long review, i just wanted to point out how thrilled i am with this, and again.....i was not expecting this

It is almost if not exactly the same as the B*** CS unit.

I am using this with a Crate GX 80 amp. This box is the same strength compressor as the B*** for way less money. I mean look at it... it's the exact same setup.

It is not noisy to me. It is very clean.

So far..

Didn't dewal with the company.

It is great. It sustains my guitar single notes about 8 more seconds. If you have it turned up louder on the amp / overdrive pedal it can be for longer than that. And it makes everything about the same volume level so you can strum as hard as you want or as soft as you want and you don't get any major changes which is good for live work in my opinion. If you want changes in volume use a volume pedal.

Easy to use, but ALL COMPRESSORS require a lot of fiddling and tweaking. I've owned several different brands, some acknowledged as being among the very best (not including the Barber Tone Press). Incredibly, this little guy is right up there with them, and sounds actually better than most! The compression is very clean and civil, and it has none of that annoying "swell" that some have in the control settings I use. I like it a bunch!

Nice and transparent. Very surprising for such an inexpensive pedal. I don't know what HC means by "Pristine", so I'll have to give a score of 9.

I've had several Behringer products for many years and never had any reason to complain.

Never needed them.

My only complaint about the Behringer compact stompies is the difficulty getting the battery out. I use wall warts anyway, so this is not a issue.

Compressors are difficult to rate because of the different expectations people have for a compressor. The more seasoned among you know that. Some like them set all maxxed out and they actually like the "snap" attack. At the other end of the scale, some people want the compressor to create sustain with NO indication that a compressor is in the line. Some people just use it as a limiter to smooth out the stream of picked notes in a run. I just don't see how one compressor can possibly satisfy everybody.

I use a compressor to improve sustain as much as possible without any obvious swelling or sagging of the signal.

My opinion is this: I've had compressors made by BOSS, Digitech, Ibanez, and one "legendary" Dyncomp, and this Behringer is as good as any of those.
I hope that helps explain what I mean.

Controls are standart. Same knobs every compressor pedal has. So it is easy if you know how compressors operate.

Tight and sweet. Pretty musical indeed. However noise becomes an issue if you push sustain a lot. But it still delivers enough compression and sustain before the unit starts making noise, so noise cannot be told to be a really big issue there. But it still could be better. May be the plastic is one reason for the noise. Chassis can be tricky with a plastic case.

I would give it 8 normally but at this price it deserves a 9.

Well it is plastic. And the battery replacement is so lame. There is a spring in the middle and you push the slots on both sides with something angular and the top cover gets separated from the unit. Then you replace the battery. And while doing it you always get the feeling that the cover will never fit in there again because it will tear into pieces.

Anyway use an adapter. :)

Never called them.

Well it does the job in a decent way. Has its own character which is pretty musical but still transparent to a degree. Delivers out a pleasing tone which you would not expect at that price. It is a good unit in terms of sound quality.

But with the plastic case, I would not feel comfortable stepping on it on the stage. Well compare... Metal and plastic. ;)

It's a simple pedal Level, Tone Attack and Sustain, very easy to use and intuitive

It's so bad, I'm using a Yamaha RBX372 and it's cuts all of the bass tone, the sound it's so flat and without that great low tones. The only thing that it does right is the sustain, but this sustain is a bit artificial so I don't like it much

For 29 euros what do you want?? A s*** of pedal and a horror for your sound

It's as easy as twisting a few knobs. Set the sustain knob to the compression level you want and the levels knob to the desired volume and you've got a good compression set. Though you have to watch the quality of the power supply (see below). The manual is simple, though it's all you need really.

With a clean tone, I can get lots of pop from the picking (a la Country Chickin' Pickin') or just a nice, smooth rock compression for a strong presence in a lead by backing off the sustain knob just a little. Keeping the attack knob dimed seems to make this quite a transparent pedal beyond the compression. If it's backed off, however, it will be very noticeable as the boosts will come in discrete steps.

However, as I said before, you have to watch the quality of your power input. If I use a cheaper DC power supply and turn the sustain past 12:00 or turn up the level knob past 9:00, I get lots of hiss. But if I use a battery, no hiss at all. Though you will still get some hiss if you turn up the level knob since that will just boost whatever hiss is present in the existing signal as you'd expect. I don't have Behringer's own power supply, so I can't say whether that would be good enough for this pedal.

It's made of plastic, feels like plastic, but looks like a Boss without the shine. I'm just a casual player, so I don't know how worthy it would be for professional use. But hey, it's cheap and easy to replace.

Haven't dealt with them. Hopefully won't have to. But their warranty seems reasonable enough.

It's a compression pedal that's not noisy (provided you do your part) and doesn't compromise your tone. I haven't used other compressors so can't really compare. If this were lost, stolen or broken, I'd probably not cry over it and just buy another. It's not a magic pedal that makes me play better, but this pedal does have one feature that I find quite valuable - it has me playing more often.

I like it better than Boss CS-3. I A/B'd and found the Boss to be dull - definitely lost some highs, for which the tone knob did a poor job of compensating. The behringer keeps the original guitar signal a lot better, and I like the range of the tone knob better. The CS100 does a good job on both subtle and unsubtle compression types for guitar. The ranges of the knobs are relatively narrow - I was originally a little put off by the fact that they limited the ranges of the knobs, but I understand why: to prevent against reviews and customer service calls from people with no sense. The ranges do span the whole useful range of the pedal, tho - you can get all the good sounds out of it.

This is just one compressor, and there are many. If you only had a little cash and you were choosing between this and saving for months to get a $250 boutique Ross clone that uses $15 worth of parts, I would either (1)get the behringer cs100, or (2)learn to operate a soldering iron and read a schematic and make your own Ross clone. If you are a session player or producer, buy this one to throw on the pile, because it has its own character; it has IMO the bizarre distinction of being better than the pedal it imitates.

it's pretty easy once you get a grip on the compression fundamentals. like another behringer single effect pedal i have, every knob does what it says, the trick here is to know exactly what you want from the unit. Manual is a single sheet and very self explanatory.

this review is about the compressor sustainer used on a bass. i own a shecter diamond series custom 4, with emg hz pickups -passive, of course - with an active eq unit. i run it either thru my old and great fender bxr100 amp or a gallien krueger head and cab (don't remember the model). It really makes them alive. Level is surprinsingly smooth, and even though extreme sustain will always cause a clik and a hiss, almost overdirving the sound, it's a great sound when properly set up. it works great for a bass cause it eliminates the "quanks" and gives body to the thiner strings - now a phrase in the upper frets with the thiner strings sound full, and even. it doesn't suck bass. Attack control, that i don't like. Seems to only add ugly clips n clicks. sustain is spectacularly distinct, you will hear your bass without braking your fingers. Ideal for bass tapping. TIP: DON'T PUT IT AFTER ANY DISTORTION. THE INTELLIGENT PEOPLE PUT THE COMPRESSOR BEFORE IT. OTHERWISE IT WILL TAKE YOUR OVERDRIVE ALL OVER THE PLACE IN THE BAD WAY! my behringer bass overdirve is a completely new stomp box.

my first behringer was the BOD100, bass overdrive, wich i love. I've been giiging with it A LOT and the plastic is not an issue. Somewhere today I read another review about this new behringer stuff, and said "why everyone is pissing on plastic? safety helmets and pipes are made of it!" He was absolutely right. So, when i got this little gem, i knew better. This pedals are sturdy and reliable. Trust them. Only issue must be the loose attack knob, but it seems to be desingned that way. Who knows why. German fellas, explain to us, please!!

never dealt with them. never needed to. They seem to be a really customer focused company, thou. if not, why put killer stomp boxes for real people pockets? if that's not loving the musicians, i don't know what is

I'll state here that I've been playing non stop for 15 years. I've been rip off my money one too many times, bewitched by the tradition of certain companies, and the weight of their name. Guess what, it's really painful to see that your expensive and "original" gear sucks big time, fails every year, and, most of all, that all other musicians don't believe that a boss thing can sound like crap. The eyes have never been good to hear. USE YOUR EARS!! that's why i don't buy Ibanez, that's why i lov behringer. End of story. Besides, they really tempt you with the prices. Finally someone understands that a metal casing and a fancy list of famous artists endorsing is not what a musician want's. We all want good sound, and low prices. Am I wrong? fantastic value. Solid 10

Very Very Easy

Sounds almost like a BOSS COmpressor that i used to have. However I do have a problem though with the 3rd knob, which is "ATTACK". Somehow I cannot seem to get any response from it. From Min to Max still sounds the same, it's as if it aint working. Got a friend who had CS100 before and he said his unit had the same problem, ie the ATTACK knob dont seem to work.

But overall the sound was pretty cool, compared to the ZOOM 3000 Digital Multi Effects that I have.

Made of Plastic, Looks and Feel like Metal. Should be alright I guess. Havent really dropped it or anything just yet.

Dealt with the Dealer here in Malaysia and he was pretty damn superb.

For the price I paid, it's a gem!

Anybody can figure it out in seconds.

If you like compression, you can dial in the sound you want with this pedal.

Plastic body but seems solid enough. Treat it right and it will probably treat you right.

I've been playing forever. Back in the early 80's, Boss CS-3 compressor pedals were going for about $129. I had one back then and loved it. Now you have all these amps with all this stuff built in so why would anybody want to pay that kind of money for one pedal? But still, when you're playing onstage, individual pedals are much easier to manage than those "multi effects" units or "modeling" amps. So, individual pedals... For what these Behringer pedals cost, buy 2 of each (keep one as a spare "just in case") for less than the Boss CS-3 will set you back and you're money ahead and covered to boot. Oh yeah, and apparently they're a pain to change batteries so just get a good fully-regulated 9V power supply for 'em and forget the batteries!

This compressor is fairly simple to operate. It has 4 knobs: Level, Tone, Attack, and Sustain. It's not hard to get a good sound out of it, but like any other piece of gear it takes time and effort. Changing batteries isn't too difficult but not as easy as a Boss or Ibanez because it involves having to use a tool to get to the battery housing.

I have used this compressor with my Washburn N2 and Fender Lonestar Strat through a variety of amps: Marshall JCM 900 50W 2x12 combo, Randall RG80112SC, and Marshall AVT50H with custom 2x12 cabinet loaded with Celestion V30's. The results were pretty much the same across the board. The CS100 is excellent for clean sounds. I can really nail Lee Ritenour's "Rio Funk". Notes are nicely articulated and even in tone and volume, and it is quiet. Not bad for a pedal that retails for around $30. However, for distorted or overdriven sounds, the results aren't quite as good. The main culprit is the tone knob. To me, distorted sounds are best with the knob turned all the way down. That is the only way to get a good uncolored sound that remains true to the guitar's original tone, which begs the question as to why the tone knob is even there. The other culprit is the attack knob, which when turned all the way up is still fairly weak overall. There should be much more. An adjustable trim pot would be handy. The level and sustain knobs function as they should with distorted sounds, and the good news is that it's still fairly quiet, of course as long as the sustain knob is kept at a reasonable level. Truth be told, this pedal would be better if it was modeled after either a Dynacomp or perhaps even a CS-2 rather than a CS-3.

I've owned several Behringer products over the years, and none of them has ever failed. I've owned this pedal for about 4 months now, and so far so good. I would gig without a backup, but as affordable as these are, why not buy two and save one as a backup?

I've never had to deal with Behringer's customer support.

I've been playing since the age of 10 when Carter was still in the White House. I play mainly jazz, funk, and soul music, but I do like to rock out on occasion too. This compressor is a ridiculous bargain for the price, but it has its drawbacks just as every piece of gear does, even the really expensive boutique ones. I don't think it is quite a versatile as other compressors I have used over the years, which include a Boss CS-1 and CS-2 and 70's script logo Dynacomp. However, what it does well, it does very well indeed. I would buy another one without hesitation.

yes easy of course

i have limited use for this pedal, but if you like compression this pedal should suit you fine.. my friend has a 70s boss comp and i see no difference in sound quality between the 2 units.
LIKES - makes an otherwise unintersting clean sound very "energetic" and "exciting". massive sustain can come in very handy
DISLIKES - more prone to feedback when using distortion. any noise in your signal chain will absoultely be amplified by this pedal, that is the nature of compression.. if you have a very quiet chain you shouldnt have a problem

never had a problem with it in about a year, but i dont use it that often. only thing that worries me are plastic pot shafts

n/a

this pedal is useful for me if im playing clean on a guitar which does not have an even volume response on all areas of the fretboard (please find me a guitar that does!), been playing 10 years, although i dont use it much it is a fine example of a compression pedal and at ??12 british pounds i wouldnt hesitate to buy it again

Easy to use. Turn the knobs and LISTEN.

OK, first of all, I have never been a big fan of compression, I always thought of it as cheating, making you sound better than you are. I am also a Blues type player and love to play with dynamics. But I was looking for something to warm up and give a little color to my clean tone. I checked out many compressors and listened to lots of clips. But I decided on the Behringer simply because of the unbelieveable low cost. If I didn't like it I'm only out $20. But I tell ya, I absolutely love this pedal. I have been playing 30+ years and know good tone when I hear it, and this little pedal sounds damn good. I am using this with a Les Paul Studio - Boss TU2 tuner - Danelectro Pepperoni Phase (this order is no mistake, try a phase up front and see for yourself)- the Behringer compressor - vintage 80's ProCo Rat, Danelectro 7 band EQ - Danelectro chorus - Danelectro tremelo - Danelectro delay (used as reverb) into a Epiphone Valve Jr head into a 2 X 12 with Celestion Vintage 30s. Laugh at my cheap pedals if you want, if you heard this rig your jaw will drop. Everything on this pedal works well, volume will give you a big boost if you want it, I keep it about straight up. The tone knob works well, I like to roll of the highs a little, this is my tone. I am not sure I can explain Attack, but you can hear the difference as you go up, speeds the compression up. The compression is great around 12 o'clock, but I have pushed it up all the way. I have not found it noisey at all. Great sustain. You get a little "click" when turned up high, but it sounds good. This pedal is quiet, no hum at all, and does not color your sound at all. I am really quite shocked at how great this little pedal sounds.

Only had it a month, but I was surprised when I took it out of the box. It is heavy and quite sturdy feeling. I was expecting a toy at this price. Feels like my Boss pedal, only plastic. The knobs turn smoothly and firmly, also very surprising. And the footpedal has good resistance too. But I pretty much leave this on all the time. So, who knows if it will last, but it's much better construction than I expected at this price.

Who knows? At this price if it breaks I'll trash it.

I give this a 10 because it sounds great and works exactly as it should. You can spend more if you want, but you won't get much better. I look around for little gems, and this is a diamond.

Easy to use even with 4 knobs.

I play an American Fender Strat with vintage pickups.
My amps are: Marshall MG15CDR and Crate VC3112.
This Behringer CS100 sounds best with all knobs cranked up to max.
I find the Attack control to be a little weak.
The Volume, Tone and Sustain are great though.
Behringer could have just left off the Attack control.
I don't think this has real life Compression.
But the Sustain is great !

I'll only give it a 5 because it's housed in plastic.
But I would gig with it, but would need a backup pedal to be safe.

Never dealt with Behringer direct.
I bought it from Active Musician which SUCK as a distributor.
I ordered it on a Sunday when they were suppose to have stock.
But it arrived on a Thursday.
From New Jersey to New York should only be 1 to 2 days UPS.
Plus their on-line order tracking isn't updated daily.
I wouldn't recommend Behringer keeping Active Musician
to sell their products because they do a very poor job of it.

I play blues and mostly down home Texas Blues.
You know Stevie Ray Vaughan, ZZ Top and Johnny Winter.
This pedal is really good despite the Attack control sucking.
I like the pedal, but I don't think I would replace it.
Behringer is a a good pedal for the money though.
I might look into buying one of their other pedals.
You get what you pay for, just like anything.

Just had it one week ago, used it only at home, living-room levels.
I own the boss cs3, and I can state it is not the same animal at all.
I find the behringer to be simpler to operate, better focused in its application.
On the boss the sustain knob has a to strong effect, always very there, on the behringer it is subtler hence easier to use.
On the boss the tone knob can tame high frequencies, which can be useful in use with a harsh piezo tone, on the behringer it seems to only add highs.
On the boss the level knob is more effective, you could use it as a booster, on the behringer it is way softer.
Please note I don't say one is better than the other.
The behringer is quite easy to use, by the way.

I use it to level my Epi ChetAtkins nylon solidbody acoustic. I need the pedal to tame the overall piezo harshness, without losing sound clarity/definition.
It does a good job at that, but again at home sound levels, I'll post if any noise problems at high sound levels.
I have the dod milkbox, too country-nasal sounding. I have the boss, far too lifeless/dusty, sounds dead.
What I like in the behringer is its transparent tone and subtle attack.It works well to limit the peaks of the ChetAtkins, and doesn't pump just after.
For what it is, a simple pedal, it is better than the dod and the boss. If the boss gets a 4, the dod gets a 6 and this an 8.
For the ones looking for the perfect compressor pedal, run to T-Rex and get a compnova, there is absolutely no comparison.

New and working, but I know better since I have other behringer pedals and some problems with them.
Please note that the construction itself has nothing to do with the encountered problems, it is more a quality check matter.

For the particular use I have it sounds more than ok.
In fact I never could use piezo-equipped guitars without a compressor to smoothen things.
As stated above a T-Rex is the must but costs up to ten times more, I just can't make the step.
I also had a ADI21 but this one sounded too dull, and had input level problems.
So far I'm quite happy with the cs100.
For the price, clearly a ten.

Quite easy to get a sound out of it, as the controls don't do very much - just 4 knobs - gain, tone (treble cut), attack, sustain. Useless manual (piece of paper identifying knobs, input / output jacks etc).

Quite noisy, and fairly obvious "step" when it sustains the note. OK as a compressor, just squashes everything to a level. Set to high sustain, it doesn't really compress well (levels go up and down when switching pickups) but with sustain at 12 o'clock it sounds OK.

It's noticeable that bass attack gets sucked out by this pedal, no matter where you put the "tone" or attack knobs. Yer nice bottom E riffs tend to go "sprat" rather than sproing - and that's with a Telecaster!

There are probably better compressors out there, but this is useful to add a little drive, definition and sparkle to your sound, particularly with single coils - but don't expect that "Chic" rtm guitar compression. Sort of a slightly compressed clean boost...

The case is made of plastic, so it wouldn't stand a good clogging. Controls look pretty fragile - but for the money, what does it matter.

Couldn't say, if it went wrong, I'd just bin it and buy another.

This pedal just adds a nice top-end lift in a gigging situation, but too noisy and inflexible for use in a recording situation. A useful tool to leave switched on, in-line, particularly if you've got a small amp that could do with sounding a little bigger - but beware - it does suck bass out a bit.

Grate value for the money though!

as easy as any other 4 switch compressor (i.e., the boss cs-3, after which it is modeled). compressors take a while to find the sweet spot, but the good thing is once you find it, you leave it there and don't fiddle.

i can't compare it with a lot of other compressors, other than the dynacomp i had for a while. i played with a dynacomp, which sounded great, but felt it had little too much squish to it (at the time), and sold it. got the behringer because it had good reviews and was cheap (like $20). have had good luck with behringer p.a. equipment and figured it was worth a shot. pretty solid sound quality, doesn't overcompress your signal or alter tone too considerably. does what it's meant to do. sure, probably better made (and more expensive) comps out there. are they worth the added cash? to each his own.

seems dependable enough. solidly built. only complaint is a loose attack knob, but judging on other comments here, that must be in the design. the knob doesn't feel like it's loose and coming off, just that it doesn't have the resistance as the other knobs when turning them.

chose this for price and just to "test" behringer's new line of stompboxes modeled on other classics. lived up to the sound test pretty well. haven't a/b'ed it with the boss cs-3, so i won't comment there. typically, a pedal modeling somebody else's isn't going to be as good as the real thing. but behringer has got a reasonably good sounding comp here. it does the job. for musicians on a tight budget or not really needing a boutique quality compression, this is the real deal.

It's pretty easy to use, you have ?play? with it to get the sound you want, but you have do that with almost every pedal you buy.

I like the sound very much, it sounds really good, for that price you get a whole lot of effect. Again I like it!!

The only thing im a bit afraid of is the battery box, you have to take the top part of the pedal of, and the pedal is made of plastic, i got the blues overdrive to and i think it works and im using batteries in both of them, and it works!! All in all i trust the reliability of this pedal.

My overall rating on this. I like it, it's worth the price and much more. If you don't want to spend a lot of money on pedals, f.x if you just started using pedals for fun so buy it.

As easy as any compressor

Amazing, It does what its ment to do. DONT over compress.
I use this on acoustic, and vocals in the effects loop of my Laney acoustic amp.
My taylor sounds even better with this, and my voice mixes in with the acousic better now.
I have used this infront of the amp. Bit its sounds more (pro) sutle in the loop. I works a very well this pedal, far better than hoped it would. I was expecting a little noise, i cant hear any at all. I have not put the susstain above 12, o clock, so im sure i could get it to be nasty, but why would i want to.
I use teh level at 1 oclock, tone at 12, attack at 12 and susstain at 11. in the loop. My live sound is so much more controled woth this pedal. YES this is pro. Trust me. I use Focusrite in the studio so i know about compression.
For a cheap plastic pedal that cost #13 this my fav toy right now. I might get more. I use K&K pickups in my taylor with elexir strings, and i sing with an AKG d880. very happy with my sound.

Attack knob seems loose unlike the others, I dont know if this is the way its ment to be.

Has to be 10. its so cheap. and it works like an exspensive effect. Why not 10

The controls are not as responsive as they should be. They are not as responsive as they are on the Boss unit that the CS100 imitates. However, if you know how to use a compressor you will have no trouble finding the sweet spot. I use a compressor pedal mainly live to get a more focused, controlled sound; I leave it on all the time. So I look for a compressor pedal with pleasant character and one good sound. This is a keeper compressor pedal for me, because the one sound I use is very good, but by normal ?Ease of Use? criteria ? assuming that this is meant to be an all-purpose compressor - the ranges of the controls could be better.

I A/B?d this with a Boss CS-3, after which it is fashioned. They sound very different to me, but I like the Behringer much better. While the Boss CS-3 has more responsive controls and my all-time favorite ?splat? type attack effect, it is just too dark, and the tone control doesn?t move the frequency response curve in the area that needs to be regained. The Behringer CS100 has a narrower range of usable sounds, but I like the stock sound very much ? a lot more than any sound you can get out of the Boss. With all knobs at noon it sounds close to transparent, and with a slight adjustment of the tone knob you have a similar tone to what you started with, only compressed; that?s what a compressor is supposed to do. For me personally the CS100 is a better unit than the Boss CS-3. Not just better value ? it is better at any price. I do wonder why it?s a knockoff but it sounds different than the original.

This category should be for vintage gear only. I can?t see the construction materials being an issue. Has anyone ever seen an Ibanez 5 series disintegrate? I haven?t ? they were plastic. I can see the boards on the current Behringer stuff being much more reliable b/c it is a much more modern construction type than Boss and all those types. I?m sure they chintzed on the switches, but so did every mass-production pedal company that I know of; and that?s always an easy fix if you have a soldering iron and half a clue.

Never contacted them. They do make themselves easy to find, tho ? both in the manuals and on their website.

Pro player/teacher - playing for 20+ years. For the way I use a stompbox compressor ? leave it on all the time for a more polished live sound ? the CS100 works great. I have a shelf full of compressors, and so far the CS100 is still in the rotation. It does the trick. It does not sound exactly like a Boss CS-3 and that?s a value-add in my book, because the CS-3 is unacceptably dark for me.

As easy as any compressor. Not that easy, in other words. You must fiddle with things to get the sound you want. Easy on the level control, .75 on the sustain.

Sound quality is very good. You can easily make it noisy by setting sustain at over 75% or by setting the level at over 60% or so. Resist the temptation. Set ptoperly it sounds as good as any other pedal compressor, no foolin'.

I gave it a 5, but only because the entire Behringer pedal line is new. Unit is made of plastic, but it's real NICE and solid plastic. The surface has the same appearance of painted metal as a Boss or Digitech pedal. The battery compartment works EXACTLY the same as a Digitech pedal, such as the Bad Monkey. Good design. Foot pedal mechanism bends slightly to left or right if your foot presses to one side or the other, but construction seems very solid.

I play blues, rock, roots stuff, electric and acoustic. Have MIM Strat, Gibby LP, Alvarez MF80C.

This thing is an INCREDIBLE value. It cost about $70 or more LESS than a Digitech or Boss unit. The tone control is very useful. It adds a lot to my playing. It evens out chording on my acoustic, making the sound more professional. It adds good sustain to electric, and helps prevent "lost" notes when I glide over a note playing fast.

It is very unobstrusive in the sound chain, as long as you don't set its controls to excessive positions. If lost I'd buy it again in a second. I've compared it directly to both Boss & Digitech units, and it is every single bit as good as either, in terms of sound. In terms of sturdiness ...we'll have to see. But the main point is simple: it competes on equal terms with the best Digitech and Boss pedals on sound. And it costs about ONE FIFTH what they cost. That is frickin' fabulous. Behringer -- you done good.

Same pro and minus of CS-3 ... the attack knob his not immediate.

I'm playing ambient music treating electric guiatr and lap steel guitar (http://solyaris.altervista.org).

This pedal is a clone of Boss CS-3 (I suppose).
I never used a CS-3 but reading comments on harmony central about that, I found the same pro and minus on CS100!

It seem reliable even if plastic-built

I asked support to behringher via behringher.com helpdesk because I didn't understand how to insert the battery ... the answer came back in two days ... excellent helpdesk support in my language (italian).

Btw, the battery is placed in the same place the Boss pedal are .. but you have to use a scredriver or a pen to remove the check pins (blocked internally by a spring) ... strange behaviour ...

What positively surprised is that this pedal run really as a COMPRESSOR (I mean a LIMITER) and as a sustainer.
In this sense is really better than Guyatone ST-2 (this last can't run as limiter).

A bit of noise with susatin know at maximum.

I belive thet the price / value is optimal!

http://solyaris.altervista.org

I agree with most points of the first reviewer. This is as easy to use as any single effect compressor. Compressors are tricky though...you can EASILY adjust one to suck the life out of your tone...or add nasty background noise....or enhance your tone to a higher level. This one is no different. After you get it adjusted it works well though.

Sound quality is good from my ears. Although you can make it noisey, it is easy to get background noise under control.

Plastic construction makes you worry about it. But it seems to work well now. I'll give it at 10 for now.

Behringer has always been good to me to work with.

I'm using this pedal to add LIGHT effects to the piezo signal coming from my Brian Moore guitar. It is working well in that role. If it were lost or broken I'd buy another..not much competition at this price! I love what Behringer is doing: competent single effect pedals at a fraction of the cost of a USED Boss pedal. I believe that it will help begining guitarists stay interested in the guitar. There will be some of us more experienced players who will buy Behringer effects too, knowing what a great bang for the buck deal they are

Its a simple soul this thing, but dirt cheap. Designed by Germans ( alledgedly) and made by Chinese robots its fairly good at what it does, and for the money, ...it's excellent value.
Controls are level, tone , attack and sustain, all briefly and childishly explained in the ' manual'...a little bit of paper in the back of the blisterpack.

As with all compressors, it takes a bit of fiddling around with, and you have to set yr levels and noise reduction carefully, the usuall stuff. Use your ears.

I use it with a Squier Tele and a Gibson The Paul through a Korg AX 1500 G, into a Marshall 5210 and a Yamaha B212. And yes, it is very noisy when you turn up the ' level' control on the thing. But keep that one down and the ' sustain' up , and you'll be ok.

It keeps my Gibson under control and gives the Tele that hollow twang chicken-pickin' thing. Plus it does add extra sustain and thickness to the sound...which is what it's supposed to do innit? And all for 19?....long live the Chinese for having robots that can do the bizz for these prices.

The tone control is useful too. Pretty decent for the money.

Its plastic.....but to be fair it feels strong and sturdy. The switch is positive and the controls work fine. Just be careful with your gear and dont jump up and down on it like a twat.
yeah I'd use it without a backup, why not?

If it conks out , just throw it in the bin and get another....its not a precious thing, its just an El Cheapo compressor pedal.

No idea.

I'm well pleased with it really. Its a nice thing to have fr no money really. It could do with a metal housing to eliminate some of the noise, but the Behringer people have done it again , a useful thing for pocket money. but please, look into the noise thing?
I'm tempted to have a go at some ' good' compressors, the ultimate would be a Joe Meek in pedalform, now that would be a thing... are you reading this Joe?...
Its a good buy for the money for sure . try it out to see if it suits you.