Carl Martin Compressor/Limiter

No manual. I know you can get one on line but... Would have been nice to have some preset examples. I started at 12o'clock with everything and have ended up with the comp toward 9 and responce toward 3. You have to have some eperience with compression to use it out of the box.

Baker and Zion >wirerless>tuner>CMcomp>bossEQ>ts>klon>CBwa>blackface fender super reverb. Sounds great. I can get the sustain I need for clean and distorted leads. I leave it on all the time. Its full and, if you tweak the gain, can get some great sounding slide sounds. The noise my system produces is not the fault of the CM. On it is own the CM is very clean.

The first one I got from same day music was DOA. Same day was great the sent another one out right away. I've read others have had simular problems. I switch it on and leave it on, so I don't know how durable it is. If I was giging every night I would have another one in the wings.

Haven't worked with the company. I like their product. But because there was no user manual in the box and my fist one was DOA, it says somthing about their customer focus.

Play mostly 70's rock. Been playing for about 30 years, not much into giging for money; free food and beer, we play alot more qigs that way and have a great time. I would buy another one. IT kind of depends on what other gear was stolen or lost with it. Its really a great effect. I would replace my klon fist but the CM comp would be my next purchase. I give it a 9 only because of the poor documentation, the DOA, and that the don't seam to know a 4 button compresor is not just plug and play. (the box did not contain instructions...come on guys)

sent it back to Musician's Friend. What's going on with Carl Martin???? I just bought a delayla, compressor and chorusIIx and they all threee have gone on the fritz!!! I sent the compressor back for warranty repair and the other two are within MF's guarantee period. I got the 2Faze and that still works. but this makes me very concerned. how could that many go that bad?

I'm getting an exchange, so I'll have to see. stomp boxes need to work, period. if they dont, it doesnt matter how good the sound is.

The manual isn't really needed if you have a basic knowledge of compression. The range of adjustment is complete, with no amount of compression or limiting unattainable. The Response control is a nice plus and gives even more flexibility in control. Lights indicating On and Active are accurate and most welcome.

So far, this is the best compressor I've ever used. It is much cleaner than the others and does not alter my instruments sound. It completely corrected the response problems of bright and dull spots in the intonation of my bass and hollow-body electric, This pedal provides something beyond simple dynamic control that I never expected. With it, I can actually control the frequency response of my instruments. I guess it makes sense that evening out your intonation would remove unwanted frequencies.

The unit is quiet. The only noise I hear is when I push the signal beyond it with post effects or boost. Compression is first in my signal chain. I can get an excellent limiting with a discernable compression with absolutely no increase in noise.

The switches don't pop, either. I don't know what a 10 is. I never gave anything a 10. This might deserve it, but I'll refrain.

Seems pretty tough and professional. Knobs and switches are solid. I hear they're attached directly to the board, however. I hope that doesn't come back to haunt me. I wouldn't throw it across the room, but I'll use it without a backup for now.

For my varied styles, this is a clearly superior effect pedal. I've been playing 35 years. I would replace it if lost and won't be shopping for another compressor as long as I can forsee this lasting.

Intuitive and easy to use. Four knobs: Threshold, Compression, Response, and Gain allows you to have extensive control to get the sound you need. Their webpage offers a very brief (manual) tutorial that will walk you through how to use it. I give it an eight here because, obviously, a 2 knob pedal would be easier, and it will take someone who is not familiar with a compressor a little time. However, do not be deterred, the sound is worth a little learning curve and you can get great sounds long before you have mastered the controls!

The sound is mostly transparent with very little noise. You can get a full "compressed" sound, or one that is barely there. In general, I use a slight variation of the set-up provided on their webpage for a "thicker" sound. The sustain is great and helps to clarify the notes when using overdrive or distortion. The gain is also great to help "drive" the tubes in my amp, which produces a beautiful, yet not muddied sound. I had been looking at Keeley, Blackbox, and Maxon. However, I did not have the chance to play any of these. Our town music stores only have the standard Boss, DOD, Ibanez, Danelectro, etc... I found the slightly used Carl Martin and it blows away the standard mass produced fare offered by Music superstores. When I played it, I believe it sounded like the reviews I read for the Keeley and the Blackbox, so for the price I knew I couldn't go wrong. I haven't.

Has held up so far and appears very sturdy.

I play (folk) rock-alt.country-americana, who's to say? I think of it as rock-n-roll, but what does that mean anymore! I have been playing over 20 years. I have a 78 Telecaster and a Fender Deluxe. The compressor is part of my set up and is usually on. It makes the clean and the overdrive channels sound better. It doesn't alter tone, but instead enhances it, it puts meat on the bone, so to speak. I feel like I was able to get a "boutique" pedal at a BOSS price and I am very happy about it!

Spend some time with the manual from their website to grasp the concepts of what the knobs do first, and you will find this pedal much more useful. Manual should have come with it, for sure. No excuse for that. once you've got the concept, it's easy to tweak.

The key to this unit is to use restraint in the amount of compression applied. My goal was to fatten the sound and even the levels without the heavy squashed tone or extra "clicky" attack you can get from over-compression. My favorite settings are : threshold 12:00; comp 9:00; resp 3:00; gain 12:00. This gives a smooth, fullness to your tone. I find it most useful for super-clean sounds through my Fender Deluxe Reverb. Mind you, if you like the squashed sound, you can also get that with this unit by dialing up the comp knob, or dialing down the threshold knob.

Seems very solid. Been using it for about 7-8 months, gigging about twice a month.

Not dealt with them.

This is greatest for the "Nashville" sound, especially with a strat in 4th or 2nd position, or a tele. I'd replace it if stolen. I don't use it in combination with any overdrive/distortion, because the noise gets magnified too much, and most of those pedals add enough compression. It is a tall pedal, but at the back of the board it is easily accessible as a result.

The manual is a great place to start with some "basic" settings. The RESP and THRES can look to be usless until you hear what they do.

I'm using the Carl Martin with a 2002 USA Strat, George L Cables, T.C. SCF, MXR Bluface Digital Delay, and a Fender '65 Twin Reissue. (clean side of rig)

I've heard that some people have some noise issues with this pedal. I haven't had any problems so far. Some people maybe cranking the gain up too much.

Looks to be pretty solid athough I wouldn't have put the "on" LED so close to stomp switch. Some people wear combat boots and that LED may get broken. Usually, the aggressive players won't be seen with a Carl Martin anyway. I'll have mine on all the time so I don't really have to worry.

Haven't dealt with them. So I'll assume they will be kind and helpful.

You may think I'm crazy, but I actually sold a Keeley Compressor to get this. Yes, I did. The Keeley's are in thier own world. They're dead quiet, and super smooth, and built very well. But, me being the compression hog that I am, didn't get enough out of the Keeley. This is where the Carl Martin shines. Plenty of compression, and options that could enable me to dial it in right. I could also dial a Keeley/ROSS sound out of it too.

If you want a meat&potatoes compressor, get the Keeley. If you want meat, taters, salt and pepper, plus A-1 compressor, get the Carl Martin.

After unpacking the unit and plugging it in, I found it to be relatively easy to use. After tweaking the controls I would say that you could even use this unit without a manual as the characteristics of the controls become evident after a little woodshedding. As far as the sonic characteristics, I would give the Carl Martin Compressor a 10 as it sounds as good as some of the more high end studio compressors I've used in the past.

Used first with a 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb & a Tele, the Carl Martin compressor yeilded all the twangy/sustained clean tones of the Nashville scene, then plugged into a 100W Marshall Super Lead with a Les Paul, the control of the dynamics was great.

The pedal seems to be built very well. I've had mine for about 2 years. I had one problem with the switch, but I guess that could happen with any pedal. I would use it without a backup and feel comfortable.

When I had the problem with my switch, I contacted the Carl Martin warranty center (listed on the Carl Martin Website) filled out a simple form and sent the pedal back to be repaired. All I had to pay for was shipping, but most manufacturers require that. The turnaround was extremely quick and the customer service was excellent.

I play all styles of music professionally, from classical, to country, classic rock to metal. I've been playing for 32 years so I have had the chance to use every fad out there. I usually play any variety of Strat or Tele, but I also use LP's, Ibanez RGseries(for a metal gig) and Ibanez AM series semi-hollow for jazz or blues. I've used the Carl Martin Compressor with many combinations of guitar & amp and found it to be an indispensable tool for my personal playing style. Prior to owning the CM Comp I used a Bellari tube compressor, but found the CM to sound like a studio compressor, but all controls are geared more for the guitar players use. I like most that they have incorporated the thres and comp controls to be able to dial in just the right amount of compression, without all the breathing associated with most compressors that only have 2 controls onboard. All in all I would say this pedal does everything I need, fits my playing style well, is easy to use and reasonably priced, considering the features you get. I like it!

Very easy.

Studio quality.

Unreliable. Pots went bad and are prone to break.

Outside of warranty -- fogetaboutit!

Poorly designed build quality. Pots are prone to stress and will break off the board. Replacing them is not easy. The pots are hard to find and must be identical to line up with mounting holes after being soldered directly to the circuit board. Ditto with the jacks -- they mount directly on the board and must align with the mounting holes. For an expensive pedal, this is inexcusible, and, imho, the kiss of death. Mine failed after only minimal home use, and it was in perfect, like new condition when I bought it.

Easy is relative. The unit is somewhat easy to use if you are familiar with compression and somewhat difficult if you are not. I'm familiar with the concept as I have used the Boss compressor and various rack models for years. The manual is minimalistic, but offers a good explanation of each parameter and gives you a few typical settings to start with. There's a built in regulated power supply, so no wall warts. This feature is likely one reason that the pedal sits awkwardly high. However, I came to love this feature, as you can place it behind other pedals (like my Recto footswitch) and still access the on/off footswitch...very nice design.

Various guitars (Strats, LPs, PRS, Ibanez etc.) -> Carl Martin Comp/Limiter -> Cry Baby -> Triple Recto (3-ch) and (2) 212 Genz Benz G-Flex cabs. Fulltone ChoralFlange -> Alesis NanoVerb in the loop. The Carl Martin Compressor is as transparent as the finest crystal...no joke. It changes the dynamics of your sound, but not the tone. Unbelievable sound quality that rivals the best studio compression units. I use mine for slightly compressed clean sounds. I use a slightly higher gain setting in order to overdrive the front end of the Recto just enough to provide extra sustain for soloing on the two high gain channels. Awesome.

This unit is built well, and I gig without a backup.

Never had to deal with the company. Somewhat informative web-site.

This is simply the best compressor I have ever used. Your tone always comes through, and the unit must be a true bypass design, because when its off, you never know its even there. Components are of the highest quality, and there's a built in regulated power supply, so no wall warts. Icing on the cake.

It helps to pull the manuel from the Carl Martin web site. You need to understand what "threshold" and "resp" does. But within an hour of messing with it I found some great tones.

INCREDIBLE TONE. I wish I could give it a 15. It is truly transparent and no bass response loss. My Boss CS-3 is now in the drawer (I used it for 10 years but now it's bye - bye -- I did a side by side comparison and WOW) My favoite settings on the Carl Martin are as a limiter ( that is resp knob fully clockwise and thres. set so it just beeps on with the peaks, comp is at 10:00 and gain set to make up for loss. ) the tone is just gorgeous. I play a customized 1989 EC Strat with aftermarket P.U. s - also a no-name big hollowbody with great P-90s and a custom tele. with b - bender. Here's the chain: Carl Martin limiter----Tube Screamer-----Boss EQ----Ibanez analog delay ---- Fender vibrolux or Allen Old Flame. (notice the absence of digital junk) This compressor made a huge difference in chime and clarity. It is not noisy at all. I've played 35 years - mostly like rockabilly, funk, R+B

don't know yet. I carry a backup compressor - hope i never need it.

This is the compressor to own if you care about preserving real tone. I would buy another if necessary. Well worth the price. The foot switch seems a little flimsy but so far it ain't broke.