Demeter COMP-1 Compulator

Plug it in. Tweak two knobs for desired effect. It doesn't get much easier. Changing the battery is a minor hassle but the battery lasts a long time. One minor problem - the LED stays brightly lit when the battery is dead and so is the unit.

Very transparent and smooth. Sounds great with anything I have tried (strats, tele's, p-90's, humbuckers). Killer for slide playing.

Built like a tank. Make sure your battery is good. (See "ease of use")

Excellent and friendly. Recommended. No printed warranty policy but I have been told it's one year parts and labor.

If you think you need a compressor, then the Compulator will most likely satisfy you.

This compressor is easy to use. Two conrols and a trim pot that you can adjust to set the amount of effect. You need a small phillips screw driver to access it.

I use a strat with EMG (David Gillmore setup)pickups and a Heritage H-535 guitar which is similar to a Gibson ES 335. I also used this compressor (for my latest album) on a Gibson ES 175 with an old PAF humbucking pickup, and through a black face Fender Vibrolux with 2 x 10" jenzen speakers. It sounded great with passive pickups not as graet with EMG's. The best compressor for my Emg pickups is th Boss Cs-3.

The Demeter optocompulator is a solid unit. I think Demeter is a great company and the man himself was very nice and helpful when I called him.

Great service!

I play a wide variety of styles as a band-leader when playing corporate events. I am also a Contemporary Jazz Guitarist with 2 solo releases and a new duo CD on the way. I used the optocompulator on all guitar passages (on my new recording) that required a clean tone with compression with nice results. The only problem with this unit is that when used with active pickups, it will give a slight pop when footswitching it.

Two knobs--compression and volume. Not much easier than that! There are no patches to deal with. You set it it and stomp it. The manual is similarly bare-boned. If you don't know what a compressor is for, then you should learn about it before you buy one.

Pristine. You know it's there when you really hit the strings, and it just evens out the spikes. It also is transparent on the decay of a note--it'll keep it as loud as it can for as long as it can. But there's no pumping or breathing as it does so, and the tone of your instrument comes through.

I haven't had it long enough to have an opinion, but the case is metal. The knobs are exposed, so you'll always have to be careful not to knock them.

Never dealt with them. It took two months to get the thing though, which was irritating, since the store said it would only take a week.

This is an extremely transparent effect--which is great for a compressor. The sound is only as good as your particular instrument and amp combination. This is the first dedicated compressor I've owned--I've had one in a Korg A3 rack mounted effects unit. I had not been convinced that I needed to use one--I prefer controlling volume with my hands. But last night I tried this Compulator with the big swing band I play in, and it was great! We did a big band arrangement of "Birdland," and it made the sound of my guitar a lot more present and less spikey. "Birdland" is an exuberant number, and it was there that the compulator shined. With the competition of trumpets, trombones, saxes, bass, piano and drums, I really have to pound out the notes. Sometimes things get a little uneven. But the compulator straightened it all out. On other slower tunes with less dynamics, the compulator might not be the best thing. But for something loud, it gives you an edge. You can play with an appropriate amount of abandon, and let the Compulator control the volume.

Very easy to use. Turn one dial to adjust the compression, turn the other to adjust the level.

Very smooth and very quiet. I've tried quite a few compressors (Boss, MXR, ProSonus) and have never been reelly happy with the sound or the effect but the Compulator just seems "right" with a bass guitar. All the extra knobs on the Boss and Prosonus got confusing quickly but the Demeter just works.

Can't tell as it's still pretty new but the construction looks rugged so I don't expect many problems.

I called Demeter to order one from them (no local dealer) and they were kind enough to direct me to RK Music who a) had one in stock (Demeter were making a new batch but it would've taken a week or so) and b) could sell it cheaper that Demeter direct (pretty standard.) Good work on both fronts.

I play a Fender Precision and a fretless Jazz and this compressor works well with both. The fretless needs a bit more compression for my desired sound but, quite frankly, they've never sounded better.

This is the most straight forward , easy to use pedal I have ever used and I've used hundreds of them. You plug it in and it sounds great. What could be easier? is 'nt that what all stomp boxes are supposed to do?

The Compulator is super clean, super quiet and really flexible. it sounds great with an amp, and sounds great direct. It adds a little of that "1960's Beatle Voodoo" to your sound"

I've had it about a month and so far no problems. It's built well and ooks like it can take a beating. I've certainly dropped it enough times

Best customer support experience I've had. I hate to keep gushing about them but this is a classy company that makes only the best stuff
and they are really friendly about explaining it. I have had some terrible experiences in customer support with some of the major brands oevr the years and Demeter really has knowlegable people who are into the gear.

As you can tell, I can not say enough about this company. The Compulator has given me a sound I have been looking for for years. I've always known that you could get the that sound if you plonked down a few thousand for an LA 2A but now for a couple of hundred dollars you can add that LA 2A magic to your guitar sound. I'll never play without it again.

The pedal is well made and simple to use. Not much on looks but it gives you that guitar compression mojo thing.

This pedal will suit any musical style in thatit makes your guitar stand out in a track or live. It's dead quiet and adds a lush shen to any guitar sound.

I have yet to use it live but I do a lot of studio work (I am a producer & major session player) and havd dropped it a few times & knocked it around. In the
speed of a session it's hard to keep your equipment in prostien sshape. things fall a lot and get knocked over etc...

the company was very informative and easy to deal with. Shockingly easy to deal with

I have been playing a long time and own a lot of equipment and this is one of the most indespensable units I own.If it was stolen or I lost it, I would have to
have another immediately. I love that there is very little tweaking to do. Just plug it in & it makes you sound better. Is'nt that what gear is supposed to do? I can't
speak highly enough about this piece.

It's a pretty basic pedal with 2 knobs - compress and volume. The more you up the compression the more you have to increase the volume. There's also an external trim pot for adjusting input gain but I haven't had the need to adjust it. I've got the compression dialed in around 11 o'clock and the volume around 1 o'clock and it sounds great.

I play PRS's through two Mesa Boogie Mark II C+ combos, one set for clean and one set for high gain. If I want to move some air I'll run them through a pair of old checkerboard Marshall 4x12's. On my pedalboard I have a volume pedal which feeds an A/B switch to route signal paths to my amps. The clean path has the Compulator, a Fuzz Factory, an old orange Fulltone FDII, a Menatone King of the Britains, a Fulltone Choralflange, and a Maxon AD900 delay. My dirty amp has a H&K Replex delay in the effects loop.

The Compulator sounds really amazing, and has dramatically improved my clean tone. It's fatter, warmer, and just makes single coil sounds s-i-n-g. If you've got a strat or other single coil guitar - you should really try this pedal out.

For what it's worth, I've played through some expensive rackmount compressors & limiters in the past, but this thing sounds and feels really musical to me. It's dead silent, too. It sounds good all by itself, and insanely good through my Choralflange.

I play mostly rock & jazz fusion along the lines of Phil Keaggy, John Petrucci and Alan Holdsworth, and this pedal is great for complex chord voicings, single note lines, and slap harmonics.

It's practically built to military spec. As long as you don't drop it from a cliff it should be fine.

N/A

It's pricey as far as pedals go, but it's really ace if you play clean a lot. It's earned a permanent spot on my board.

With only two knobs, it'd be hard to get a bad sound out of this device. Advancing the "Compress" knob from 7 to 12 o'clock positions adds some zing to your sound; going beyond this adds more and more effect. Set the "Volume" knob to match effected/uneffected levels and you're all set.

To date I've run my 1974 Gibson SG (with DiMarzio and Kinman pickups), my Route101 "Rincon" (Tele clone, with a center pickup and a Fishman Power Bridge), and my Ibanez Artist 12-string through this machine. Each sounds wonderful with it. These all go into an ADA MP-1 preamp, an old Alesis Quadraverb, and a Tube Works MOSValve power amp into a Mesa/Boogie 1x12" cab loaded with an Electro-Voice speaker.

With the SG I can get a "singing" tone which lasts ages. Off the Rincon it's easy to get a "Last Train to Clarksville" tone; add some treble boost and turn the "Compress" all the way up and you can do "Nowhere Man" justice. The 12 sounds huge.

The unit is very quiet, though of course the boost from compression will amplify any noise off the guitar.

I've not had this long enough to judge overall reliability, however, folks say Demeter's stuff is pretty much bulletproof. The box is solid and the footswitch feels equally so.

Haven't had occasion to deal with the company directly.

My current project for which I'm using this involves a fair amount of playing in a folk/rock/country vein. I can't imagine someone not being happy with the tones off this unit -- perhaps some might like adjustments for the attack and release, but it seems to be very useful as-is.

I've been playing guitar since 1968 (make me feel old, won't you?).

I would certainly aim to buy a new one if some jerk made off with this. <g>

Couldn't be easier, two Knobs: compression and volume it's hard to get
a bad or non musical sound out of this pedal. There's also a trim pot
that's side accessible to adjust overall gain up to 26dB.

I used the comp-1 live, signal line as follows: Strat-Vox wah-Demeter comp-1
zvex super hard on-Analogman clone chourus-Rat-Line6 deley modeler
into a Tone King comet 40. The demeter was quiet and sounded fat and
luscious on it's own and improved the sound of all other effects. The
Demeter and zvex SHO are huge together!!! The night before I used an
Analogman Bi-Comprosser which is great also, and blew away my previous
Boss comp. But in a shoot out at home, the Demeter ABCd against the Boss and the Analogman Bi-comp. the Demeter seemed more hi-fi and
quieter...and did, as claimed by Demeter resemble the teletronix LA-2A
while the Analogman Bi-comp. was more like a "new and improved" Dyna-
comp. or Ross(the Bi-comp also has an Orange squeezer type unit that
does sound cool, in the same pedal!) Both blew away the Boss.

It seems well built, my only problem is that it could be easier to
replace the 9-volt, but there is a power jack...which I have yet to try......

I have dealt with Demeter before(I own one of his amps) Great guy and
you get treated as you would expect from a smaller high class outfit

This is the best compressor pedal out there in terms of ease of use,
tone and value...and it's small(about the size of a MXR Dyna-comp)
I've been pro since 79' and play rock,R&B,county, whatever sounds
good...and I have been using comps. almost as long...Dig it
If I lost it at this point I think I would replace it right away.
It is also the editors pick in the comp. shoot out in the new Guitar
Player Magazine

Two knobs and a footswitch...That's all! Very simple controls and a pretty blue L.E.D. to boot...

I've used this pedal on two recording projects (one professional and one home studio) without one word regarding noise from two different engineers. I leave it on all the time and I've never noticed any problem with additional noise. I set the compression knob at about 10-11 o'clock and the volume somewhere around 2 and I've yet to hear any "pumping" or "breathing" from this compressor.

I can't really say. I've not owned it long enough to tell, but from the look of this pedal (and all of Demeters' products) I can't imagine any problems...

I've never had the need to talk with anyone from Demeter.

I've been playing bass as my main source of income for 25 years and I've tried about every type of compressor on the market. The Demeter Opto-Compulator wins hands down! I definately would buy another if this one where stolen/damaged... I play several styles of music...Blues, Jazz, Funk, Rock, Country, and a little bit of everything else, and I've never seen the need to turn the Compulator off. It works great with my Jazz with roundwounds,'75 P-Bass with heavy gauge flats, my Mustangs, my '59 Kay, all my basses... Everything from slappin' to tappin', harmonics to lowdown groovin'...This IS the compressor!!!