Guyatone ST-2

Very easy. 2knobs, Level and sustain, and a switch titled "Direct" which mixes the original signal in or out. Sounds best when "on" to mix both signals.

This is where this little pedal excels. Don't let the small size (2.75" wide x 3.75" long x 2" high)fool you. This little pedal puts out some good sound, better than any other sustain pedal I've used or tried. The ST-2 does not change or mess up your tone or volume either. It does exactly what it is supposed to do, compresses and sustains, without adding mud to your signal. It's made by Tokyo Sound Co. LTD in Tokyo Japan. Japanese electronics are among the very best.

Reliability is an objective category. It all depends on how you treat your equipment. Nothing in this world will hold up if you mistreat it.

The case itself is metal and feels more than tough enough. It is, however, electronic, and electronics will only take so much abuse. So, don't mistreat ANY of your pedals if you want them to last.

The on and off stomp switch is sturdy metal, and is very easy and smooth to operate. It does not require much pressure to switch on and off, and does not make that hard, loud "click" that most other pedals due. You have to be a lot more careful with this pedal. If you are the type that stomps heavily on your pedals, avoid this one, you WILL break it, and will likely break your other pedals along the line, too.

The input and output jacks are made of plastic, but that shouldn't be an issue if you put this on a pedal board with an AC adapter like I have it. Once it is on the pedal board there is not need to mess with it.

The only issue I have is the Level and Sustain knobs are so close to the on off stomp switch that you have to be VERY careful when you step on it or you will probably break off the knobs. This is because of the small size.

I just got this pedal yesterday, and spent about 3 hours playing with it. As long as it is in my pedal board, it should stand up to normal use. I have never had a "heavy foot" so I don't foresee a problem.
Treat your stuff well and it will last you. I've got some equipment that was made in the 60's and STILL works well. Reliability is based on how you treat your stuff. It will last if you take care of it. I expect this pedal will serve me for a long time.

Haven't had to contact them yet.

The ST-2 is a VERY quiet and good sounding pedal. It does not alter your sound in a negative way. I found it rounds my sound out and adds a subtle shimmer and brightness. If this pedal were to break or be stolen, I would definitely buy another one. In fact, with good equipment like Guyatone on the market, I don't understand how Boss stays in business.

Two rotary pots for sustain and level and a two-way slide switch for the 'direct' option, plus a silent switching stomp switch. And that's yer lot. Very simple layout. Easy to use.

Jack sockets for signal in and out and a Boss-style 9v powere socket.

Surprisingly quiet in use. I tend to use at marginally above unity gain with the sustain around the mid-way point and the direct switched in. Absence of bells'n'whistles probably helps the noise level down.

The ST-2 sits on my pedalboard after a TU-2 tuner and in front of a Morley PWO, Keeley SD-1, heavily modified ProCo Dirty Rat and Digitech DigiVerb.

The ST-2 sweetens the SD-1 and thickens the Dirty Rat as well as adding sustain to both. Looks can be misleading and in the case of the ST-2 it can be seriously under-estimated.

It seems mechanically sound enough and the stomp switch looks a heavy duty number. Casing, whilst metal, does not compare with either Boss or Digitech for solidity.

Mounted on a pedalboard with 9v power supply so batteries not used, therefore no repeated stretching of the U-band that holds the base in place. This makes the pedal look a bit cheap, and the slightly fragile feel to knobs/pots doesn't help either. All things considered though this is a tidy, simple-to-use compressor which does a pretty decent job. That direct switch makes all the difference as other reviewers have stated.

None.

Another freebie, the ST-2 does a good job although I much prefer my Monte Allums modded CS-3 for its versatility and vastly improved signal/noise levels over the stock Boss unit. For clean sustain or pushing the Keeley or Dirty Rat I have no complaints regarding the ST-2.

Its small footprint is a real bonus. Shame it just looks a bit cheap'n'nasty when it works so well and is so easy to use.

As this compressor cost me nothing I shall have to give it full marks for value. I don't think I would buy another when I could buy and modify a CS-3 with Monte Allums Opto mod instead. However, if you want simple, easy-to-use compression in a very compact unit give this a try.

It is a real simple pedal to get a good sound of it. Level (effect), sustain and a direct on-off switch. The direct sound swith is a plus. I live it on all the time.

This pedal is wonderful! It really get all nuances and details of your playing to come alive. I use it through a Laney LC30 and it shines wonderful. The pedal settings I use is Level (12 o'clock), Sustain (11 o'clock) and Direct ON. This pedal is very, very quite! Goes nice also with distortion, chorus effects.

It seems to be robust enough! The time will say! I do not use the batteries compartment.

Never used!

I play basically classic rock. It souns excellent also por country, jazz, etc.. I play for almost 20 years and this pedal is a great gear. If it were stolen I would buy it again! I love it the size of this pedal, very small and will fit in any spot of your pedalboard. I also loved the DIRECT sound switch. I adds a subtle mix of the original sound, but sufficient to make your overall sound less compressed and more natural. Five stars!!!

Two knobs, useless manual turn the knobs and listen.

I have never used compression before, at least not a guitar compression pedal. Supposedly my Line 6 Pod(long gone) had a compression setting but not really. I was looking for a way to enhance my clean sound, I play a '62 RI Strat or a Gibson semi hollow twin humbucker guitar into a Music Man '65 Reverb Head and 2 12" Vintage 30's. Currently playing a lot of funk, classic rock, soul, dance stuff.
I tried it out in the store but I can never really tell until I play with the band what a pedal will do for the overall sound.
This compressor did a lot more than I expected.
I tried it at extreme settings at home and yes it was a bit noisy when Level and sustain were way up. past two o'clock.
At the settings I actually use it however, the noise floor is well below the threshold where you really even notice it,
Sustain around 1 o'clock, level a bit louder than unity and I have been just leaving it on all night. I also leave the direct mix slider on. Makes notes stand out from the mix more, longer sustain, the notes hang nicely with my Distortion on. With those settings it is subtle but effective, just what I wanted. It seemed to help liquify the notes while using a slide too.
I like the straight signal with more sustain too, especially with Santana type sound.
The ST-2 makes the Tubescreamer and Radial ToneBone Classic pedals more effective, I have really backed off the drive knobs of both units cuz with the compression on that much drive is just not needed,
Guitar sounds way better, everyone said so, even though they don't know why.

Seems sturdy enough, nice silent switching, why do you need a backup, gig will go on whether guitar is compressed or not. Rubber gasket not an issue with powered pedal board, I like the compact Japanese design, I am thinking of getting one of their pedal tuners too,

No experience to share

I have been playing since 1975, still this is my first compressor so I can't really rate it against other products. It improves the clean and driven guitar sounds so I like it.
It is nice and small, with top mounted jacks, so it fits well on the board.
I am so glad I did not spend the ridiculous amounts of money Keeley is asking for his compressor. This unit does more than I expected for a fair price.

This is a super user friendly little unit, level, sustain(compress) and a direct switch which adds some dry signal to the mix. Manual is not much help, but very simple to use. I don't know what a firmware revision is. This product is made in Japan, which is refreshing, tired of all of the Chinese stuff. Very small green metal box with rubber seal to hold back plate on.

This is the best sounding effects unit I have ever used, it was hard to decide where to put the setting, because it sounded good on every setting. I play it thru an acoustic so I use the direct switch to add some dry signal. This compressor gives me the chickin' pickin' Nashville sound I've been lookin' for. I use this with my RD20s Alvarez acoustic guitar which has a Fishman NeoD (single coil) pickup which goes right into the unit and the out out cord runs thru a LR Baggs para DI right into the house system. I love every setting, but I have decided to put it at about 12 oclock, level, 9 oclock sustain, direct switch on. The sound quality is incredible for a compressor, NO NOISE, and it does not suck the tone out of your guitar, incredible.Always sounds great. I tried a Dynacomp, Aphex Punch Factory and Digitech Main Squeeze, none of these compare to th ST2. I mean the Keeley is the Holy grail, but for what I do, this rocks.

I can see no reason why it wouln't be reliable, I always leave it on and set the same way. I would and do gig without a backup. Some people worry about the rubber gasket that holds it together, heh, if it broke, I'd duct tape it together, I'm a good ole boy.

e-mailed them once to see if it was made in Japan, never answered, it says made in Japan on the box by Tokyo products. The company GodLyke, makes higher end compressors. I don't see them beating this. I did send the warranty card back, doesn't say for how long, you have to ship it to them, and send them 5 bucks to ship it back, that stinks, don't expect it to break. If it does, I'll get a Keeley.

I play bluegrass/country, this is perfect for what I do, awesome compressor. I have been playing 30 years. I have a behringer PB100 preamp which I don't need anymore, replaced by this and the use of The LR Baggs para DI (best acoustic DI period, don't own one, the church that I play at has 2 for folk to use.) I compared it to 3 others and also after reading reviews here bought it and was blown away. If it was stolen, I'd probably get another one, I love the sound. This gives me the perfect tone that I had been looking for. Hey, I do wish it was as sturdy like a dynacomp and had a screw on back,but I'll take the sound quality.

The Guyatone ST-2 is about as easy to use as any compressor/sustain unit. The instructions are pretty minimal, but do include some useful information about what the knobs do and electrical requirements of the unit. Some suggested settings would be cool, but a good sound is so dependent on your ear and setup that I don't think it matters much. There are 2 knobs- "level" and "sustain". Level is amount of compression and Sustain is amount of sustain- pretty simple stuff. There is a "direct" on/ off which is great when running straight to a board or PA- especially useful for acoustic/ electrics.

I use my ST-2 directly after my Rickenbacker 350, Ric 36012, and a Fender humbucker- equipped Tele. From the ST-2, my signal goes to a Snarling Dogs wah to TS-9 Tubescreamer to Line 6 MM-4 Modulator. After effects, the signal goes to an Ampeg Reverb Rocket reissue, Line 6 Duoverb, or Mesa Heartbreaker. I favor a vintage sound and the ST-2 flls the bill well. It's sound suited me far more than the comparable Boss, Digitech, or Line 6 units. I felt like the Guyatone affected my tone less than the others, and that's very important to me. Noise, like with all compressors is there, but overall level is very low and manageable. Until you really crank the level or sustain controls up, you probably won't notice any added noise, especially if you run a few effects, as I do. The ST-2 will nail the chicken- pickin' country sounds. It does great after my 12 string, ala The Byrds, and is what I've been missing from my blues sound for years. For more modern, high gain sounds, I cannot comment how it would do, as I don't play that style. Maybe someone else can, or already has, commented on that. I'm a blues- based, rock and alt. country player and the Guyatone does fantastic for me. By the way, I know a few Phish tunes, and this pedal can get you closer to Trey's sound, but it takes a lot more than 1 pedal...I get asked that quite often- so there you go.

I'm gonna approach this 2 ways: First, based on my use; Second, on other possible scenarios. I can totally depend on this unit, and have had no problems. I find the unit durable in every aspect. That being said, I am pretty gentle with my gear. I play a few gigs a month, sometimes more, and the Guyatone stands up well to my treatment of it. I use a pedal board with a case for transport and a 9V adapter for power- This means that I don not have to take the rubber seal off that holds the back on to change the battery and that the unit is not banged around under transport. I do not "stomp" on my stomp boxes, so durability and reliability have been great. I know that some musicians are tough on their gear, and really bang the hell out of stuff. If that's your case I could see possible problems with the ST-2. However, I think that you definitely don't have to "baby" this pedal. The switch and rubber seal that holds the back on will likely be it's weakest points, but for 90% of us will hold up well.

The Guyatone ST-2 has a 3 year parts/ labor warranty- that's pretty good. The website is imformative and lists several ways to contact them should you need to. That's all I can tell you about their support. If I had an issue with the unit I would likely have it repaired locally by the great repair shop in town. It wouldn't be free, but they are quick, and I depend on this pedal. Don't forget to send in your warranty card if you purchased the unit new. I'm giving an 8 based solely on the fact that I haven't needed repair, but I know how to reach them. I would like to be able to register the product online, instead of having to mail in a card.

The Guyatone ST-2 works exceedingly well for me. I am pleased with the sound/ quality/ value of the unit. It's the best compressor I could find without spending 150 or more dollars. I would definitely buy another, unless my income level was to suddenly increase substancially. I never thought I would find one that I liked better than the MXR Dyna Comp, but here it is. I believe that many players of all genres will find something to love about this pedal. If you've never used a compressor, but are picky about your sound/ tone, then check one out- especially the Guyatone ST-2.

two knobs and a switch

This is a damn good pedal. I don't have much expierience with comp pedals though.
I owned a ross at one time, but sold it for dope. Believe me I regret that move with all my soul.
Now that I am starting to very slowly get a good rig back together, I first bought a rocktron big crush.
Fuck that thing. Sold it.
Then I bought this. It is GRRRRRREAT clean. And I don't even turn the direct switch on.
With distortion it is pretty noisy unless you turn the sustain to like 12' o clock. but I'm not one of those people. I like my compressors with sustain at 75- 80 percent and level at 65 percent.
It is silent clean.
i will eventually shell out the 200 for a keeley. But this is definately good for now.

Seems alright. I use a pedalboard so it should be good. it isn't heavy enough to come undone and bang around in there.

You are a pussy if you buy something used and try and get customer support.

I play hippy stuff. I try and get close to trey's sound, but I'm not a copycat. And there is no way I would want all those pedals.

I play a thinline tele>guyatone st2>budda bud wah>Awenda music ugly duck fuzz(check this guy's stuff out, it is AWESOME, he is on ebay and there are reviews on here)>mxr phase 90>boss DD-20>Fender studio lead.

It's simple but gets the job done.
If this were stolen I would get another one, but like i said i will replace this with a keeley, but i will keep this as a backup.

Very simple pedal. Dialing in a good setting between the sustain knob and the level knob was quite easy. The LED is large and bright.

Excellent sound. Very smooth compression action. My setup is a mid 60s Strat-comp-overdrive-RI Bassman or late 60s Marshall. The switch to add in the direct signal is an excellent feature and works great.

Seems fairly sturdy but I wouldn't stomp on it too hard. The on/off switch feels very inexpensive. The case is actually more substancial than I'd expected. The bottom being held on by the large rubber grommet is neat but it smells like trouble down the road. It strikes me as something that will eventually give out, harded, crack, rip? -- maybe in 10 years, maybe sooner if abused -- and when it does I'm not sure how anyone can keep the bottom on.

I don't have any idea who or where Guyatone is.

I've been playing guitar and keyboards since 1965. My primary instruments are 1965 Strat, Rhodes and Hammond B-3. I play r&r, blues, r&b, sometimes country, and occasionally jazz.

I haven't had this pedal long enough to know how dependent I'll become on it. Put I'm happy that I bought it at this point and think it will be very useful.

I'm only giving this an 8 because I don't have and opinion on reliability or customer support.

Extremely easy to use. 2 knobs, level and sustain. One switch to optionally enable mix of dry signal with the compressed signal. Just plug this baby in number one position in your effects chain and start playing. I set the Level to 10 o'clock and the Sustain to 2 o'clock and it suits most of my uses. Can easily be used as a clean boost to drive the pre-amp in a tube amp.

Excellent. Seems very transparent. My Strat gets a real twang/snap thing happening. With Sustain set high on the clean channel, it makes the clicky sound. My Les Paul sustains for days on medium gain with this pedal. Best of all, my Ibanez accoustic with pre-amp doesn't hurt my ears anymore when I hit it hard into my Laney LC50-II tube amp - it evens out the loud and soft notes nicely.

Not noisy at all. This pedal doesn't seem to add any noise to the mix whatsoever. On my strat when on single coil with high gain on my amp, it simply amplifies the noise that is *already there* - so the compressor is just doing it's job. The more the Sustain knob goes higher than 12 o'clock, the more any existing noise is amplified (only a nuisance if using a single coil with high gain distortion and the Sustain is set too high). The further below 12 o'clock, the single-coil noise is actually reduced - less noise than without the pedal!!!! For reference, at 12 o'clock on the Sustain, the single-coil noise through the unit is the same level as when the pedal is turned off or unplugged.

I have finally found the compression I require for playing Joe Satriani's "Midnight" with this pedal! I also tried using this pedal as a clean boost to my drive Laney's pre-amp valves, and liked it better than my Ibanez TS-7 Tubescreamer. Completely clean boost without messing with your EQ or fuzzing it up.

Too early to tell how long it will last - haven't had it long. It seems solid enough. The switch is standard issue, and more rugged than my old Ibanez TS-7's switch. I don't much care for the rubber seal thing around the outside, as it may stretch and fall off later on.

Never contacted them, but their website is pretty cool. It has sound samples of most of their pedals.

Great value! I'm stoked with it! A good compressor can make playing a whole lot easier! So much bang for your buck. Much better value for money than the Boss CS-3, MXR Dynacomp and the Marshall Ed The Compressor.

One of the things that attracted me to this product was the two dial, straight-forward setup: Level and Sustain. There's also the "On/Off" switch located between the nobs which allows the dry signal to be blended back in. I'm giving it a 9 (and not a 10) because it's a tight squeeze to get your finger between the nobs to shift the direct switch.

My set up is either a vintage tele or vintage LP Special into a VHT Valvulator, the Guyatone, modded TS-9, Budda Budd-Wa, Carl Martin Tremo-Vibe, Dano Danecho, and Boss DD-5. Amps are either Vox AC30, '67 Fender Vibrolux, Tweed Reissue Bassman, or Laney VC30 (an UNDERRATED amp).

My hope was that I could have a pedal that could give a colored squish when necessary (when on a country gig or hitting some 80's covers) but also had an invisible option when playing straight-ahead rock. Because of the ability to blend in the dry signal, I bought this pedal. In my opinion, it pretty much does what I hoped it would. Candidly, it isn't the best squish you can get, nor is it the best transparent sustainer. However, it does both solidly, and good enough for professional work. Let me put it this way: at this price, it is a great value. It's subtle, and subtlety isn't really a flaw IMO.

Noise? I think all compressors in this price range are going to be a bit noisy, but this ain't so bad. It is definitely less noisy the a Boss CE-3. I play loudly, so I can certainly hear the effect when it's engaged. It isn't prohibitively noisy.

I haven't owned it long enough to know how long it can hold up to 3-4 gigs a week. The design isn't perfect - the rubber gasket which holds the bottom plate to the unit is destined to fall apart.

N/A

I read this column when deciding to buy this pedal. I think that the reviews are mostly accurate. Few products are as perfect as some reviewers might profess (although there ain't nothing like a vintage guitar through a vintage amp). While this isn't a "holy grail" piece, I am not disappointed with it. Again, at this price it performs very very well.