MXR CSP-028 '76 Vintage Dyna Comp

looks simpler than it is. the knobs are very interactive. compressors require some brains to get good sounds.

i'm between a 9 and a 10 on this one, so i'll go 10. i replaced an original script dyna comp from 77 with this reissue. i finally sold the original on ebay when it became too valuable not to. i mean, it was 30 years old and full of dying, drifting caps. it was sturdy, but i didn't want it in my hands when it finally went down for the count. i'm a player, not a collector.

so i bought an analogman bicomp next. the squeezer side was cute, but ultimately useless for me. the ross side sounded VERY close to my original script, but had a flatter, more refined response. it was also missing the script "grit" that i loved so much.

sold the analogman as only half of it was of any use to me. i heard about the reissue and almost cried. a dyna comp built to exact specs, down to the extinct chip. it sounds very nice. it has the "grit" like the original. it also has the natural bloom of the original that all other comps i've tried have lacked. other comps all had some degree of sterility and cold precision to the compression i couldn't stand.

the one deviation from the original's tone is in the high end response. my particular original script was slightly darker than direct signal. it warmed everything up, and added a thickness. the reissue is more hi-fi sounding. it has sparkle, and even brightens the signal some.

all in all, a great reissue. i imagine the single deviation (in brilliance/treble response) will be corrected in another 30 years when the reissue's caps and resistors have a chance to fade out of spec.

it seems well built. we'll see.

again, a great, loyal reissue. i recommend it to lovers of the classic dyna sound who don't want the liability issues inherent in a vintage stompbox. i am perfectly happy to be rid of my $400 vintage box in favor of one i can kick around without worrying if i hurt its value. the reissue retains basically all the quirks and personality that made the original such a classic.

I am guessing that anyone reading this knows about the MXR Dyna Comp and has used some incarnation of this pedal over the 30 some-odd years since it was first introduced. I bought my first DC in 73 or 74. It was the Bud Box version, and it changed my life. It gave me the sustain I needed-primarily because I lived in an apartment in Queens with my parents, and turning up my Fender Deluxe Reverb over 2 was not an option. It was really a magical device-one that I stupidly sold a few years ago during an equipment purge. I spent some time looking for that sound after I lost it, but nothing measured up until now.

There is probably no better example of the difference between a vintage stompbox and it's modern counterpart than the Dyna Comp and everything that's come afterward. The vintage box was smooth, musical and sweet-sounding. It's that sweetness that is missing from all of the other compressors I have tried. It's hard to define what that means. It's like when you listen to Stevie Ray play and then you listen to someone playing like SRV. They can play the same licks, through the same equipment and yet the music sounds flat. The new reissue really has the same mojo as the vintage unit. I was really amazed when I played through the new DC. It really brought me back. It is a great piece of work- a labor of love.

My original lasted 30 years and then sold for 4 times what I originally paid for it. As this is a carbon copy of the original DC, I expect it will perform as well.

Dunlop is a good company. Don't really know why it took so long for them to do this vintage reissue thing. The 74 phase 90 is completely true to the original and the Carbon Copy delay is another great piece of analog equipment. I am looking forward to the Distortion+ RI.

If you got as excited as I did when you saw the reissue DC, you already have one, and you're probably enjoying it as much as I am. It's great knowing I don't have to buy a 30 year old stomp box for a fortune and then have to worry about it breaking. (I mean, all electronic devices have a finite lifetime, no matter how well they are made.) It's great to start over with a stompbox that I have a real personal history with.
Buy one (or more) while supplies last. This one is a keeper and a good investment as well. I expect the value will only increase.

Just like the original two knobs. I can get a good sound at any setting.

First let me say I dont have a vintage Dyna Comp and have never played one. I currently own a Dyna Comp from 2004 modified by Analogman, the latest reissue with the June 2007 board and an Analogman BiComp and now this '76 reissue. I put all four in line and A,B,C and D'd them all with the exact same settings. The reissue I had modified is good but loss of high end. The reissue one is better more high end and I think its true bypass because of the AB serial number but not positive on that. Then the 76 which is quiet and has plenty of high end. Then the BiComp great as usual. So for the 76 reissue I really like it! I think it sounds great. It doesn't overly squash your tone, sounds tight and clean. The '76 to me sounds more natural. I played thru all the pedals with a Mexican strat and a 61 reissue SG into a Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 401. I put an Analogman modified SD-1 after all the comps and everything sounded great. This will now be my main compressor. I dont use the BiComp because I dont want to ruin it. But if I'm recording i usually use the bicomp because of the attack knob its good for humbuckers.

I think I can depend on it although when I tried it out for the first time the switch wasnt working right. I think it was getting stuck. The pedal would engage and function fine but when I went to turn the pedal off there would be no sound. I just kept stepping on the switch to turn it on and off and then eventually it worked. So the pedal functions fine now and this maybe a slight problem with switch. This happened to me with my '74 reissue phase 90 but works fine now as well. I've heard of this happening with the Carling switches. But I'm sure I can depend on it without a back up.

I've sent them emails asking when this would be available at retail quick replies. I asked if they were planning any other reissues? They said they were looking into a Phase 45 and a Distortion+!!! Sweeeet!!

I like the hippie music and classic rock. Been playing for 7yrs and own 15 pedals and 4 of them are compressors! If it were stolen I would absolutely buy another one. The box is made of aluminum and has a nice gloss on the paint. Its different then the normal dynacomps but sounds better. I love MXR products and am real happy with this reissue. So if you like the way the normal dynacomps sound you will love the 76 vintage reissue!! Any questions feel free to email me.