MXR Dyna Comp

Not easy to understand for you if you have had the usual compression pedals... This think is alive... You have to have a nice axe/chain/amp if you wanna enjoy it... It really drives ODs and distortion in a great way... It seems like a rock'n'roll machine to me, and I do not even know if it works fine with, let's say, an electroacoustic guitar... It's a bit noisy in a nice way... It's dandy simple if you already have sometime playing (experience)... May not be the best for rookies...

Man! It brings up your whole effects chain... You will just love it... IMHO, is more of a sustainer than many "sustainers" claim to be... Seems there will be a new one with a third knob for "attack"... Well, we??ll see... I love this dandy little red box the way it is...

seems sturdy... MXR has very good reputation...

don't know...

This is a rock, blues and country box... Great sound you do not usually get from a compression pedal... At least not easily... With this you go by ear, and WOW! find so many great tones, with sustain like a damn Fernandez Sustainer guitar...

quite easy to dial in what you want

first of all, this a review for the present block dyna comp.....

its awesome! first thing you'll notice that its so noisy, but actually you can fix that!.. it actually has an adjustable noise gate in it! every brand new dyna comp has it set at a 0 level so you really need to open it, and its very easy.. even a snake could do it


when you open it and get the circuit board you will see a circular thing roughly between the two knobs and it has an arrow pointing diagonally,,, you can use a flat nose screwdriver to turn it... if you turn it either left or right it increases treshold of the noise gate its just that simple

its a red brick.. but the switch is not as sturdy a boss, but still quite strong

....

BUY THIS.. cool

Two knobs.

It definitely colors your tone, as they say. But I like it. I play primarily a Strat, and it works well with it. I particularly like it for rhythm. But those long sustaining notes are great for leads too. I found it sounds better with the guitar plugged in directly, then into the amp, instead of the effects loop. I think I need a boost pedal now, because it really regulates the volume from the guitar. Which is nice for getting rid of those booming E-strings when strumming a chord hard and fast, but rolling the volume up and down doesn't do what it used to.

So far, so good. Sturdy build quality--I also own an MXR Carbon Copy, which is also stout.

I play a lot of jangly rhythms, and use a lot of delay at times. This pedal is the #1 most important in my chain.

The 2 knobs kind of suggest ease of use, and yes, the Dyna Comp is probably one of the simplest compressors you'll ever see.
It's however worth noticing that it takes time to learn to make this pedal do what you want it to.
Don't expect great sound the first time you turn it on (especially if it's your first compressor!). But once you get used to it a bit the 2 knobs make it REALLY easy to control.

This one is not dead-silent. It will and a bit of noise of its own, AND it will boost the noise that's already in your setup as you turn the knobs up.
Hum from strat-style single-coils or P-90s can also be a major problem.
Apart from that - the Dyna Comp is a very nice-voiced little box - far better to my ear then the Boss, the Marshall and other equally-priced pedals.
I use it immediately in front of my distortion (for a boost and a nice accentuation of harmonics) and generally tend to keep it at the start of my chain. This way it also helps to partially get rid of the volume drop from some of my other pedals (just the Small Stone now that I've replaced the old Boss tremolo).

No questions here, it's as sturdy as it can be.

never used it

This is overall a great pedal. It's reasonably priced, it sounds great, it's easy to use and it's built to last a lifetime (hopefully).
First time I tried it I was a bit confused and even slightly disappointed, but in a couple of days I couldn't imagine how I could ever have played without it.
It smoothens out the dynamics considerably even at the lowest sensitivity settings, which gives you enough compression without compromising the attack and affecting the way you play in any way (unless you specifically want it to).
I'm the only guitarist in the band, and have to switch from chords to leads to fingerpicking a LOT, often within one song. And the Dyna Comp
is simply perfect for the task of keeping it all together.

Vintage MXR Pre-LED red Dynacomp box.

It's dead nut simple. 2 Knobs, Output and Sensitivity. One knob (output) controls the amount of signal going out of the box, the other determines the amount of compressing the box does (sensitivity).

Extra bonus: the knobs are big, easy to read and can be turned with your shoes when playing. That's a BIG plus in my book.

Be forewarned: This is a subtle effect. Like all compressors, this box gives you the sound of MORE. More sustain, more harmonic content, more volume, all in less dynamic range. How much less dynamic range is up to you and the Sensitivity knob is the key to this effect.

The output knob sets your output level. With the Sensitivity knob all the way down and the volume knob all the way up, this pedal will produce unity gain (no volume drop or boost). As the Sensitivity control is turned up, the output will also go up, giving a nice bit of clean volume boost, which makes this thing nice for solos.

Like others have said, It's not the most noise-free box in the world. It will amplify extraneous noises coming through your rig. It also adds a little noise to your signal when engaged, so be forewarned.

As the sensitivity knob is turned up, the sound gets louder and thicker, but, as with any compressor, the dynamic contrast goes away.
At halfway up, you get into the realm of twangy Nashville pickers.
At about 2/3 of the way up, you can do a reasonable impression of that clicky sound that you hear on the Cars' "Just What I Needed".

When the control all the way up, your dynamics are non-existant. On the one hand, this means your notes sustain for ages. On the other hand, pick noises, hum and finger scrapes can be just as loud as strummed notes, and all notes are just as loud as each other, no matter how soft you play or how hard you dig in. Since my technique just isn't as pristine as required to truly make use of this setting, I just find it to be annoying, but it is there.

Personally, I place this pedal early in my chain and use it primarily for a clean boost for solos. It thickens up my sound quite a bit. I also like it for driving a distortion pedal. I usually have the knobs set like they're cross-eyed: Output knob at 4/5 up and the sensitivity knob at about 1/4 up for a good, noticeable solo boost.

About the only time it sounds really thin is when the battery is about dead.

Typical MXR quality. Housing is sturdy, Knobs are big, and switch is reliable and sure.

Battery life is also good. I've had this pedal for more than 10 years now and have changed the battery perhaps twice.

The MXR that made this pedal is now gone.
Dunlop now owns the rights to the MXR line, and they're doing a good job with it.
Generally, the circuits are quite similar, so don't feel like you're getting gypped if you get a new one. I just got this one at a price I couldn't refuse.

This was the first pedal I ever bought. Despite that, I wouldn't recommend this for a first pedal.
Not because the pedal is bad, mind you-it isn't. It's a great pedal, very useful, and I use it literally *every single time* I go out to play. If it was stolen, I'd buy another one as soon as I could. It's that useful to me.
It's just that compressor pedals just aren't the stars of the stompbox world. Useful doesn't mean loved, and compressors don't inspire the kind of rabid devotion that you see with, say, a distortion pedal or a REALLY good flanger.

It doesn't make your guitar sound fuzzy, whooshy, wanky or go "wah". There's no drastic alteration in the sound. It just gives you the sound of MORE, which is a hard thing to distinguish from the un-effected sound (I still wish my box had an LED like the reissues).
For a long time, I didn't get what was so great about that.

Now, 10 years on, I know the answer, and I appreciate the box for what it is, a great clean boost for solos.
But if you've got to plunk down a chunk of cash on your first pedal, get something that makes you sound different-you'll appreciate it more in the beginning. By all means, get this pedal, but get it as your second or third pedal.

Two Knobs> That's all you need. Keep it simple stupid

Awsome! It is a very recent model. The newest one's with serial number starting with ABxxxx are true bypass. The ones starting with AA are not. It's quiet when it's on and when its'off. This pedal gives you that slapback sound that no other pedal will and the compression is great as well.

Built like a tank. Like all MXR pedals are.

They spent 1/2 hour talking to me about this pedal.

It's nice to see a company that cares about quality.

It has two knobs....Output & Sensitivity. One controls volume, the other controls amount of compression. Not too hard!

My main electric is a 1992 Fender Telecaster MIM.

My effects chain is as follows:

Boss TU-2 -> MXR Dyna Comp -> Boss DS-1 -> Ibanez CCL Dual Chorus -> DigiTech DigiDelay -> Electro-Harmonix Holy Stain -> Behringer DR100 (Reverb Pedal) -> BBE DI-100x (Active Direct Box) -> Fender Deluxe 85 amp.

This pedal does introduce some noise and coloring into the signal. It works fine with the sensitivity before the 12:00 position. If you set it much after that it will start fizzling out in a nasty sounding wash after a variable amount of time that gets shorter the more you turn the knob up. Mine is a used pedal so it may just be this pedal. I am going to keep the pedal as I got it for free with a gift card and also as I like compression to be pretty subtle anyway, so I don't have all that much of a reason to go past noon.

I suspect that my pedal is defective in some way, and I will admit that I've always bit a bit of a doofus when it comes to compressors. There is after all a reason why this is a classic pedal that the likes of Andy Summers used in the 1980s. Howevever, it still fizzles and washes out as the compression gets more extreme, which is a problem if you want to solo and sustain a note. I'm keeping it under noon.

My Dyna Comp is different from the rest in that it comes housed in a BLACK metal casing. They do not seem very common, I got mine on eBay and these 'black' versions do still come up occasionally. They are not as expensive as the very old retro seventies vintage dyna comps which is a plus. The date codes on the Pots tell me it was made in about 1983, and judging from the MXR information on Wikipedia, mine is part of the '2000 Series' made from 1982 to 1984 when MXR was still MXR (MXR closed their doors in 1984 and that's where Jim Dunlop comes in). Many people say that dyna comps were better before Jim Dunlop came along. I decided to go with that and thus went for an older pedal and not take any risks on newer revisions.

Usually the Dyna Comp knobs are labelled 'Output' and 'Sensitivity' but on my pedal the knobs are labelled 'Level' and 'Sustain'.

The pedal has one Input, Dual Outputs (not sure why, perhaps stereo, anyway I just use either, as they both sound the same). Dual LED's (one for power, and one to tell you if the pedal is engaged or not). Uses Battery or 9V power supply. Note that dyna comps as far as I know have an adjustable trim pot inside them allowing you to make some adjustments on the sound, but this particular revision of the dyna comp doesn't have that.

This pedal is easy to use.

I am using a Marshall JCM 900 valve amp and a Gibson SG guitar. I only ever play with distortion by the way, I don't play clean, so this review is for using a dyna comp in a distortion environment only. I've been through a lot of experimenting with my setup trying to get a sound I like (I ended up actually modifying my amplifier to get a better sound as well as getting some decent valves in there). I didn't like my valve amp and guitar on their own as the sound was a bit boring, and not very 'fat' or lively. In the past I tried an Electro Harmonix LPB-1 power booster pedal. This was pretty good, boosting my sound up and making it fatter, but it wasn't quite what I wanted (but close). I had read that I could actually use a compressor to 'boost' my sound so I thought I would give it a go. I have to say I love the dyna comp, it's exactly what I wanted. But please be warned that I am not recommending the newer Jim Dunlop versions of this classic pedal. I havn't actually tried the newer versions, and I havn't tried the very early, much sought after seventies 'script' logo dyna comps, but this 1983 version of the pedal I have, I think sounds fantastic and if I had to guess, I would imagine my pedal is 'perhaps not quite as good as the earlier ones', but 'better than the later reissues'. This suits me just fine as you can really go too far trying to find the 'holy grail' only to find that 'second best' really was close enough all along (and MUCH cheaper). There are mods I could do on my pedal but I'm so happy with it just as it is, that I am not going to change anything. So what does it do to my sound? Well, it just seems to give it this beautiful old sounding character and my distorted sound is much fatter and more lively, it really sings. Sustain is improved. Sensitivity of the guitar is increased, making things like pull-offs much easier and clearer sounding. Solos sound.. well, I can't even describe how good it is. I'm so getting an analog echo/delay pedal next (I'm gonna go for a belcat Delay, check it out sometime). With distortion basically this pedal is just great for giving your setup a kick up the backside, and adding a real cool fat vintage analog sounding character at the same time. I leave the pedal on all the time by the way, I hate the way my setup sounds without the pedal in there. I'm definately using this pedal forever now. I love it, it's GREAT! If you push the pedal hard you can get a kind of crazy modulating 'buzzsaw' thing going on. A lot of people hate buzzsaw but I love it personally. I can get a kind of early 'live ac/dc' or 'The Who' thing going. Actually, Pete Townshend of The Who describes the dyna comp (which he has happily used for years) as being able to 'make a right racket'. David Gilmour of Pink Floyd uses one too (no more need be said). Oh, one more thing, if you turn the knobs up too high you do get a little bit of background noise (hissy type noise). Mind you I am using a cheap power adapter so that probably doesn't help. It's certainly not noisy enough to be a problem though (and believe me i'm very fussy).

I had to repair this pedal when I first got it as it didn't work (I took a risk and bought it 'faulty' on eBay). The LED's had come loose, the knobs needed a blast of switch cleaner and the pedal footswitch mechanism also needed a good clean and re-adjustment. There was also some dry solder joints to resolder. Bear in mind that the pedal is 25 years old so it's to be expected. It's a solid and well built pedal overall. If you are ok at electonics don't be afraid of buying faulty pedals (especially older ones) as they are often really quite basic in design and easy to repair I have found in my experience (newer pedals are different though with their smaller more refined 'circuit mounted' components so I avoid faulty newer pedals).

I cannot comment on Support as I have not seeked that.

Well, I really love it, it's just beautiful sounding. I wish I got it earlier instead of using my guitar and amp for years and thinking 'This just doesn't sound good enough!'

I can't comment on what this pedal does to your clean sound but if you want some gorgeous rich distortion going on and solos to die for you just have to try a 'vintage' (1984 or earlier) dyna comp! Pure heaven!

Easy to use, set it and forget it

I use it with a strat and a 5watt tube amp with a reverb in the loop. Not noisy and has a range of compression from weak to strong based on the sensitivity setting. I like it as a boost for overdrive and to mellow out the highs. The compression is strong and will do what is claimed.

Great for the clean tones and overdrive without a lot of other effects. I've played for over 35+ years. I like that the battery lasts a long time and that it is small. I've tried the Boss and the Digitec, both are good and have more functions. But I opted for the Dyna Comp for the value

About as simple as it gets. Just adjust the threshold.

With the threshold and output turned up to 3:00 I get the best sound out of my LP Custom on the neck pickup. It gives that clicky, compressed sound. With it on the bridge pickup (active EMG) I get a really cool overdriven sound when on the clean channel (played through a Peavey Classic 50 2/12). The best tone is on the neck pickup going through a TS9 with the overdrive set all the way up. On the bridge pickup it tends to sound a little "box"-y but works for solos (infinite sustain). I'm struggling with using it all the time vs. only without distortion.

very reliable.

?

Overall it's good for what I'm doing (classic rock / bluesy style). This pedal really made me appreciate a crystal clear/clean tone. The only issue I have is it's a bit noisy and a bunch of feedback through the overdrive channel if the threshold and output are too high. When you roll these back, the amp volume is much higher when you bypass the pedal. This may be due however to my lack of experience with fx pedals. I've been playing for 21 years but never really got into pedals - all of a sudden I'm a pedal freak and trying to get used to it (with all the switching of pedals I feel like I'm dancing a bit and sometimes lose concentration on playing because I'm so focused on the pedals. I'm sure I'll get over that once I get used to it).