MXR Dyna Comp

Output Volume & Sustain are the only 2 buttons !
Very easy

I have an 1979original DynaComp, and for me it sounds very good ! I really like the "pop" at the string note's attack (intentioned by MXR), and also the "Santana"'s medium enhanced sound. But i recognize that you cannot have a flat frequency response. The noise is quite OK at normal settings. (Before it i had a ElectroHarmonics OTA-based (NOT Tube) original1978 BlackFinger, but i did not like the too fast attack and too clear sound).
I play with a US1975 Strat, which i had replaced the bridge's single coil pickup by a doubleCoil DiMarzio's SuperDistorsion. My amps are Marshall JCM900 5881Tubes & MesaBoogie MarkIV. I use also a ElectroHarmonix Flanger original1979 Electric Mistress.

Very rugged case, the only drawback is that you have to remove 4 screws to change the battery !

Never had to call !

Very good for the price that i did not remember: so it should not be very high at that time !

Two knobs. Output and Sensitivity. The only two knobs you really need for a stomp box compressor.

I have the block logo Dyna Comp from the early 80s. There's no LED, but you can usually tell when it's on or off.

I've tried several different compressors and none of them match up to the Dyna Comp. I use this with my Strat (my humbucker guitars simply don't need the compression), and I get a very juicy, quacky, snappy sound that's very pleasing to the ears. If you play Nashville chicken-pickin, you'll probably like this pedal as well.

It's easy to get a good sound out of it...in fact so easy, that I don't even have settings that I use on a regular basis. I just turn it on, twist the knobs, and go. It sounds great on every setting.

I've played the newer models too. They're really not as bad as everyone says they are - there's a certain magic about the early 80s models, but if you're stuck with a reissued version, don't sweat it...you still have a great pedal on your hands.

Very reliable. Have used it several times out. Great pedal!

An excellent pedal for the money. I'd dare to say it's the best compressor on the market (unless you're some tone/pedal snob). I don't need the best of the best. I need what works. And this pedal does exactly what I need it to, and doesn't take too much time to figure out.

After all, if you're going to buy a pedal, you want to spend time playing through it - not learning how to operate the damn thing.

Simple, reliable, and pleasing to the ear. The Dyna Comp is all you could ever ask for in a stomp box compressor!

I found it pretty simple, only 2 controls.
However, be careful, remember that a compressor should not do too much, try and balance the level to your own level (in other words when you turn the compressor on it shouldn't really cut or boost your volume much).

My setup can be found under my review for the Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi USA reissue.
I have only used Boss compressors in the past, and for years used a compressor as a way to make it easy for me to play fast. I trem-picked a lot and used loads of hammer on's, the compressor evened out the notes and made it easy.

Now i know better...... a compressor works best when used to tame your sound, to even it out a little and keep it balanced.

This is a really good compressor. As used my Dave Gilmour.
It does alter your sound a little, hard to describe, it kind of flattens it but also makes it cut through better by being better balanced.
At first I missed an attack control, as i tried to play as fast as i could, but then i realised that it's better without it, as I can use it to clean up my playing, and use this to make my overall sound better.
It works really well with my Big Muff and Electric Mistress, and it keeps my Phase 90 under control. I would never replace it now.

BAD POINTS - set it too high and it will distort, it is not best suited for sparkling clean tones, this will darken them a bit.
It can be a bit noisy (Use with an NS2 to completely cure this).

However, overall I love the sound, it really helps sculpt my tone and is a great pedal.

It is solid, well made and seems like it will last forever.

Dont know

I play in a Pink Floyd tribute band, and also enjoy playing rocky blues, funky rock stuff and mellower clapton styles. I have been playing for 18 years.
This is a great pedal. I love it.
It's not the same as my old Boss CS2, it's not as clean or as transparent, and it doesn't do that sharp attack sound you can get with other compressors. However, what it does do is give you control over your sound, it evens your tone without making it sound dull, and it adds a hint of a lovely dark and rich effect.

I will admit that it did grow on me, at first i was a bit puzzled as to how to use it best, but now that i've set it up and figured out how to use it im amazed, it's great... dont let the negative reviews put you off, try it out for yourself, set both controls midway to start with and take it from there. As with all my effects - use a Boss NS2 to reduce any noise.

A footswitch and two knobs, how hard can it be? A couple of minutes of tweaking and I knew what I could get out of it. I bought it brand new about six months ago. I wasn't very satisfied with the sound out of the box so I did some research online about modding it. I ended up contacting Mike at vodkamods.com to see about purchasing a kit. He does some really cool mods but this one was so easy that he just emailed me a drawing for free and told me I could get the parts at Radio Shack. His mod changed it to the Ross compressor circuit. Unit is much more transparent and less noisy now. Sustain is great!! I'm an amateur at modding pedals so you know it wasn't hard.

Post vodka.com mod the sound gets a 9. Out of the box I'd give it a 6. I play a Hamer FM with Seymour Duncan 59 humbuckers and a '91 Strat '62 reissue through a Carvin MTS head into 4X12 Marshall cab w/vintage 30's. I run an assorment of pedals including a Visual Sound H20, Boss SD-1 modded to a Fulldrive, modded Crybaby, Boss Phaser, Duncan clean boost. Dynacomp adds sustain to both clean and distorted leads. The Duncan 59 bridge pickup will sustain a note for about three days with the compressor cranked..

Seems to be built like a tank. No worries about using it live.

Never had a reason to call.

The band plays a very wide variety of covers in local bars. From Zep and Cream to Maroon 5 and Green Day plus a little of everything in between. I find that I use the Dynacomp quite extensively. If it was lost or stolen I'd head back to G.C., work the salesman over for a discount and immediately mod it to Ross specs. I've used numerous compressors over the years including rackmounted during my digital/midi phase. This compares favorably with any of them.

10. The easiest pedal to use. EVER.

The sound on mine is pretty amazing and vintage. It packs a TEENY bit of distortion, which is the cause of the 9. It really sounds awesome, perfect for Trey Anastasio's compressed sounds on Phish records. I'm using it with a triple fat strat and a Marshall stack. It sustains notes amazingly well, though it feeds back with too much gain.

Solid. It's lasted since 1978 without breaking.

I use the pedal for Phish and for sustaining notes. I've been playing for 8 years, and this is my favorite compressor. I would have to get another if it were stolen. Keep in mind that this is a VINTAGE no LED model (by far superior) that has a 1/4 inch power supply slot added. Get a vintage one, it's a great pedal.

Easy 2 knobs. Use your ears to fine tune it. I usually set it so that when it comes on its roughly the same volume as if it were off. And when i click it off there isnt much volume change. I like the sound, a little noise but so is my setup.

My setup: Gibson SG Standard->DynaComp->Teese Pic Wah->TS808 reissue ->Boss PH-3-> Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 401. Like i said before my rig is noisy. On the clean channel not to bad but when i go to the OD channel there is plenty of noise. Adding a compressor doesnt really help it increases the noise but i dont care, i'll buy a noise suppressor at some point. I can get that liquidy, clicking sound its pretty cool. I like Phish so i can get close to that Trey sound. I can get some insane sustain when I add some more OD to it, think the opening to AC/DC's Shoot to Thrill, where the A chord is sustained then feedsback, its great!!!

Yes i can depend on the red brick. I would gig without a back up.

never dealt with them

I play classic rock AC/DC, Zepp, The Dead, Phish and the like. This pedal has a bypass i dont know if its a true bypass or hard wire or whatever all i know is when i took the battery out and played thru my amp my sound came thru. As far as i know this means its got a bypass. I would have bought the Super Dyna Comp but i have a Large Bi-Compressor from Analogman on the way so I went for the cheaper model. I tried the Boss and Digitech compressors and thought they had too many knobs and not a lot of sound and over priced. Then i saw a used dynacomp on the shelf and christ what a sound!! I was in love so i went home and bought a new one from Samedaymusic.com.

easy! blah blah, two knobs. Easy to adjust with a foot while you're ripppinn fatty licks!

yeah it's noisy, but playing live who cares!? It's a great overdriven sound, very analouge with feedback for days. I turn it up all the way! I thought about buying distortion pedals and all that crap, but I don't need it with the DC. I have a Rat and a Marshall Gov'ner, I use the Dyna Comp instead. Great for cheap guitars with quiet pickups or guitars that don't give even volume on all the strings, like the bottom strings don't ring out as much (blah blah, it's cheaper than a setup or new pickups). Some songs where I'm not playing chords all the time, like lot's of riffs, I leave it on the whole number and I can have every note come through, at least audibly. let's you get the sustain no matter what you're useing.

no complaints. once you play it a few practices and know where it needs to be set for various songs, it's easy.

who cares, buy a used one for less than $40. They're a dime a dozen.

It sounds fine, yeah it's not a keeley or a george martin or whatever, but in most situations who cares. you're playing cheap guitars and tube amps, single coils; that's a lot noiser than this. It looks badass, simple, little red bro down on the stage. Batterys last a long time. I haven't changed it in like 10 or 12 months.

try it. It's cheap, sounds fine, and won't let you down.

It's really easy. Just volume and sensitivity

I'm using it with a Telecaster plugged into a TopHat.

The sound of this compressor is pretty warm for the price. It is extremely sensitive and it has a very strong and noticable compression above 9 o'clock. It's also not the most natural compression. It really gives a noticable pumping sound above 9 0'clock. I'm not sure why it is so strong because I couldn't imagine ever putting above 12. It would be nice if it was less extreme, then you would have more usable compression settings.


It is not an overly noisy unit for a compressor. A compressor by nature will raise the noise level. It raises the low volume sounds and lowers the high level sounds.

Haven't had it long enough to comment.

I haven't dealt with Dunlop.

Overall for the price I would recommend this compressor. It has a pleasant sounding compression when it's used at a very low setting, especially for clean picking, and it's really inexpensive.

Geez two knobs.

Mine is a script I bought new in the early 70's not to tell my age. The pedal along with my phase 90 is about 25 yrs younger than I am. I set the gain knob about 1 o'clock and the sensitivity around 11 o'clock and I "never" turn it off. So it never ruins my sound. If it died I would have it repaired ASAP.

They're older than my oldest son. I did drill holes in the side for power. Go ahead and gripe. I will "never" get rid of them no matter what unless they wind up stolen.

NA

The perfect compressor at least the script ones

Very easy to use, two knobs "output" and "sensitivity." This unit definitely has a subtle but still noticeable effect on your tone. It squashes it.

I am using this to play heavy metal. The pedal acts by raising the volume of low notes and lowering the volume of high notes, to produce a consistent attack, consistent volume, and gobs of sustain if you want it. I leave it on all the time to regulate my playing, so everything comes out at the same volume. Any noise you were producing before will be doubled, as the compressor raises the volume of any signal passing through. So be prepared! What I am not happy about is that for some reason, I have to turn the output to 3:00 to make it the same volume as the un-compressed signal. This leaves very little headroom and flexibility. The sensitivity is at 12:00, any higher and there is too much noise.

Very reliable product, though others have complained about the flimsy footswitch button on some MXR pedals.

Never had to deal with the company.

I definitely recommend some kind of compressor, it has many applications. As I said above, I use this to even out my sound for a consistent attack. I don't have to worry about playing too loud or too soft with this pedal on.