Marshall ED-1 Edward the Compressor

Marshall ED-1 Compressor... The King of Compressor/Sustainer Stompboxes. As easy to use as any on the market and, to my ear, the best sounding. Set your amp the way you like it, and tweak to suit.
Just remember that compression is best used in moderation, and you'll be fine.

Effects chain on a SKB pedalboard goes like this: Fender PT-10 Tuner, Marshall ED-1, Snarling Dogs Blue Doo OD, Cry Baby, Danelectro Fish & Chips EQ, and Boss DD-3 Delay. This runs into the front end of a Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber Head and a Johnson 2-12 Cabinet loaded w/ Celestion Vintage 30's. The pedal board on the whole is very quiet, and even with the compressor on, is tonally sound. I use this with a Les Paul, Lucille, and a '74 Tele Deluxe. Perfect for Humbuckers.
The compressor, used in the Lead Mode tightens the sound, and takes the extreme highs down to a palatable level. Very good for Gary Moore/Santana types of things. In Rhythm Mode, it makes for a nice, chunky tone, and can give you a volume boost, if desired.
We play mostly Blues, but also Soul and some Rock. Lots of B.B. King, Albert King, Stevie Ray and Gary Moore.

This is the thing about Marshall pedals, they're tougher than a armor-plated Humvee. You would really have to try to destroy it. Tougher than my Boss and Ibanez 9 series pedals.

Never had to deal with them.

For Blues/Rock, this can't be beat. I like the Boss, but this is the best to my ear. I've been playing since the mid '70's, and I like this compressor better than any I've owned.(I've owned several)

Couldn't be easier. Needs tweaking to find the sweet sounds of course.

Excellent. I fount it actually improved the tone from my guitar unlike other compressors which suck tone out. Extremely quiet too.

It's built like a brick you-know-what.

Never needed any!

Nicest compressor I've tried. The only other one I like is the Boss CS-3 which is a little noisy at high settings but not unreasonably so.
You'll be hard-pressed to find another compressor as good as this without paying five times as much.

The knobs are quite self-explanatory, but a compressor is an effect that's best used subtly... So by default, it should not be easy to use

Have you read reviews about the ProCo Turbo Rat? Great flexible pedal, but takes your sustain... Well the answer lies here! Now this effect is OK for reproducing your tone to add sustain, but when used with distortion correctly, you can get a great synth-like quality to the notes! Terrific! The emphasis control works well to this effect, and with heavy distortion and the right attack, you can get slight volume swells! Overall, a good pedal, best used with distortion to make light bluesy tones sustain for longer or for slightly synthy effects! Good also for holding harmonics for longer and emphasising them, as they are naturally quieter than normal notes.

I'd rely on this, but it is pretty battery intensive for a compressor... And those knobs are way too tall, one of mine has been knocked crooked.

N/A

As stated earlier, a good match for the Turbo Rat, and with careful settings capable of good tones, such as Electioneering by Radiohead, all those squeeky, trebly tones are there when mixed with the Turbo Rat. COuld possibly do twangy country, but I'm sure there are better compressors for that, that's probably not the right scene fpr this...

It's not very difficult to get the kind of sound that you're looking for out of it. You do need to be patient when dealing with the emphasis, and compression knobs, though. It took me a while to work out a good tone when I was clean, and also distorted. For the most part, it does the job fairly well.

I use an Epiphone Nighthawk into a Morley Pro Wah II>>Boss OS-2>>Marshall Bluesbreaker II>>Edward ED-1>>Danelectro Dan-Echo>>Pignose G40v. I can't say that the pedal makes any noise that was noticeable enough to be a nuisance. It gives me a nice boost for when I'm doing clean rhythm playing, and tightens up the distortion sound pretty good, too. I get a close enough version of the kind of sound that I want, perhaps a different distortion box would be helpful. Some people say that this pedal colors the sound of their guitars. Maybe so, but I have no issue with that. I still get what I'm looking for. I give it an eight, only because you have to really work at it to dial in what you are trying for, soundwise.

It's built like a tank, just like the rest of their pedals, so I would think it has the ability to withstand much abuse. Using it without a backup? I never thought of needing a backup for a pedal. A guitar, yes, but never a pedal.

Never dealt with them.

I play mostly blues, classic rock, and some swing tunes. I think the pedal fits in nicely. I've only had it a month, and I really didn't have much time to sit down with it, and get a feel for what it was capable of. I got it a few days before a big gig, and I just mounted it on the pedalboard, and went from there. Since then, I've gotten to know it a bit better. My previous experience with compressors was limited to ones from Danelectro, and Boss. The Dano model was OK, but I think this one clearly beats it for nothing more than the fact that you can shape your tones on the ED-1. The Boss model was also good, but gave me problems in other areas. Plus it never sounded just right. Can't say exactly why, just never fit the bill. I had planned to try a Dyna Comp, but this one was suggested to me, and I figured what the hey. I've never been much of a compressor guy, until recently, when I've actually had a chance to see just how much of an improvement they make. I think from here on, I'll always have one on my board.

Well with only four knobs you wouldn't think it'd be too hard to use, but it is a little awkward to work out what the controls actually do (apart from volume, obviously!). The manual is pretty brief, but it does give valuable advice when it says to experiment. Once you have an understanding of what each control does, it's simplicity itself to use - it's a stompbox for God's sake!

I bought this primarily to use as a volume boost for solos, and placed after my distortion box (also Marshall - Jackhammer) it certainly achieves this, although it seems to cut a fair bit of gain out of the tone, which I wasn't too happy with. On clean channels it sounds superb, and you can get quite a fair range of tones from it. If the compression is turned up too high then it can get it bit nosiy (could be my crap Peavey practice amp though, and it's completely silent when it's off). One thing worth mentioning is the difference between placing it before and after the distortion box - after and it gives a more rounded tone and more of a boost, vice versa if placed before.

It's remarkably sturdy, and I've never had a single problem with it. I'd be pretty happy to kick the thing around on stage, although I suppose the clicky switch might be a bit fragile.

Never needed to deal with them, so take that as you will.

I wasn't entirely happy with this purchase, but then not only did I not try it in the shop, I had no idea what it actually did. Call me stupid if you like. It doesn't entirely suit the stuff I play either (thrash and alt. rock), I guess it'd be a pretty useful tool for a jazz guitarist for one. It still occupies its place in my setup, but I doubt I'd replace it. Good quality though.

not that hard just getting use to the emphases knob

I think this pedal has a good sound to it. The only thing i have a problem is that it really blows my done when i try to distort. Also it is great for my strat but is much harder to use on my gibson. Over all it is a good quality pedal. The compression is smooth and is preaty quiet
The thing i really like about it is that it is true bypass so this thing is silent when off.

dunno really just got it yesterday but it survived the drive home with me so i figure it could hold up to a gig for sure.

Over all i likes it. the tone is ok and it has its draw backs but over all it is a good pedal and has a good tone and plays well.

if i lost it i would buy it again

Fairly simple to set up although the emphasis control takes a little getting used to.

I've had the ED-1 for a good long time now and continues to make the cut in my pedalboard lineup. After a brief attempt at using it first in my effect order, I've moved it to immediately follow my overdrive pedals. My lineup is currently wah-->Green Rhino overdrive-->Rat 2-->ED-1 compressor-->Dan-Echo-->Voodoo Lab tremelo-->amp. With the ED-1 set with compression at around 10 0'clock, attack at full clockwise, emphasis dead center, and volume to taste, I can get a volume boost that fattens up either my clean or overdriven sound perfectly. I've tried the emphasis control at various settings but it always seems to wind up back at dead center. You can use it to add presence to your tone at the expense of low end response. I've never really liked the way that most compressors ruin the dynamic control of the tone of the guitar. I would guess that most players who dig the touchy-feely approach would eschew the use of compressors altogether. Instead of deep-sixing the ED-1, I've found an excellent alternate use for it as a boost.

Has worked flawlessly for over 1 year of constant use. I don't beat on my equipment though so YMMV. Looks pretty rugged though.

Never dealt with em. Haven't needed to yet.

I've tried the Boss CS-2 and CS-3 and verious multi-effect compressors. The Boss CS-2 was very warm sounding. The CS-3 was rather neutral sounding but fairly uninspiring. Most compressors I've used were unacceptably noisey at minimally usable settings. Don't even think about using multi-effect compressors for more subtle compressor duties. The ED-1 is an excellent compressor for the price.

Very easy to use.

Easily the BEST pedal type comp.out there.Smooth UNCOLORED sound,very quiet it really lets the personality of your guitar come through.I replaced a BOSS CS3 that was coloring everything to much and was noisy as hell.What can I say the ED1 blew the BOSS away!

Built as a tank,ALL METAL and true bypass.

Go get it what are you waiting for,the only other comparable pedal comp.is the CARL MARTIN that costs 6 times as much!

As easy, I suppose, as anything can be.

Not a bad sounding comp. pedal for its price...however...there are some problems with its sound. By far the biggest problem, and an annoying one as time goes by is that clicking sound you get when you pick notes. NOT what a compression pedal should do, not at least to the degree this one does. Another problem is that this pedal will make any guitar sound the same...so does it color your sound...I'll say it does; it will make any guitar sound like a clone of itself. Also, this pedal is very BRIGHT and spiky. I replaced it with a Boss CS-3 and could not believe how much smoother this run of the mill Boss was without losing the feel of the instrument. Plus, I've noticed the Boss makes OD and DISTORTION pedals feel and sound much smoother.

NEVER WILL I BUY THIS PEDAL AGAIN. HELL, I MAY NOT EVER BUY A MARSHAL PRODUCT AGAIN! I HAVE HAD THREE REPLACEMENTS AND THE COMP. AND SUSTAIN EFFECT HAVE DETERIORATED AFTER ONLY MONTHS ON ALL THREE. I DON'T KNOW WHY, IT MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH A BADLY DESIGNED AC ADAPTOR OPTION. ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE ONE...LISTENING CAREFULLY TO YOUR PEDAL AND FEEL OUT YOUR PLAYING FOR ANY LOSS OF RESPONSE BECAUSE I GUARANTEE THIS PEDAL HAS OR WILL FAIL ON YOU!!!

Straight forward except for the "emphasis" control, which doesn't do much on electric, but is great on acoustic.

HOWEVER: I give it a 3 because of those sorry chrome knobs with black pointer marks. If you've ever tried to set them in stage lighting you'll understand why - no way will you EVER see the pointers or visually know where the knobs are set. I suppose they look really cool in the glass case at the guitar store though...

This is a loaded subject for sure! The sound of the ED-1 is noticeably colored in my opinion, but in a way that I personally like and find useful.

On electric, the tone is quite a bit beefier in the middle, which works out great for me since I play American Tele, Gretsch Pearl Jet, Dano 12 string, all of which are thin compared to a Paul. I would never use compression on my Paul, but it's very useful for the afforementioned, particularly at lower amp volumes.

On acoustic (Marix II equipped Collings), the ED-1 has found a permanent home for acoustic leads in a full band mix. It goes back to the coloration. In this case, it is extremely useful for fattening up the middle, so when you add some 'verb, you have this unbelievable lead tone with piles of sustain. Nice thing about the ED-1, when you bypass it (and kill the 'verb), the Collings tone has not been messed with. I didn't like using a non-true bypass pedal (or rack unit) for this application. Interestingly enough, I absolutely hated the ED-1 on my classical guitar (any genre of music).

Has stood up well for the first year.

It has a permanent home in both my electric and acoustic rigs. I would have to buy another if lost.

I hope the next one has better jacks, I had to take needle nose pliers and tweek the contacts on mine so they would quit scraping the nickel of of my (expensive) switchcraft cable plugs.