Maxon CP-101 Compressor

What could be easier than two dials?

A huge step up from the DynaComp; you get what you pay for. A very subtle effect, clarifies fingerpicking, adds presence to rhythm playing, pulls out sustain from overdrive sound. Changes EQU just a touch and is a tiny bit noisy -- hence 8 rather than 10. I am one of those people who "hate to use compression" but I am learning to use this pedal and I really like what it adds to my live sound.

It's a little on the light side; I'll try not to kick it across the room accidentally. I'm very careful.

No idea.

Have played guitar for 38 years. Play mostly church worship music (tele or Heritage semi-hollow to CP-101 to FullDrive to analog delay to Fender Twin); the presence and clarity added by this pedal really help my sound. Also play blues and rock/folk -- am still experimenting with the CP on this front. Would replace if lost, but I'd also try the other pedals in this price range. I like Maxon overall, "made in China" notwithstanding.

Very easy to get a very good sound out it. 2 simple knobs. Smaller size is great especially when you have limited real estate. We don't need no stinkin' manual. Just take your time and tweak a little. It isn't hard at all.

I feel the key to this stomper is, "LESS IS MORE". I have mine set at probably one pubic hair higher than 9:00 on the left side (sustain) and almost straight up on the right(level)side. I know that it really does smooth out my overdrive sounds. When using it clean it does wonders for my 12 string Rickenbacker whereas single notes seem to fall away quickly without it, the CP101 allows them to ring nicely and hang around awhile.

I can depend on it. It has never let me down. Not noisey either.

Never needed them.

I like this pedal so much that I bought two of them. I play classic rock 63 Beatles and up to some modern rock and it essential to my overall sound. You could leave it on and, it always sounds great. I bought my first one based on a Harmony Central recommendation when I was looking for an alternative to the much more expensive Keeley pedal and, had already dealt with the lousey Boss CS-3 compressor. For about $127.00 retail (or less used on ebay) the CP101 is a hit!

I contacted Godlyke (the North American distributor) about adjusting the internal trim pot. I received this response: "The internal trim pot in the CP101 is used to adjust the bias of the photocoupler. YOU SHOULD NEVER ADJUST IT - doing so will cause your unit to malfunction and void your warranty, requiring some expensive bench time to re-align. The CP101 circuit is optimized at the factory and there are no adjustments that can be made to the circuit without extensive electronics experience....."

Early reviews suggested "don't be afraid to adjust .... "

Caveat emptor.

two knobs like a dyna-comp.optical compression unlike a dyna-comp
no brainer!

wow,what a great sounding pedal!i dont like compressors with my strat and blackface twin cause they always do somthing weird to the tone.
even this one had that slight plasticy feel to it though not nearly as bad as a boss cs-2.THE KEY TO THIS COMP IS THE INTERNAL TRIM POT!turn it counter clockwise[dont be shy] and lose ALL the fake pedal sound!still compresses but its now the perfect fat clean boost with a hint of round,juicey compression.really transparent with lots of volume gain on tap.makes low string country licks fly out the speakers!
after the trim pot adjustment this thing really sounds perfect and can stay on all the time without driving you nuts!super quiet and i sandwich mine between to japanese sd-1's[the best jrc4558 vintage tube screamer IMHO] with no added noise.
perfect booster! perfect compressor! 10+

the footswitch seems suspect as it wiggles around in the shaft but it works flawlessly.time will tell.

quote of the day - ''all you need is ignorance and confidence,then success is sure'' mark twain

i play in a couple bands,one roots reggae/dancehall in atl,one old school country in tn[i know,opposite ends of the musical spectrum]and i listen to just about everything!groove comes in alot of flavors so soak it all in! if you want a thick yet transparent comp/clean boost get one!
actually improves my strat/twin tone and thats not an easy task!
im not going for that scooped mid de-tuned peavey xxx thing so my remarks are for using it as a very subtle compressor with enough volume to boost your signal considerably.gets along well with all my pedals too.adds that ''magic''that makes you want to dig in and spank that fretboard.

very easy 2 knobs!

After doing a lot of research i decided to buy this pedal. Paid $135 for it and it wasnt really worth it. I dont know if it was broken but the sustain knob didnt really add anything. The volume knob worked fine. But I could hardly add any sustain. I guess its supposed to be a subtle effect but it was too subtle for me. I have a DynaComp reissue and an Analogman BiComp, both of these add plenty of sustain or i can make it more subtle. I dont think this pedal is anything great.

Im sure i could depend on it, its a Maxon. The box feels light though not heavy like MXR's

Never dealt with them.

Overall I would pass on buying this, its not worth $135. Buy a DynaComp or a Keeley or an Analogman over this. I play Rock(AC/DC, Zep etc) and Hippie stuff(Dead Phish etc). Had I kept this pedal if it were stolen I would buy something else.

The knobs are easy to tune in.

Here is the dilemma for me. I know this is a high end compressor, but I really couldn't adjust to the sound. But I suspect its because I just don't like compression in my signal chain. I felt this pedal robbed many of the frequencies and dynamics coming out of my amp. Kind of sterilized my sound. Also, I didn't like the plastic attack on the notes. I brought it out to a few gigs, and eventually stopped using it. I already have sustain via my Les Paul, so I didn't need it for that. Arguably, I could use some limiting effect to tame the boominess or spikes in my playing - smooth it out as it were. But in doing this, I always feel compressors take half of the shimmer/cut out of my tone at the same time. Again - as compressors go, its one of the better ones. But, I haven't yet found a compressor that I like. I must like some kind of compression since I listen to alot of recorded music virtually all of which has been compressed in the studio. Also, my Rat Deucetone has compression in the distortion which is really great. Hmmmm.... I will say this sounds better than the Boss CS-3. Still wondering about this compression stuff......

I play all kinds of styles, mostly live. Very little studio. I've played for over 25 years. Still looking into a compression effect that would fit me.

Super easy. Two knobs that respond just right. As you turn them you can feel the sound changing with ease. I say "feel" because this pedal has a lot of it. You don't really hear the sound change you feel it. And the switch is nice and quiet too.

I use this pedal to thicken up and saturate my overdrive tones for soloing. I also use it as a booster too. And it works like a charm. With the sustain set at about 10 o'clock, the volume around 3 o'clock, and some nice overdrive (mellow or bright) dialed into your amp you get a great big thick buttery sound that sings. And it hardely colors your tone. Your tone stays the same it just gets a little louder and thicker.

I was using this pedal in the studio a few months ago, clicking it on and off during takes. The engineer had to ask if I was doing something during those parts. He could hardly tell - the only reason he suspected was because of the volume increase. He was blown away and asked me where he could get one.

I use to use an old Boss compressor (the blue one). But it started falling apart on me and was making a lot of noise. So I went out looking for something new and found this one. I wish I had found it years earlier. The difference is amazing and it is sooooooo much easier to use. And if you've never met a compressor you liked and haven't tried this one - I can almost say without a doubt that you're going to change your mind. There isn't a bad or unuseable sound in this little black box.

Build like a tank. I see this thing surviving a nulear blast. Or at least a two to three story drop. But seriously, I've never had any real problems with Maxon gear and I own other pedals by them. No worries here either.

Never had to deal with them but I've heard and read good things.

I play in a band that covers a lot of different territory as far as rock styles go. I mostly go for classic and organic sounding tones. I run a fairly conservative guitar rig - Probably the wierdest pedal in my line up is either the delay or the chorus which I use sparingly and are set to deliver a minimal amout of effect. I don't really like stuff to sound processed or synthetic. This pedal works great for all of that and is perfect for what I try to accomplish tone wise. It blends with every guitar, amp or other effect pedal I've ever teamed it up with.

1 dial for sustain, another for output. A basic set and forget

This pedal is awesome! Very very subtle compressing effect, but just enough to notice everything come together better and evenly. Doesnt breath in and out at all. Very quite, very effective. You will be the only person that notices it.

Maxon makes some of the best pedals on the market. I put all my trust in thier products. They've never let me down

Never dealt with them. Probably never need to

This is the best compressor you can get for the price. Hell even some higher priced compressors don't do work as well. Don't expect it to totally squash your sound or "add sustain", it just basically smooths everything out VERY Subtle like. If it were stolen, i would probably buy another one, even though i wouldnt rush to the store considering you don't really need compression in a guitar signal all that much.

Maxon CP - 101 compressor, two knobs, sustain and level. Has 9 volt adapter input. Overall very sinmple and easy to use.

I have never used a compressor before because I don't like the way they effect the guitar sound, but I tried this pedal on the advice of a friend and have found it to be amazing. The maxon will enhance the sustain of your note and it also allows you to increase the apparent headroom of the guitar for playing chords. I really loved the improvement of the sound of guitars with low output single coils. Also by putting the maxon in front of my overdrive/distortion pedals it improved the tone of those pedals. I really like this pedal and it has become a important part of my pedalboard.

Maxon are known for quality.

Never dealt with the company.

I have found that this pedal is very useful. I play blues and use a Les Paul 57 GT, Eric Clapton strat and a Fender Nocaster through a Super Reverb, Vibroverb and a Sewell amp. You should really try this pedal before you buy a $200 plus compressor, for the money it is a great pedal.

You can do it!

I love this thing, I never turn it off. Really, I don't know what else to say, its super smooth, its effect is hardly noticeable at first, but after a while you can feel what its going for you.

I play an SG ->maxon comp -> boss bd-2 modded like a ts9 -> G.D. phaser/volume-> boss ce-20 -> arion saf-1 -> boss dd-20 -> Carvin MTS 3212, for anyone into that stuff. I previously had a Marshall ED-1 compressor, which is a great low budget compressor. But its not in the same league as this thing. I love it.

So far, after about 8 months of daily use, no issues at all.

????

I play guitar driven psych-rock & pop, and just regular rave ups and freakouts. The CP 101 has become the foundation of my sound, evens everything out and adds a layer underneath it all that's somehow glassy, molten, piercing, in a pleasant way. Does add some noise, like all compressors, but this is the best I've used or heard.