Maxon CP-101 Compressor

It has only 2 knobs: Sustain and Level. What could be easier? Even my Grandmom could play with this!

I use it with a Parker Fly with Proco Deucetone Rat, Dunlop Jh-1 Wha, Guyatone Digital Delay 3, Ibanez CS9 Stereo Chorus, a Home Made Fuzz Face, a Mxr 6 band equalizer and at the end of the chain a Fender "The Twin" (red knobs). In my life i've tried all compressors in the market: Boss, Orange Squeezer, Rocktron, Dod, Mxr etc... Trust me, This pedal is the best i ever had. It has NO NOISE, even if you put the level knob at 10. I've tried it even in a Fender Roc Pro 700 and it always sounds wonderful. The Maxon Cp101 is the best investment for a compressor.

It's Heavy Duty. In the box you can also find a plastic bottom to put down the enclosure.

I've never dealt with Maxon, but it seems to be a very serious company.

I play fusion, jazz (John Scofield style), rock and blues for over 15 years and trust me again: i have never heard a compressor like this one, if you are looking for a comp don't buy boss or similiars, no matther if this jewel costs a little bit more than the other brands, just buy it and you will be totally repaid.

With just two knobs, Sustain and Level, it is easy to figure out.

This is an extemely subtle effect. Some of the other compressors I tried in this price range were too obvious (tone changing, noisey, etc). I was looking for compression that would not be noticiable to the listening audience, but that I could tell is there. Compression is a neat 'effect' when done right. Once I started learning about what compression is, I began hear it in all the recorded material by my guitar heroes. I learned that compression is used in the studio, in live rigs, and every radio stations compress their signals. I consider it smoothing, or leveling my sound.
I play fender Strats and my effects chain is usually =>compressor => overdrive and/or distortion => Voodoo Lab Tremolo => Boss CE-2 Chorus => Fedner Hot Rod Dleuxe tube amp.
I replaced a Boss CS-3 with the Maxon CP-101 as I wanted subtle....
I have not noticed any squashing of my playing dynamics with the CP-101

It's a small pedal and I have a big foot, but for the most part, I turn this on and leave it on. I hope it holds up. It seems to be solidly built. If it craps out in a gig, I'll just throw it in my gig bag and play without it.

Never dealt with Godlyke.

I play rhythm guitar and some lead work in a working classic rock and blues band. Because we cover so many styles and sounds, I think that compression is important for me. If it broke down, I'd be pissed and would probably move up to one of the $200 stomp box compressors. I replaced a Boss CS-3 with the Maxon CP-101, but I also considered the MXR Dyna-comp (pretty noisey), the Guyatone ST-2 (didn't do anything for me), the Line 6 Constrictor (wierd looking and funky working), and the Marshall Edward.
At $128 from Musicians Friend, this pedal is an investment, but it is subtle, quiet, and improves my tone, so I would recommend the Maxon CP-101 Compressor.

Any other type of compressor takes a master's degree. This thing is easy, easy , easy.

Amazing. I have tried, and failed, with compressors out there to become part of my sound without ruining it. This things is musical dammit. I only use it for certain things (like Queen and Tom Petty) but it dead on allows me to replicate the sounds I need live. Now, it is noisy buy I EXPECTED SOME OF THAT. When I need a clean tone, or a lightly overdriven tone, to come though, this thing is it.

TANK

It would have to break for me to find out.

I would buy another if stolen. It is a permanent part of my live pedal board.

Well, it has two knobs, and one is for the output level, so in fact there's only one knob for the effect. This "Sustain" knob makes what it is suposed to do, but also sets how much compression you get.

I certainly can say that the sound quality is very good. I used to hate compressors in general, why? Well I bought a Boss Compressor Sustainer... with the Boss all that I could get was an artificial tone of my guitar that I didn't like, and a lot of noise. I was touching the controls of the Boss only for about a half hour o so, but I just didn't like the feeling of the effect... You know. However, with the Maxon the results come out within seconds and very easily. Maybe the effect itself is more subtle than the Boss, but I like it that way... maybe because I don't like Compressors at all :)

Well, I think I have say everything about it. A subtle compressor effect with very easy use and very good sound quality. Just what I want. Usually I use it only when I'm recording to my home studio. I give it a 9 instead of a 10, because I think a Compressor is not a essential effect for the guitarist, just only a minimal correction of the signal dynamic. In other words, you can pass without a Compressor, but if you whant one, this is a very good option, if you know what you whant. That's my opinion.

easy as could be - level and sustain. however, you have to take the bottom of the unit off to change the battery, which is kind of a pain in the neck.

I play bass, and i use compression first in my signal chain. if i'm recording, next will come an MXR 10-band (old style, with hardwired ac plug) then a sansamp, then any other effect. In my main rig this comes first, followed by an assload of other effects, and my main amp is a hartke b120. the compression is great; does a perfect job evening out peaks and smoothing out notes. however, my basses are a schecter devil tribal and an Ibanez srx-500, and on both with the pickup volumes at full (like normal) and especially with the bass eq up at all on the basses, this thing distorts to hell. it just doesn't seem to have nearly enough headroom. i emailed maxon about this, asking if i could use a 12 volt dc adapter instead of a 9 for more headroom, and they said i probably shouldn't; the only thing they could suggest was putting an attenuator before the unit. as much as i love this pedal, i'll eventually (when i have money) be switching to a unit with more headroom, such as the aphex punch factory. i really want an EBS MultiComp, two band compression is the way to go with bass, but that's way outta my price range right now. overall, the maxon is a great unit if your bass/guitar isn't too high output, which is why i gave it an 8.

i've had this for a bunch of months and i put my gear through hell. this seems as solid as any effect i've owned, although if u shake the pedal you can feel the battery shake. it should probably be secured better.

i emailed maxon and they got back to me remarkably fast (if i remember right, i emailed them on a friday and got my response on saturday, which suprised me. i guess they don't take days off!) they also answered all my questions, including the one about what the trim pot inside the unit does. i love this company.

overall, this would be great except for the headroom issue. this pedal is as transparent as compressors get, and that's what i like to hear in a compressor: nothing. i previously used a tech 21 comptortion, and this blows it out of the water. beautiful unit, i just wish it had more headroom.

Simple operation like most compressors.

Setup: Hardtail (I really like sustain!) Strat with humbuckers into a Hot Rod Deville 2X12. Very quiet. The compression effect is subtle but does not squash your tone. I AB'd this against other more popular units and there's no comparion, except probably a Demeterr Compulator. Most notably, it does NOT remove the natural warmth of your tone. Other boxes tended to cut bass and warmth leaving a sterile sound. Also, ths sustain on this unit is amazing, paricularly for overdrive sounds. The only thing I'd change is the very slight swell of volume after hitting a chord or sustained note...it'd be cool if was more level. But really, its so subtle you barely notice (this is probably a common theme in compressors). Another thing, this has very little effect on your pick attack. Other units seemed to create this artificial pick attack sound that was cheesy and annoying.

Too early to tell.

Don't know

I cringed at the thought of dropping 140 bucks on something that affects your tone so subtly. I bought this off of ZZounds sound unheard. I decided based on Maxonn's description on the website which aligned to what I was looking for. After really running through some tests for both clean and overdrive tones, I have to say this is one of the best investments I've made in my tone. The warmth and sustain really makes physically playing the instrument easier since you don't have to strike notes/chords so hard to get the sustain I was wanting. Even a light touch on the strings sustains a long time. My only previous experience with compressors was with the Boss and that made me never consider using one. That is until a buddy of mine showed me how his Demeter Compulator helped his tone. That sold me on the need for a quality compressor.

Very easy to use, no problems.

This is the subjective part. Earlier I tried a bunch of compressor pedals at Macon Music in Chicago the Maxon being one of them. It was one of those guitar player things of, "you have everything but the Keeley, well that's what I want" With my mind set on Keeley I bought one off the internet and patiently waited it's arrival. When I finally did get the pedal I was disappointed to say the least, but that's another review. I wrote in the Keeley review that the Maxon is another Ross clone, sorry my mistake. I listened to so many compressors that day I must of been thinking of something else. The Maxon is not a Ross clone, it has much less compression of the signal and never, I mean never squashes the note to that extreme. Another point in the Maxon's favor is the pedal does not roll off the highs at all, this ended up being why I bought the pedal. When I play (especially since I play without a pick) I do not want to loose any picking nuance due to the pedal rolling off the highs. The maxon lightly compresses the signal and has a little bit of a delayed swell which I really like. The pedal can be used with the sustain control set anywhere and the pedal will sound good. The Keeley had more range but I felt you could only really set it between 10 and 2 o'clock. Less than 10 nothing much happening and after 2 too much compression and that rubbery sound I don't care for. The Maxon is probably best for people who after that country type compression, not much, just a little popping of the notes with a little swell when set up correctly. The pedal is not noisy and remained quiet unless set stupidly, like full sustain and level. Overall, for a lighter style compression this pedal is hard to beat. This pedal will not do everything but it does the country type stuff very well.

I don't know yet too soon to tell.

Same as above.

Overall, I like this pedal a lot. It does one thing really well and that is it doesn't take away any of the highs. This helps to retain the bite lost once the compressor is on. Secondly, it has a little bit of a delayed swell which I really like. This peda is fantastic for that "chicken picken" note popping country. I may buy another compressor that mutilates the signal and squashes into nothing, but if I do I think I'll go the cheap route and buy a Boss or maybe a used Oxygen. I figure if your going to kill the dynamics (aren't dynamics a tonal quality?) why not do it on the cheap.

This maxon compressor pedal is very very easy to use. Just two knobs of level and sustain. If you can't operate this pedal , you shouldn't be buying effect pedals.

This is where the pedal shines. I am currently using either a jackson sl3 or burns marquee through the compressor ---> sansamp gt2 > fender amp. This thing sounds really great. If you are looking for a compressor that increases the volume excessivley , this isn't for you. This is a pedal that is faint but it makes your guitar sound so much better.

This thing is pretty reliable and i would gig without another compressor. THe only annoying thing are the four screws you have to unscrew to get to the battery.

never dealt with them.

This thing is really great if you want a faint compressor. When this thing is on , the only person who knows it is on is you. This thing does not make a lot of noise but it does make very little ( all compressors do.) if this were stolen or lost , i'd buy another one.

About as easy as it gets, two knobs and a switch, oh yah, input and output jacks as well.

My rig is" B-bender teles, digitech wh2 whammy, dunlop 535 Q wah, Cp101, boss Od3, akai P1 inteliphase, fulltone octavefuzz, fulltone fulldrive, on the pedal board, and digitech rds1900 and ibanez dd100 delays, and lexicon lxp1 in the rack. All this goes into a boogie mark III combo, with a boomerang in the loop. This is the most transparent comp I've owned, save the carl Martin, but the carl is twice the price, and much harder to use. I like being able to change settings on the fly, so the maxon is much easier in that respect. Like other reviewers, I thought the comp was a little weak at first, since this unit replace a boss cs2, a very squashy comp in it's own right. After a while, the maxon grew on me, and I find myself never turning it off. I play a lot of Phish inspired jam rock, and this can do the trey thing if you want it to, but it really excells at subtle compression, like chicken-picken style.

Not sure, but my buddy has had one for three years, and it's still going strong.

I think anyone would really dig this box, it's very musical, and that's what's important. Every other pedal I use is one i have carefully chosen for a specific purpose, and this fits in there with all the rest. I can't think of a better comp for the price, or a better comp period for that matter. Get one!

2 knobs... simple.
Plus, the instruction booklet has some
nice recommended settings that I found useful.

Rated 9 because I always leave room for something better that may come along. I A/B'd this pedal next to the MXR dyna & Boss comp... The Maxon was far superior in my ear. It seemed much quieter than the other 2, and the compression was more subtle, which I personally liked.

I mainly use this pedal for my fingerstyle acoustic guitar playing. It adds a
nice even quality to the sound.

Seems well built.... time will tell.

Haven't had to deal with them yet.

For my fingerstyle acoustic playing, I got exactly what I was looking for...
a compressor to add a subtle barely noticable "even" sound. I consider it the finishing touch on an already good thing, kind of like applying a glossy finish to a beautifully stained piece of furniture. How's that for an analogy? :-)