Profile CMP-5

The CMP 5 is a compressor pedal. It lowers the volume on loud notes and raises the volume on softer notes to produce a sound that has the same volume throughout.

There are three controls: Level (as in volume), Attack, and Sustain. I don't know if this is because my pedal is broken (which I doubt because I got it almost brand new. Come to think of it... the guy DID give a $112 pedal away...) but the Attack and Sustain don't seem to do much except boost the gain.

This pedal is very simple to use... just plug it in, select your volume and you're off. I sometimes boost the volume up high and leave the volume on my amp a little lower to get a very nice bluesy overdrive... The natural tube-driven kind.

I am using this through either my Steinberger GU Deluxe, Yamaha SGV, or Vantage VS-600R, and into a Peavey Rage 158 Practice amp. Eventually I'll get to try it out with a good amp, but for now this is it.

The amp is a very quite one naturally, so it is really good for determining whether or not effects are noisy, and this one is not noisy at all when in the bypass mode, but when you turn the effect on it really starts to pick up every single bit of hum. You'd better be playing something while this effect is on or have a suppressor or noise gate handy.

I don't have any previous experience with compressors, so I can't compare it or give a very insightful review as to how good the effect is. All I know is that it does its job, but I can still hear volume spikes when I hit chords or switch distortion on.

I think I can depend on this pedal. It doesn't seem as sturdy as my BOSS pedals, but that may be simply because it is lighter. I've already dropped it a couple of times, but I've never really feared for it, it's well built.

never dealt with them

Overall, I don't really care for compression effects. I'm very much for playing dynamics with your hands, not with your effects, but I got this pedal for free, so I really can't complain. If I were to lose this pedal I probably wouldn't buy it again in lieu of buying a pedal that will really change my sound instead of just the volume, like a wah or delay.

I use this pedal after a (working backwards from last to first) BOSS CE-3 Chorus, Kramer DS-1 Distortion, and a BOSS BF-2 Flanger, and even though I rarely use it live or in a jam, I have used it a couple of times for recording and it helped. This pedal gives me quite a bit of trouble when using it in conjunction with the DS-1. If both of them are on with their volumes at around the midpoint, the amp starts to screech and feedback.

Overall it's a good pedal, flattens the sound a bit, but I don't see much use for it at all. It doesn't really work as a sustainer like I've heard compressors are supposed to. Like I said, boosting the Attack and Sustain only seems to boost the gain, thus making the softer hums even louder... gets quite annoying. I usually keep A and S below the midpoint, and just play with the volume as I need it.