Ross Compressor

A piece of cake !

Reading some of the older ratings one can come to the conclusion, that some people are playing FX instead of guitar. Naturally, a setup that includes zillions of single floor FX boxes won't be quiet unless you have some help from Mr. Bradshaw or Mr. Cornish. Especially bad cables are very harmful to the overall sound. Mainly the connection between the guitar and the first-in-line FX weakens the sound so much that it will never recover on its way to the amp. So, maybe there are different qualities around but my RC is dead quiet even when turned up. When you have to rate the sound of a stompbox you always have to know what it is used for. My setup: guitar -> Tech21 Double Drive -> RC -> Fender Amp (Twin, Blues Junior or Bassman). As far as I know, the RC doesn't have a useful buffering stage. By using the Tech21 DD as the first FX I make sure that its unbypassed buffer always keeps my signal up in order to minimize the treble loss induced by the RC. The Ross Compressor has a nice smooth sound that just adds a little "thickness" while taking away some of the upper trebles (estimated 1-5% with the setup mentioned above). For everyone who is looking for such a vintage effect I would recommend the RC. Everyone else who might be looking for a modern compressor to get an uncoloured sound-compression should try the dbx product range. To the guys who want to use as much Fx as possible in order to make their guitars sound like anything but a guitar the only way to avoid (extra) noise is to buy a TC G-Major or G-Force (alternatively, if you have the money, try the Eventide). Remember the fact that every single inch of wire that you add to your setup will hurt the sound ! One can argue but: A good buffering stage is way better than ANY true-bypass. Just think about it: You might need 10cm of cable to connect 2 FX and it takes ? let?s say - about 5 cm for the true bypass wiring. 5 boxes connected that way and switch to their true bypass equals 65 cm of cable = resistance and capacity = loss of tone. These are the basic consideration BEFORE using any (vintage) FX ! Especially those largely unbuffered like the RC.

Never failed.

Never needed. Maybe Analogman can help ?

Great for adding some extra "cream" to Jazz, Blues, Rock, Funk sounds as long as you know what you are doing.

I am not a pro guitar player but the Ross Compressor makes me sound like one. It is realy simple to use as there are only two knobs and the foot button is real easy to work.

I use a Fender Amp with a Fender Strat wannabe, the Jimi Hendrix package deal they had a couple of years ago.
I may sound like a beginner but I have been playing since 1967. I Have previously had a Gibson Firebird 12 string and a Gibson Marauder A Framus made in Germany ,a Kay original, and this little Strat puts them all to shame. Of course the twelve string had a sound that could not be wreckoned with, I traded it off to my friend Don Tillman of Tillmans music in Charlotte NC. Thats how I got the Marauder and the Ross Compressor. The Compressor with a twelve string is not really that impressive, the Gibson was kinda puffy but better. The Strat copy just unbelievable. Oh by the way I still play my Kay I use it for slide licks with the compressor, look out Jimmy Page!!!!!!

It is 50 percent reliable if you are a real fast responder to playing a gig. Sometimes if you forget to check that it is turned off after playing the battery will be dead. 9 volt batteries can get to be expensive when you need one at the moment. An LED indicator for power on would be a big help on this issue.

Never needed the help of factory repair in 23 years. Just battery replacements.

It is a nice component of the Guitar playing styles of the late 60's Steppenwolf for example.

Grey Ross Compressor
Quite easy to use, only 2 knobs -

I am using it with a G&L Legacy, Vox Wah, TS9 Tube Screamer, Expandora, Line 6 Delay modeler into Fender CS Dual Professional. Its not terribly noisy, but as with any vintage pedal i'm sure some are noisier than others. If yours is noisy you might want to get it checked out. The compression colors my sound far less than the Dyna Comp - i believe one reviewer likened the effect to an Exciter - this may be an acurate description.

Overall, i like it quite a lot.

Its quite an old pedal - therefore, i always keep my Dyna Comp on the pedal board - it was inoperational when i recieved it - just had to get some work done on the switch.
I must say though, it is older than i am and still working - if the 30$ i spent to get it working is the only time its been serviced - that says soemthing for reliability.

The company is out of business, however, as mine was initially inoperational, i got it serviced at a local amp tech - i don't think it would be difficult to find someone who can fix it for you.

I Play mostly jazz and Blues and in this context it works quite well. Relatively clean pedal - seems to color my sound less than the Dyna comp - though the dyna comp sound is desireable in some contexts.
If i lost it, well i would try to find another free one - i certainly wouldnt pay 300-400$ for one - though some may think it worth it - there are several fine compressors out there in that price range - even copies of this one - that would be far more reliable and come with factory support.

Come on! you don't have to an engineer

Prime cut this thing is very tight and punchy. Sustain for days days days & days. This on it's own when cranked is choice very low noise & supreme pressence now when I mixed certain pedal chains I had to do a little cut & paste as it likes some and not others. I am using it with a Fender Hot Rod 1x12 and a PRS HB1. This is a god send as the PRS has med-low output humbuckers and mixed with the Fender is all creamy sustain.

I play funk,reggae,jazz,blues,rock etc. and I have used many compressors as I need them but this cuts the cake I'm hooked.

I've got a grey original one. Two knobs- "Level", "Sustain". They both turn... pretty simple.

It's a "10" in my book, but I'm giving it a 9 because it honestly isn't a "universal" compressor-- if you want an over-the-top, buttery, super compressed sound, this ISN"T the pedal. It does light compression/harmonic enhancement better than any other I've tried, but it DOESN'T handle a lot of standard "compression" needs so well. (I tend to "hear" compression and sustain as two different things, and this is more of a sustain/enhancer pedal than a typical compressor).

My rig: '51 Broadcaster (or '74 Tele Thinline/'52 Gibson ES-125) -->> Ross comp --->> Ernie Ball volume pedal -->> Crowther HotCake (or Vox Valve-tone)-->> '64 Vox AC30 (or '66 Gretsch Dual Twin/'72 Twin Reverb)

I've owned mine for 18 years (so I'm DOUBLE biased, I love it AND I didn't pay the stupid prices *laughs*). It's the best subtle sustain pedal I've heard, hands down. If you're having noise problems, open it up-- I've had to replace the diode in the center of the board twice, which about every ten years you can hear the noise floor start getting static-y when a battery is in it (nice thing about Ross pedals, when the battery is dead they still operate in the "off" position). I don't know a thing about the electrical reasons for the diode dilemma-- but I know it happens (the diode actually burst the first time-- after months of getting noisier and noisier-- the pedal still worked, but was noisy as hell and the bottom end slowly disappeared).

The best I can describe it's "perfect" tone is that you can play loud, sustained portions of songs without losing any definition to your playing-- chords sound bigger, leads sound clearer, lusher, even with a distortion box. I'm not a big Phish fan, but I can tell for a fact that his super saturated compressed tone is NOT just a Ross Compressor. As some other's have stated, a hollowbody guitar and volume knob is probably 90% responsible for that... The Ross works best for a light sustain or to push the front of a tube amp lightly. For a 'Stones, or early Who, tubey rhythm sound, a Tele through the Ross into an AC30 is impeccable. And kick in a good Tubescreamer-ish overdrive and the sound can make you wet yourself with it's "umpph!" Without sounding metallic or nasally.

Works best with the level high and the sustain somewhere between 9 and 1. Cranked it's noisy as hell, and not very good sounding-- but MOST pedals suck with the settings cranked (TS-808's are worthless with the tone cranked in my opinion).

Raving as I am, I wouldn't hesitate to steer high-gain users away from it-- I've seen some Mesa users here say they love it, but I would not use this pedal with a Mesa, a Marshall, or similar. Nor with a Les Paul (just adds to the funky murkiness I associate with Les Pauls).

For players who center their sound around "vintage" tones, however, and those who use pedals for mostly "subtle" means-- it's a perfect 10!

Considering mine is left on 60-75% of the time, and has toured for two decades, I'm happy with just replacing a diode twice. Not perfect, but pretty close. I use an original Dynacomp for a backup, 'cause the Ross is too damned expensive to carry a backup.

Not around anymore, but Analogman can fix 'em for pretty cheap. (He makes his own clone, too).

If you already have great tone-- good guitars, amps, technique-- this will be your favorite pedal, simple as it is. Just dial in your normal tone, and then set the Ross so when it's engaged you barely notice it. Now play your normal style-- kick it in when you get bored or want to show off! *laughs*

I would recommend it highly for any "vintage" tone hounds-- blues, indie rock, classic rock, folk, country... If you've got a Matchless or a Vox, you NEED this pedal-- trust me. But probably NOT for hard rock, metal, other modern sounds (I'd probably rate it a 3 or 4 for that).

If it was stolen (which it almost was at a gig) or lost, I'd replace it immediately. Hopefully NOT at Ebay prices, but if I had to I would.

If you hate this thing, hey-- everybody's different (I'm tempted to say "you're not a very good player", but my mommy taught be better)... If you do hate it, then you either bought it from a shop, where you could have played it first, or bought it on the internet, in which case you can turn around and resell it-- that's what's great about Ebay!

I have an original Black Roos Compressor and I have built a grey one.
Both are simple to use - only 2 knobs.

I run these Ibanez Artist or strat into Ibanez TS9 (tubescreamer) then int one of the rosses into a Fender deluxe reverbe. Yup, just like Trey! I can get Trey's sound out of this to a degree.

Now for Noise. Both units are not noisy. Anyone with noise problems most likely have dirty pots (easily diagnosed) or if the unit is just noisy (hissy) when idle. One or more of the electrolytic capacitors has aged out and is / are not performing to spec.

If you have this problem with your unit and the noise is unbearable I'd be happy to take the unit.

SOUND. These compressors when working properly really act as a guitar compressor "effect" should. Notes have the same volume as chords. I also noticed a very pronounced increase in feel with my guitars. With the compression in I can feel a bit more feedback resonate in the guitar which increases "feel" and control.

You know the feeling when you have your amp cranked up and it sound and feels great. The ross provides the needed feedback even at low volume levels (great for late night jamming in suburbia or your apartment).

Any fan of Trey Anastasio's sound should be interested in this effect to achive emmulation - BUT IT IS NOT JUST THIS BOX as reported frequently on ebay. His whole setup is the key which starts with TREY - the player makes the majority of the sound. Running Tube screamer INTO the Compressor is a great way to run the chain. You can add distortion / fuzz with out a huge increase in decibles comming out of the amp.

Overall - The Ross compressors blow away my old Boss (which really sounded thin and did not add to the sound)

I think the rosses make a fatter sound and boost the desirable frequency range of my guitar unlike other compressors I have tried )pedals and rack mounts)

I got mine for about $100 and built a kit one (which is super quiet and responsive) for about $50.

Note on kits there are a couple of guys offering Ross comp kits. If you go that route to save $ The kits are very good but require a degree of electronics skill. Don't try one of these if you've never built an effects box before.

None have broken. The Black unit is over 20 yrs old and is built to last 20more!

Not applicable. Not very complicated circuit so a local usical equipment repair facility should be able to handle anything here.
Ask the local music store for a reference (they will tell you who is good)

Great effect if you want to hear the notes you are playing does not muddy up sound at all. Adds definition to playing. Maybe not good for metal but everything else great. Brings Guitar closer to the tubes!

I've been playing for 15 years and kick myself for not buying these when I was a kid and they were $35 new!

I love that it increases feel and won't ever do with out one in my set up. Helps me improve my sound! I highly recommend it.

I do wish it had an L.E.D.

How much simpler can two knobs get? Unless....you adjust the trim pot, but even that is straight forward. I have heard these sound poorly in other rigs, but I think trim pot adjustment would resolve these issues for the most part.

I love these reviews, and figure I dont really have much to add (even though that wont stop me!!)but I just want to clear something important up here:

THESE UNITS ARE NOT! TRUE BYPASS.
I have read a reviewer that said his was. NONE of the Ross products came with true bypass (DPDT) switching (and I have a Ross OD, Comp, Chorus and Flanger) The reviewer who said his was true bypass, is either mistaken, or the unit was modded. Even so the unit still sounds and performs great, and swapping out the switch is a real no-brainer. I did all my Ross pedals and it was about a half hour each (and I am no soldering iron wielding sharpshooter)!

Bout the sounds, everybody has different gear, instruments, ears etc. The unit might sound great with my rig but not with someone elses, that does not make it lousy, it just limits its applicability. I find these reviews handy but..I see them as mostly subjective.

I use it with a PRS>Ross comp>rmc-1>ernieballvolume>ross OD>rat>EHQtron>OC-2>rosschorus>dd-3>boomerang>into a custom loop bypass>70sTwin. The unit is silent, and not noisy when in use. The tone is wonderfully smooth and when I use the overdrive, (especially when I double up both drives) wow, it is smooth as butter with a gorgeous and complex sustain. Having said this, I really dont know crap about how to make these things work, I just know how it sounds to my ears and I love it. My 9 rating here is only based on the quality of the sounds to me and my own rig, it has nothing to do with adaptability. I did cut 1 mark because it makes my envelope filter sound like shit, even though perhaps it is because the envelope is crap itself who knows.

Built like a rock. One thing I love is the size of the enclosure. If you have to get inside and do some repairs, it is easy to do so. If you have to pull the board out it is quick and simple.

n/a

It really does not get any better. I tried the Boss and DOD stuff and they blew and put me off compressors for years. This unit is a keeper, even though it may not be for everyone.

Well - as easy as it gets. One Sustain and one Level knob. Very easy to dial in heavily and slightly compressed tones. As I built it myself I had to adjust the internal trimpot for minimum distortion at maximum sustain. Before I adjusted it, it distorted in a somewhat strange and... farty way.

It does alter your sound a little bit. Cuts off some highend and adds a little mids. Sounds especially great before a distortion (I use it before a modified Boss DS-2). Mine has true bypass (well I built it myself - so I could install a true-bypass switch). Noise is pretty low for a compressor - even on the highest sustain and level settings only very little noise is produced. Mine uses different transistors than the original effect - so maybe that's the reason why mine is pretty noiseless.

Built it myself in a solid metal box. Even if it would fail the signal could pass it unaltered. But I think it's reliable as far as the circuitry goes. There aren't any parts that are prone to failing.

Built it myself so no support. Ross is long gone anyway.

This thing is really great. Can't understand why people are paying premium bucks for an antique one. It's a moderately difficult effect to build. And it shares nearly the whole circuit with a MXR Dynacomp. So a Dynacomp could be converted to a Ross.

2 knobs, 1 footswitch...that's pretty easy I'd say. Got it used, so no manual, but no biggie. The trick is it just takes a while to figure out how to get a good sound from this thing. That can take weeks.

Using it with a Gibson LP or Strat into a Fender Blues Deluxe (with some distortion, overdrive, and some delay at times). I've got both knobs set at about 10:30 and I leave it on pretty much. It adds a hard-to-describe fatness and spongieness to my sound. Make chords sound distinct and sticky. With the amp I use, I have to watch it because this thing will overdrive the clean channel pretty easily, so I either have to back the volume knob down or turn the unit off for clean passages. It took me about 2 months to figure out how to use this in my setup. I was using it as a boost for solos for a bit, but I like the sound so much I decided to turn the level down a bit (so it's about as loud as the signal is without it) and leave it on. I also picked up a Boss compressor (cs-3 I think) for comparison and MAN, do these 2 pedals sound different. The Boss is more usefull for compressing the signal...Keeping the volume in a more restricted range. The downside to that unit is that it's a tone sucker. Has it's applications, but I took it off my pedalboard after a week of messing with it. The Ross, on the other hand, adds a subtle sweet nuance to you sound, but I can't really use it as a compressor. If you turn the sustain up past 10:30/11 o'clock, it just overdrives the amp in a funny kind of way. I was thinking of just using it as on overdrive, but by itself it a little...I don't know...farty? Yeah, it's a little farty past 11 o'clock. Used the way I'm using it in my rig, it would be irreplaceable. I should say that I'm giving it an 8 because while the sound is like gold to my ears, I enjoy the lo-fi kind of edge that it adds. It doesn't sound too polished (like the Boss unit does) and for me, that's excellent.

Can't say...when I got it was broken, but after the repairs I did, I think it'll work for a long time. The casing is pretty tough and the knobs are recessed, so I figure that'll help. Giving it a 9 because somebody along the way managed to break it, although I can't figure out how they did it.

Fuggedaboutit.

I guess you may be wondering how I got this pedal for free, considering the price they fetch on Ebay being so outrageously high and all. It was lying around my buddies house and I saw that there were some wires hanging out of it and I asked if I could have it to see if I could fix it. He said OK. I only had to buy a capacitor and I did a few hours of work (I added a regular size adapter plug instead of the 1/8 inch one that comes with it) and now it works fine. I can't say that this unit sounds like it did when new, but it sounds great. I'm using it in a rock bang (kind of Husker du-ish) and it's a great match. I've been playing 9 years or so. I would LOVE to buy it again if it was stolen, but of course, I'd have to pay hundreds of dollars and it might not even sound the same. The biggest drawback to this unit is the fact that it overdrives the amp after 11 o'clock on the sustain knob, so your compressing abilities are pretty limited. As a compressor, it's not very versatile. That's why it took me so long to find a good way to use it. It's got it's own rules. But that being said, it is my FAVORITE pedal (I've got an old Ibanez AD-9 analog delay, a Jeckyl and Hyde overdrive/distortion and a Boss DS-1 distortion on my pedal board). I wouldn't buy it for metal or punk. It's kind of soulful and juicy. good for rock, indie, funk, probably country, if you set it right.

As easy as it could be. Two knobs and a switch. Battery or wall wart.

My Grey Ross is a 10. My friend's is about a 2.5. There is one reason - NOISE. After reading the previous reviews, I had to submit one, because these pedals vary greatly. I use mine for bass alot. I own a 62 Precision and a 69 Jazz, and before I got this pedal, I would not have believed you could improve their tone, but you can with a Ross Compressor. I leave it on all the time in my bass rig. My amp is an early 60's Ampeg B-18, and everyone agrees that the Ross is the best.

Aluminum Housing, built like a tank.

NA - Ross is out of business. I had a Krossroads Bass Amp, which was built by Bud Ross' son in Kansas in the 90's and it was crap and they were hard to deal with. Don't worry, your Grey Ross won't break or confuse you.

Overall this is the best compressor out there, but play the individual unit you are buying. My friend has an identical one, and it is unusable because it is so noisy. For bass, I prefer this to Boss compressor pedals, Ibanez compressor pedals, and both my JoeMeek and DOD rack compressors. Warm and musical.