Tech 21 CompTortion

As I recall, the manual explains how some controls affect others, and "Do not turn the ____ on 10 when ____ is on 10" etc. Once you learn this, either from reading or the hard way, it's very easy to find a variety of useful sounds and jump back and forth between them.

I'll say 8 because any distortion (especially with a compressor) is going to get noisy, but if wasn't, it would cost a lot more. This is my all-time favorite distortion pedal that I've owned, and I had re-issued and modified Big Muffs and Tube Screamers before I moved on to the Line6 PODxt Live. I'm sure there are better pedals out there, but not for the price.

I've had two, and no, the second wasn't a spare. The first one mysteriously gave up the ghost after I'd had it for several years. I'll be the first one to admit that it very well could have been a user error, as it was probably used at least an hour or two every day that I owned it, and usually much more than. Many gigs, many cold, concrete rehearsal areas, and it sat on the floor while a lot of rather high people wandered around in low light. Kids, don't do drugs. This is why we can't have nice things.
I never once had an issue with it before its untimely death, and the second one worked fine, and probably still is, for whoever bought it on Ebay. No.1 probably could've been easily fixed, but it was well beyond its warranty and I simply bought another.

I never dealt with them regarding a product with an existing warranty, but I did email them when my first Comptortion died, and I believe they offered to take a look at it, for the sake of research, but by the time I'd gotten their email, I'd replaced it. I might still have that dead one somewhere...

Good value, and now discontinued, so you can usually pick one up on Ebay or at a local shop for pretty cheap. Definitely the best Gilmour tone you'll get through a budget solid-state setup, and it does so much more than that, and does it well.

Tweakers only need apply. If you're not willing to play with this thing for a minute or two, you're not going to find the elusive sweet spot. I use tape with Sharpie marks to get me in the ballpark, but you still need to fiddle a bit each time you use it.

This is my go to pedal. Hands down it's my fave distortion. The added compression creates a nice sustain. This pedal suits my bluesy playing style to a tee. I use it through my Vibro Champ, Yamaha T50C on the clean channel, and Dual Showman head. This pedal has great sounds with single coils and 'buckers. Very versatile and the tones are extremely useful. Not the end all pedal but I use it extensively. Settings are a bit sensitive but not noisy unless you try to go full out on either the comp or the tortion.

It's rugged. I've been using it non-stop for two years, its a tank.

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I play blues, classic rock and British Invasion. This pedal works extremely well for blues. I've found most of my fave tones in this one. EC, SRV, Jimi, Jimmy, RHCP (w/Frusciante), Neil Young, JJ Cale and Zappa. It's all in there. Note that the pedal is sensitive to tweaking and the comp and tortion controls effect each other and overall volume. If you're not into tweaking then this one may be a little frustrating. The amp you're playing through also has a great effect on the settings and I find my self tweaking heavily between different amps. If you play live through more than one amp I'd get a couple so I could use one for each signal chain. Been playing 30 years, 22 pro. Best $55 I've ever spent on gear!

easy enough. you do need to fiddel with it to get your sound due to the compressor and distortion interacting.

It's great for jazzy or country picking at low distortion and half volume of the compressor. MOre distortion gets you that creamy sound. Both cranked is very heavy but noisy with wierd decay.

Its seems tough enough.

Not a main stay kind of box but excellent if you like fat sounds. I can get a nice fat, Trey Anastasio sound very easily out of it. The sound is clean but you still have "power" when playing leads due to the compression. The is a Gentlemen's pedal, not for bangin power chords.

It's very easy to get a good sound out of this pedal. I have been searching for the right distortion pedal for years and everyone I spoke to has said that there is no one perfect distortion pedal. Though this may be true, in fact each pedal serves its purpose, this one in particular has been the most versatile for me. It has a great range, there's a lot you can get out of this thing.

I use custom made guitars that already have a lot of bite. My main amp is a silverface Fender Twin, though I've used this pedal with a number of tube amps, solid state amps, and hybrids. It's all good.

On a side note, this thing sounds great with a bass guitar. It doesn't kill your bass sound at all, just enhances it with distortion. You can hear the two sounds distinctly, the nice bass bottom end and the meaty distortion.

I know exactly what I'm getting when I take this thing out to play. No backup necessary.

Haven't dealt with them. I can't imagine they're difficult to deal with, being based in NY and being such a small company.

They've made great products in the past.

I play everything from blues to rock to punk to metal to folk to experimental, to....well, you get the picture. If I had let's say a Lucky 15 or a Rivera, would I be using this pedal? Probably not. I'm a huge fan of onboard distortion. But practically speaking, I'm very happy to have it in my collection.

The only critique I have is that the knobs are too loose. It would have been great if they had given it a little more tension. It's very easy for your foot to accidentally touch a knob or two while pressing on this pedal and your settings getting all screwed up. If anyone knows how to tweak this, please let me know.

This is a great distortion box for bluesy,jazzy and that squishy country sound. ITs fairly easy to use, I agree with those complaining about the sensitiviy but you get used to it. I use a little distortion and about half the compressor for a great blues sound. I haven't recorded or played live with it.

I have a tele, les paul and strat through a cheap crate amp. Its not noisy unless you crank the compressor. The compressor is best around 12 o clock and changing the distortion to your taste is the way to go.
MOre distortion gives you that creamy,"american women solo" sound. a third is great for blues and very low is good for country. Straight rock? better off with a boss or dod or somehting. It just has a good quality sound, thats all i can say.

seesm fine, built like a tank

At a 100 new i'd say its a decent deal, unless you just play hard rock. Then I'd just get a ds-1 or something for less. I have been playing for 17 years and know alot of equipment and I'd get another one if needed. I don't really "hate" anything about but remember that if you cut the volume on your guitar it peters out sound wise. that's kinda wierd. Great box for those that love more "adult" styles of music

Not for the impatient. Pots are extremely interactive w/odd operating tapers. Little or no room to fudge. A hairline increase or decrease of any of the knobs causes a significant change in sound. The 'repeatability' of sttings is near impossible. This pedal is NOT for someone who does not use a pedal board to "protect" the knobs on their effects.

SUPERB sounds once it is dialed-in. Lack of stability of the circuit and/or pots (see 'repeatability' comment above) nearly negates a "Sweet Spot"

100% built like a tank. The "Hall Effect" implementation of the engage/bypass switch is a nice touch.

SUPERB! E-mails were answered within hours. Tech's will customize their responses based upon the user's skill level. If you're a techie....they'll give you the technical explanation. If you're a newbie, they'll tell you what you need to know in a way that makes sense to you.

Full & part-time pro playerfor 40 years and a guitar tech for the past 20. You name the guitar/amp/effect and chances are I've used it.
This is a great device if you don't espouse the "KISS" factor. I'd recommend this for recording work only as the retention of settings is unstable due to the reasons mentioned above. It records like a dream!!!!!

Needs a bit of tweaking to get a good sound out - that' fine by me.

I use it for recording with a Fender Jazzmaster, Burns Steer, Gibson Sonex Deluxe.
I dont like it on bass.
I often put it through a Sansamp Double Drive and GT2 cabinet simulator. It's the best compressor pedal I have ever used, much better than my MXR Dynacomp. It gives me bags of rich, vintage sounding sustain. The distortion is an added bounus, used in moderation it can sound nice and analogue but an extra dedicated unit gives you more control. The only negative aspect is that the built in noise gate cannot be tweaked and it occasionally kicks in before I would want it. It does keep the procedures remarkably clean, though.

I record film and TV soundtracks, so I dont really play much live. However, this are very solid boxes - if you are careful not to kick the knobs I'm quite sure it could take a good amount of life on the road.

Never needed.

I've been recording for a long time now, and having gone through a technology overload phase, I've been back to basics for a while now. I've selected a few pieces of gear - mainly preamps and compressors - I really need to get a good sound to tape, and this is one.

Not very for the instant gratification user. Takes a good bit of tweaking to find the 'sweet spot'

Strats with Duncan Paf , 2 single coil >> Fender Deluxe 90 amp. The Compressor can make you feedback and roar like hell so be careful. I bought this thing off eBay six months ago for 30 bucks. I was looking for a booster and figured cheap enough. My Fender has a clean channel that is absolutely clean, a crunch channel that starts at mild distortion and a more distortion that takes it way over the edge. I'm looking for something between clean and the crunch to get a SRV tone, blues, fat country lead that sounds like a clean amp cranked. This thing does that in spades. Comp off, distortion about 9:00, tone about 2:00, level set just to boost above my normal amp volume. I have a Washburn with high gain pickups and can tell you this pedal works much better with a lower gain pickup. It can get a ton more sounds by adjusting the comp and distortion levels, but I find it is one of the most versatile boost/gain pedals out there.

The switch is mounted on the board, but it has worked flawlessly for me and is very solidly built.

No need so far, but I don't believe they make this anymore.

I would look for another CompTortion if this one fried. Takes a good long time to adjust, very minute changes can send this thing over the edge.

Easy, but it isn't the type of pedal you just plug in and play. You have to take it easy with the Comp and Tortion knobs.

Right now, I use this pedal as a signal buffer. From my Gibson Les paul, the signal goes into a vox wah (modified by Robert Keeley), a Boss TU-2 tuner pedal, a boss DS-1 (also modified by Robert Keeley)and then the comptortion. I turn the tone knob all the way up (as a passive shelving control, it acts like your guitar's tone knob and cuts highs when not cranked). I set the boost volume to about 2/3 o'clock (1 o'clock is unity gain, with the Tortion and comp all the way down. The resulting "kick" in signal power allows my signal to survive the trip through my remaining chorus, flange, delay, tremelo pedals - not to mention the trip to the amp. Impedance is lowered, and my signal's presence is restored.

Seems tough enough. I've gigged with no problems.

The great thing about this box is it's versatility. Granted, there are plenty of other, better distortion or compressor units available. But as an inexpensive clean boost, it certainly is very effective.

It's a 4 know stompbox, subsequently not to hard to operate. BUT.......

Weak in every aspect. Compressor noisier than Dynacomp without any of the warmth or juicy-ness. The distortion just plain mediocre....a real "transistor" brittle distortion. It's a cool concept, but Tech 21 simply hasnt pulled it off. AVOID!

Didnt keep it long enough to make a judgement. Opened to change battery and it looks like a very light built unit. Did not radiate confidence. POTS connectected to circut board, ergo, bad pot, big problems.

No comment.

This pedal misses the mark completely. I though that maybe having a integrated compressor/distortion box would be convienent for last minute playing situations, jams, etc. Problem being, that neither the compression nor the distortion improved tone at all. Waste of time.