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.

N/A

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.

KISS. I like the fact that it's easy to use. No patch editing, no need for a manual. Just start turning dials and listen for a great sound. What could be easier?

I run from my guitar(s) to a BOSS TU-2 into this and to the front end of my Fender HR DeVille 2x12. As mentioned in an earlier post, without distortion, the sound is thin, but you only have to touch the distortion to get it full. And it's really not distorted. Odd? It gives my amp 6 channels vs. 3, so I enjoy the versatility. The 'fav artist' I'm trying to emulate? Randy Bachman.

It's made of metal and feels like it could fall off a bridge and live. I don't use batteries, so I gig w/out a backup.

No dealings with the company.

I play classic rock, and this pedal lets me reach my tone goals. I can switch from chords to notes to chords without losing overall volume and sustain. I would replace it if it were stolen or lost.

It took me two weeks to find the sweet spot on this pedal. The manual says it's passive. Like all passive units, you must find the right "balance" to achive a good sound. I think the comp sounds thin without some degree of overdrive. The tortion gives the comp a measure of tube warmth. Raise one and lower the other.
Balance!

OK... I am a bass player. I play a MIA fender jazz bass. I run it into a demeter pre-amp then to the Crown power amp. I got some bangin speakers too. With the compression to high, you get a nasty chattering sound as a note decays.
The knobs are dependent on one another it's passive. I turned the comp down to about 10:00. Now, I have room for more overdrive.
NOTE... If the comp is up high, you can bearly add any distortion without it sounding like butt cheaks. BUT, turn the comp down and you can raise the tortion to about 8:00 with nice results.
It sounds balanced and fuller with the right combo between the two. The initial attack is crisp and clean and if you dig in, you can hear sweet overdrive effecting the harmonics. SWEET.
The comp and tortion feed each other.
Balance!

I like Tech 21 stuff, i get the feeling this thing will last forever.

NO

I am a huge freakin fan of Geddy Lee. Listen to his Fender on "Diffent stages live". It has a cruel barking sound right.
Well With the comptortion, It bites and grinds with an agressive edge, kinda like a snarling dog. It's worth it to me to own this pedal. I always use it, never without it. This thing has a Tube sound for sure.

Easy to use, just takes a bit of tweaking. Depending on the guitar/pickups this thing will feedback uncontrolably. The manual says start at the 12 oclock position and work from there. I recommend starting with the compression and distortion at the 9 oclock position and tone and volume at 12.

Using a duncan loaded Paul and a Carvin VT-50. I run the distortion just cracked and the compressor between 9 and 10. It really thickens up the amp when its off its all but transparent. I have every intention of leaving it on most of the time and depending on the tune raise or lower the distortion.

I haven't had this long enough to know

I called to find out more about the pedal and advised settings. They put me in direct contact with a tech who gave me a crash course on compression and distortion and was perfectly willing to talk at my level instead of his.

Playing blues and blues based rock both covers and originals this was just what I've been looking for. Really beefs up and evens out the overall sound, the sustain is unbelievable. The distortion is a bit much for my taste but as a clean boost and compressor it's spot on. Lost or stolen I might look into a dynacomp but more than likely I'd purchase this again.

I agree with the previous reviews in that it's just as easy to get a bad sound out of this pedal as it is a good one. Think before you tweak, and you'll be rewarded.

This is one of the nicer distortion pedals I've played, and one of the only ones that gets me a "tube amp driven by TS-808" sound out of a solid state amp. The compressor is great- low noise, huge amounts of compression on tap. If you want sustain for days, you'll get it. This is absolutely the perfect pedal to stick in front of a Tech 21 amp.

Tech 21 builds quality gear, and I've been a fanboy of theirs for years now. I'll probably buy another one of these just to have a backup- I like the pedal that much.

Tech 21 is less than 20 people, and the attention to detail and customer service I've experienced from them over the years has been second to none. Personal attention from engineers that know what they're talking about and actually listen to their customers.

(Do what you have to do to keep Lloyd happy, Tech 21- he's an asset to your company for his customer service and his technical knowledge.)

I play alternapop, blues, and surf. This pedal coupled with my Trademark 10 has gotten me as close as I've ever been to the perfect "slight grit" tone. I'm confident I'll be just as happy with it in front of my Trademark 120.

I've been playing for 17 years. I'm actually conciously trying to pare my gear collection down to saner numbers:

Fender Tele Plus, de-Lace-Sensored and Bardenized
Gibson SG Standard, stock and I like it like that

Tech 21 Trademark 10, Trademark 120, XXL, and Comptortion (it's a start)

Rocktron Surf Tremelo and Tsunami Chorus

(That's the stuff I'm keeping, anyway- there's lots more that isn't really germane to this review.)

If this pedal were stolen, I'd need to either hunt down another (it really is a great product) or spend much more money buying a high quality compressor and a high quality distortion pedal. I'd much rather hunt down another CompTortion.

I love the tones I get out of this box, and there's nothing I hate. The only things I'd change would be to tweak the circuit a bit so the full range of the Comp and Tortion pots are usable, and passive bypass.

I actually have piles of overdrives here, and a friend of mine brought his CompTortion over one night and left it here. I'd put this up against most of my other overdrives in front of a tube amp, and I'd actually prefer this to most of my other overdrives in front of a solid state amp.

Buy this pedal. Read the instructions. Tweak gently. There's nothing not to like, and I'm confident I'll find this pedal useful for years to come. I can't rate this pedal less than a perfect 10 for its intended purpose.

It's easy to get a good sound out of this pedal. It's also easy to get a really messed up sound out of it. The "comp" and "tortion" knobs have a really huge range. I expected no less from Tech 21.

I've been using this pedal for a year with different guitars and amps, and it behaves very differently with each. Like any compressor, the signal going in dramatically affects the compression.

This is not a weak pedal. Turn the "tortion" off and you get a very nice sounding compressor that ranges from subtle, slight boost to totally squished and noisy (please kids, keep in mind that compressors are noisy by nature--they boost the sound as it dies out; that includes ALL sounds going into them).

Start turning the "tortion" up and you get something along the lines of the infamous XXL--a pedal that is always in my arsenal.

I use this pedal to get sustained distortion, like when I'm playing leads and I want a note to go forever. But if I want a more bluesy sound with compression, I have to kill the distortion and go with a different pedal or just tweak my amp. I would love to see Tech 21 put out a standalone compression pedal with more controls.

The pedal is quiet in use and the switch is quiet. Extra points for the super-smooth action of the footswitch.

I've given this pedal a beating over a year and it's held up great. Same with my other Tech 21 gear. The pots are soldered to the circuit board, which scares me a little--like, if I destroyed a pot, it would be harder to replace it. Still, the workmanship is excellent.

I contacted Tech 21 once via e-mail on another matter and they were prompt, polite, and helpful.

I play many styles of music, from punk to thrash to lounge and disco. While I originally thought this pedal would save me space on my board by combining two effects, I was wrong. If I were only playing heavy rock, it would do the job, because the distortion is so heavy. But when I want a heavy sound with endless sustain, the Comptortion does a great job.

I've been playing for 22 years and have owned hundreds of effects--vintage, boutique, and crap. I went through a stage of being anal about my tone, but have since gotten over it. But my ear is good enough that I know what effect works with which guitar, amp, and other effects.

If my comptortion were lost or stolen, I don't think I'd get another. If I keep changing the settings during songs, I can get a lot out of it, but I'm not Eric Johnson. I'm more like Ron Popeil--I want to set it and forget it.

What I like the most about this pedal is the quality of tone. What I like least is that there is no mellower distortion setting.

My wish is that Tech 21 could make a compressor. I love their stuff and the prices are good for what they make.

VERY EASY TO USE... 4 knobs and the on/off switch is really cool because it doesn't make that freaking annoying pop/click sound... very quiet.

I just scored this pedal yesterday used for $47 bucks... pretty good deal I think and I've wanted one for a while.

I spent a good few hours messing with it. I basically just plugged my G&L RAMPAGE into the pedal and then put the thing straight into my Marshall stack (JCM-900 4100).

My FAVORITE guitar players are Hendrix, Clapton and Steve Gaines... and also Paul Gilbert, ZAKK Wylde, Jerry Cantrell and Dimebag Darrell. I can pull off some nice tones from this pedal to match all of the players tones listed above.

The distortion is pretty full sounding and very musical and the compression is great too BUT BUT BUT make sure you dial in just a small amount of compression otherwise you will get all sorts of wierd noise and feedback.

YES... seems like it is built very well. No backup.

don't know.

I PLAY blues, rock and hardcore metal...

I've been playing for about 9-10 years. If it was stolen I might try and track another used one down but honestly I'd probably look into something else as I seem to get bored with things quickly.

THE ONE THING THIS PEDAL HAS THAT I LOVE IS SUSTAIN SUSTAIN SUSTAIN!!! I chose this pedal because a few years ago I tried it out in the music shop and couldn't believe the amounts of sustain it provided. I didn't want to buy it back then for some reason probably because I was still in college and broke.

THIS PEDAL is great and TECH 21 did a really nice job with it. It doesn't sound like anything else I've used. I have played and tried everything out there. Rats, Tubescreamers, Tubekings, Bigg muffs, Metal Zones and Metal this and and blah blah... this pedal is in a class of its own.

CHECK ONE OUT AND YOU JUST MIGHT LIKE IT!

Cheers!

Very easy to use. 4 knobs? come on!

Personally I think this is a real cool pedal and a good value.
It really does about 4-5 different things such as clean boost,
comp sound,distortion sound,noise gate,clean/gritty sustain sound
(think bugget version of Kimock,Gerry,etc sound.) and although
a bit noisy if your not careful, it can really sound great! Works
beautifully with my Nobels ODR-1. This pedal is extremely transparent,
can be dail to be almost exactly the same as the amp sound-alot
better than most. The noise gate deserve a mention, when turning
your guitar volume down/with in about a second you here the gate
kick in and noise drops. Nice! Never chops off what I'm playing.
I got this for $40.00 and feel it's a great addition to my rig.

Looks good.

Never used them

I play Funk/Jazz and Jam Band style stuff. This pedal works
great for this style, but is so versatile it could be used
in just about any style of music. Think of it as a MORE button
more clean/more squeeze/more grit/And any combo of the 3 with
a sweet noise gate to boot! Nice!

Easy enough to use and the knobs are self explainatory.

Well, I got this because I was so pumped up about the sound of my Trademark 60, I just knew this had to be good...The only problem was I was wrong in my assumptions about this unit.......I did not care for the overly distorted sound that made my Trademark sound like early '70's Porno Music....I could buy a Muff Fuzz if that was the sound I was looking for......The users who commented before me are right....There is really a very tight margin of useage using the knobs....Too much creates excessive noise and unless you're doing something extremely creative and unique, it sounds terrible. The compressor was okay, but back to the small margin thing......What's the point of having the whole knob if only a small amount is worth using?.

Seems dependable and reliable enough

I had this only a week and knew I could keep it and tolerate it, but also knew I was better off (for me personally) with an individual compressor and overdrive pedal. If a company is going to do a "two in one" effect pedal, I recommend being able to use the two effects not only simultaneously, but also individually. Unless you have precision accuracy with your big toe, you can't do that with this pedal......Kind of defeats the act of running your amp clean with compression if you also want to be able to kick it into overdrive with the compressor on......Like I said, unless you're good with your feet and you are very very careful not to push the knobs above 9'oclock, this is not that great of a pedal.

Very easy to use; didn't use the manual. Took about two minutes before I had the sounded that I wanted. Great pedal (BUT PLEASE READ THE "RELIABILITY" SECTION

Great sound - grab the tone and comp knobs, you'll find any sound you want (within reason) - Played lots of things with it; Pink Floyd, Bowie, etc...great pedal (BUT PLEASE READ THE "RELIABILITY" SECTION)

I've played gig after gig with this thing, with no back-up (thank God because the only other pedal I owned was crap), no Plan B - it never let me down. Very good battery life. HOWEVER - one day in the studio, it's working beautifully, never a problem. Only thing out of the ordinary that day was a recorded a bass track with it. Next day, DEAD. No power (plugged in, tried 5 different power adapters, and numerous batteries), no sound (well, a distant hum, but it might've been my teapot), DEAD. It's still being looked over by the smartest electrician I know (I have a problem with physically shipping it out somewhere for an indefinate amount of time).

Like I said, I have a strange problem with sending anything away...makes me feel like I'll never see it again. Kinda brings a tear to my eye, I loved that pedal.

Great pedal, I miss it very badly, but no worries - I WILL BUY ANOTHER ONE (should my old one be beyond repair, still awaiting the diagnosis)

It has four knobs, effectively: volume, tone, distortion, compression. It's easy to use, but finicky as to which equipment it will work well with, just like most of the pedals and effects I've owned.

I tried this pedal with numerous amp/guitar configurations, but I wasn't happy with it until I put it in the present sequence: Carvin Koa DC135 or Schecter Custom Strat > Boss tuner > Morley Bad Horsie2 > Comptortion > Fulldrive2 > Yamaha DG Stomp (preamp off) > Dr. Z Route 66 amp > 1x12 (or any speaker combinations I feel like using). I find that I leave the Comptortion on all the time with the compression at 9 (o'clock), the distortion at 7 o'clock, the tone around 12 and the volume at around 11 o'clock. Just a little compression/boost, really. The amp itself is so beautiful that I don't need much of anything, but the Comptortion just gives me the litte extra juice to play the classic rock stuff I do. I like the boost that happens when the compression is turned up, I can find just the right combination of drive and compression, and then use the volume knob to match it to my amp. I was going to sell it until I tried it in this combination. Now it's gonna stay. I use the Fulldrive2 for added gain and lead volume. It actually gives me four distinct tones to have these two pedals together. I only use the wah and the DGStomp (delays, choruses, reverbs, etc) for the songs that need them, but I use the Comptortion and Fulldrive2 on everything except really clean stuff. We play a lot of ZZTop, Bob Seger, Santana, etc. and I can easy get what I need in tone from this setup.

I've had it for four years and it hasn't broken down yet.

Never dealt with them

For what I normally do, the 60's, 70's 80's rock thing, it fills the bill. Like I said before, almost all the pedals, effects boxes and rack units I have or have had work great with some amps and not with others. I've been playing for 37 years, I own a lot of amps, guitars and effects (Marshalls, Boogies, Ampegs, Sunns, Peaveys, Polytones, Gibsons, Fenders, Deans, Schecters, Carvins, Hamers, DOD, Boss, Akai, Fulltone, ADA, Morley, etc) and I play through a lot of different combinations in the search for the elusive holy grail of tone. Right now, the Comptortion suits me fine and I probably would buy another one if this one disappeared. Now that I've gotten this close to heaven, I'd be foolish to not try and stick with it for a while. I've spent a lot of years chasing "THE TONE" and the Comptortion allows me to dial in a little compression and a little dirt and a little gain all in the same box (which is a big consideration when you're trying to fit all this stuff on one pedalboard). The only thing I wish it had (as well as some of the other pedals I own) was the jacks on the top instead of on either side (pedalboard consideration again). So, in closing, I'll just say that I went from almost selling the unit to being VERY happy with it, just by the combination of gear that I used it with. Let that be a lesson for us all.

For what I wanted, it was extremely easy.

I play in an r'n b/soul band. I'm not looking for distortion. I use a modified "65 Deluxe Reverb. 6L6's and a Celestion G12-85 speaker and a homemade "Strat" w/Schecter Monstertone pickup assembly. My amp is miked on stage and my volume on the Deluxe can't usually be over 3. For leads, I want the sound of my Deluxe cranked. I used to just set it at 8 or 9 and dial back on the guitar for rhythm, but singing makes that a little difficult. Don't want to be distracted trying to adjust the volume of the guitar after taking a lead while singing. Tried a Rat, a TS-9, a Menatone Blue Collar and probably a few others I can't remember right now. Am very happy w/the Comptortion. I generally set the Gain around 9 o'clock or so, the Volume around 2 to 3 o'clock, the tone somewhere around 4 or 5 o'clock (seems to be where it sound the most like the normal sound of the guitar and amp) and the compressor is barely on, if at all. Gives me a very throaty singing sound (B.B. meets Jimmy Vaughn)

Absolutely, altho make sure you carry an extra battery. When the battery starts to die, there is a clicking sound when you turn it on. Suppose I could get an adaptor but that's just one more cord running across the stage.
ALWAYS HAVE A BACKUP! What's the Boy Scout motto?

no contact

Certainly would buy one again. I think I answered all these questions above.

Plug it in. stomp it on, fool with knobs, see what it does, see what it does'nt do, find what it does well, use it for those things. It takes a little time to get to know it's limitations but once you know what it does it can be a useful tool.

I purchased this item used to drive a clean amp into a smooth overdrive and the price was reasonable. I have a Dr. Z Maz 18 Jr with 2/10's and a Top Hat Club Royale with 2/12's. I'm using the Top Hat for overdriven tones because this amp is brown as dirt and shines in that respect, The Z however sparkles in the clean mode. With an Anderson Classic I am using for Stratocaster tones, also a PRS EG, a custom 22 with dragon P.U., a custom 24 (pre 1991), A Les Paul Classic, I pretty well have the tonal spectrum of guitar tones covered. When I get a new piece of gear I will usually test it with the single coils and if the single coil produces a desirable effect then everything else usually will also with a minimum ammount of tweakage. I have PE Germ pedal which drives an amp set on the edge of breakup into a good boost and drive but does not do much for a clean set amp. I have a Marshall Drivemaster that emulates an overdriven Marshall real well but it just is'nt fat. The comptortion gets me into the FAT zone when using a clean amp. The pedal also has 2 other uses besides a marriage of compression and distortion which are that it is about the most transparent clean boost with the "tortion" and "comp knobs fully down and up to about 12:00 settings the "comp is a really fine compressor when used without the "tortion" also the "tortion', when used sparingly by itself will yeild a nice result.

It's a production line, mass produced effect and not a hand wired point to point piece but it looks sturdy and will hold up if not abused.

Not had to deal with them as of yrt

Overall, It's not a 100% but it can be a valuable tool in the arsenal. It can produce some pretty awful pong game sounding tones if you turn the "tortion and "comp" up past 12:00 but it will produce a pleasing effect at lower settings. The previous review by Adam is exactly what I found to be true. I have yet to experiment with chaining it up with other units but I was planning on purchasing a compressor and the price on this thing was good so I bought it. I don't think I would have bought it new and I don't think I would buy it again but as I work it into my scheme of things I may find it to become an integral part of my sound.

3 ADJUSTERS, LEVEL , DiSTORTION AND COMPRESSION

Sounds Very FAT so for all the ''Clean-distortion'' lovers, this pedal ain't gonna do the job, personally this distortion reminded me a lot to the ''PLACEBO''-sound, specially in songs like 'Days Before you came'. Yeah, i think that's a great link.
With lots of compression, the tone almost gets lost and it's just a lot of noice but for the better rock bands, and i play professional, it's a dream.

We toured for 8 months last year and ofcourse we have spares of every pedal but we never had to use it for the Comptortion, only some boss-pedals let me down sometimes, if ya wonna know.
Also very handy footswitch, small klick.

Easy to use pedal, manual gives some good suggestions, but this pedal really needs tweaking by the owner. Not one of those pedals where you just plug in, and jam! Too much distortion, and you get mud, too much compression, and it's not good either....

Sound quality is good, but not a distortion pedal for anyone looking to play "metal". It's more of a warm/70's style of distortion. This pedal can get a bit noisy if cranked too high.

I use a LANEY 1/2 stack, fender strats, and various other gear.

Can get great blues sounds, good blues lead tones, warm smooth distortion...etc If that's what you're into. Just not agressive enough for me on the distortion end of the pedal, but the compression end of it is really nice!

Dependability: Hmmm, built pretty sturdy, just like a Carl Martin stompbox. I guess I could depend on it.

Overall, a good pedal...Not for metal heads. (Which is what I am).

Bought it just because I wanted to see what it was like.

Wish it had a more crunchy distortion. Because the idea of a dist/compression pedal all in one, is a fabulous idea! it should be done more often, by other companies.

Stolen or Lost? I would buy a Carl Martin Compressor Limiter pedal. I have all the distortion pedals & preamps that I'll ever use. I could use a nice compression pedal however.

Overall, it's a terrific pedal, just not for me. For killer blues tones I just use my LANEY tube head.... it's perfect for that.

Even though the Comptortion has two effects in one box there's nothing to it. If you've ever used compression and distortion separately then it's no biggie. The EQ isn't like your typical EQ; if set at max then it's like you're not using EQ at all. Start to turn the knob counterclockwise and you start to reduce the high end. Also, too much of of one can overpower the other so use the separate effects judiciously. Personally, the compression only requires a little (between 9 and 11 o'clock for my tastes).

Distortion and compression are usually more a matter of personal taste so let your ears be your own judge. I have a Boss SD 1 and DS 1, a Line 6 Distortion Modeler, plus a Trademark 60 and a Boss VF 1 Multi Effects box, not to mention the plethora of pedals and multi effects I've used in the past. I got the Comptortion for two reasons: 1- I wanted something that I could take with me that would reduce the amount of gear I needed to lug around when I play out, and 2- I really like Tech 21 gear. I mainly use the Comptortion in an acoustic set up (guitar > VHT Valvulator > SansAmp Acoustic DI > Comptortion > Peavey Ecoustic 112 or Bronzewood 60 < Lexicon MPX 100 < Vortex < JamMan into the loop). I don't set the Tortion or the Comp much past 11 o'clock max so I don't experience a lot of noise. While the distortion isn't as smooth as some other pedals out there, it feels more like and overdrive pedal than a distortion pedal (if that means anything to you) and I like what it adds to my sound.

So far so good.

They have always responded to my e-mails within 3-5 days and they are pretty easy to reach via the phone if you need to.

The Comptortion is a good all around combination pedal at a reasonable price. Is it the best out there? That's a matter of opinion. Nothing is perfect and I know my preferences are changing continuously, but considering how many pedals have come and gone in my collection over the past 2 1/2 decades I like this one about as much as any others I've had. It doesn't sound like the Boss Super Overdrive or Distortion pedal or the Line 6 models and it's small and fills the bill for two effects, so I'm happy with it. Check it out.

I am mainly a jazz and blues player so I have a love for fat tones out of my guitar. When I first try this product, it delivers a fat tone for a Fender Strat. This pedal combines a compressor and distortion, then adds a noise gate to it. It is "two-effect in one"and is a good deal when comparing to buying them separately.
The manual gives some brief explanation on function of this pedal, how to avoid having both distortion and compression effect at the same time.

I use Fender Strat and Fender Blues Jr. plus a few guitars fitted with Humbucking PUs. I don't think I will use CompTortion over these guitars. But I am looking for good tones out of my Strat.
Because of noise cutting circuit built into this pedal, it is not noisy at all and therefore can be well applied to a recording situation.
I would recommend using more distortion (say at 1 to 3 o' clock) and lesss compression (varies between 9 to 12 o'clock) for most playing situation if you play rock, blues and jazz fusion. For metal music, you can add more compression effect. But remember, the more compression, the less articulated notes (bites) you get from your guitar. The problem I notice with this pedal is - weaker tones when you turn down your guitar volume - sounds like if you are running out of battery! This is something you should really be careful if you're checking out this pedal. Some players want volume sensitive distortion effect and in this respect this pedal sucks!
Despite this, the sound is very good for clean type of playing situation.

I try using this on recording situation. Very good.
Since I don;t play gig, I can't comment.

No such need so far.

I play rock, blues and jazz, fusion for 18 years. I use mostly a Strat. For other guitars, I must use other pedals to deliver a great variety of guitar tones. Since I don't have other amps, pedals will help me to deliver different sound quality while retaining the colors of the guitar tones. I think this pedal basically give you a good, fatty sound for a Strat player but won't color your tones. You can still hear a typical fat Strat tone.
Currently I use ProCo Rat distortion pedal which I enjoy the most when playing my Strat for rock music. The Rat is still the greatest in my opinion, but still a bit noisy for me. Of course, if I want a cleaner and lighter sound with more sustain, I will use my Boss OverDrive 1 or Ibanez TubeScreamer.
So I think the greatest potential use of this pedal is the compression effect whether you play clean or distorted.

Its very, very easy to use

OK, when i bought this pedal i was looking for a lead sound that has good sustain and that singing distortion and I must say that ive found it. My style is like metal/rock/blues and it covers them all. I know that others before me stated that its worthless for higher distortionsounds but i cannot agree on that one. With dist on like 3 aclock and comp at 2 aclock to you get a great johnpetrucci lead sound. This thing is very versatile and sounds great if you have the wright equipment around it, just like most pedals. I play it trough a Laney vc50 and a fender us strat so its pretty good stuff.

It seems very solid and i would use it without a backup

I chose this one cause the rythm sound i use is very harsh(boss mt2 "metallzone")so i wanted another kind of distortion that is smooth and doesnt kill the tone of my amplifier like the metallzone.
There were several other options like boss ds1 but this one had more distortion and a compressor too, which is a must for every guitarist.
It sounds great to me, but you got to try it for yourself!

Read the previous posts. Very easy to use. The manual is very straightforward. The www.tech21nyc.com website also shows and plays sample settings.

Sound quality is very good, if you figure out how to use this beast. I bought it a couple years ago; fiddled with it for a few months; was very unhappy with it and put it away; read some of the earlier posts on this review about it and looked at it again. Now, I can't live without it !! Others have commented on this previously- turning the Comp or Tortion controls up past 12 o'clock results in crap, basically. However, putting those two controls at 9 o'clock
yields a fabulous sound and lotsa dynamics depending on pick attack.

I use a Rickenbacker 650 Frisco with HB-1 humbuckers through this pedal into a Tech21 Trademark 60 combo amp. I liked the fact that the CompTortion looked like the amp's channel/boost selector footswitch. I use three basic sounds in my presentation: very clean which the TM60 provides very well; just a little dirty , which the CompTortion does very well ; and a bluesy type lead which the second channel on the TM60 does okay with this set-up, but I am not totally happy with.

One thing about the CompTortion- By using a mild picking/ strumming technique you can get a nice clean, but fat sound - when you dig in with the pick on power chords or just whacking at a note you get a nice overdriven, even crunchy sound. This is the setup I use to play 3 Doors Down 'SUPERMAN'. The 'clean' parts of the song ring through because it is a Rickenbacker playing through a clean amp with a bit of compression provided by the pedal. The ' dirty' chorus of the song has a nice crunch because it is a humbucker guitar being whacked through the compression and overdrive of the pedal. Pick with a light touch and you get clean, bang away with a heavy stroke and you get crunch. Both at about the same volume level ( the heavier attack yields a bit higher level of volume as you would expect ) I really love this sound.

I've owned it for two years or so. Playing with it continuously for the last 12 months or so. The case and switches are built like a tank. My only gripe is the L.E.D.. I played a county fair earlier today in sunlight and I couldn't see the LED whether it was on or off. This was the first time I played in the sunlight with it, indoor gigs it is not a problem. I wish somebody would invent an indicator that you can see in the bright sunlight.

I have not had to deal with Tech21 for a problem ( yet ), but I wrote to them about a lot of issues ranging from tech tips to their line of apparel and they always answer their e-mail immediately and without that condescending attitude you get from some manufacturers. I like these guys and I will probably buy more of their products.

I have been playing on and off for 30 years and I play in a band that does mostly radio rock and pop. We play a lot of newer tunes ( 3 Doors Down, Lenny Kravitz, Fuel ) and some classics ( Eddie Money, Robert Palmer ). We don't play any really hard metal, industrial or shredder songs. If I had to identify my sound I would say an unworthy emulation of Eric Clapton or David Gilmour.

I own another Rick, a 380 Laguna with piezo bridge to do the acoustic stuff. It has the same neck and HB-1's as the 650F so I can go from the acoustic song into an electric rocker. The 380 is a hollowbody, though, so I have to switch to the solidbody 650 for the loud stuff.

For rehearsal, I use either guitar through a Vox Valvetone 810 pedal into a Vox Pathfinder practice amp. I have tried to use the Valvetone in the past for an extra boost to get my lead tone through the CompTortion/ TM60 combo. Maybe I need to revisit this.

I would buy another CompTortion if it was lost, stolen or broken. Maybe I should do that anyway- I bought the Vox810 for 50 bucks new, now they are out of production and a NOS unit goes for well over 100.

While it is easy to get a good sound out of this pedal, it's easier to get a bad sound. The range of useable settings on the Comptortion is slim in my estimation, the sweet spots even slimmer.

The level knob works exactly as it's supposed to. Increase the level a notch, and your volume goes up a notch. This holds all the way through the range of level settings. It also does just what the manufacturer claims - does not alter any tonal characteristics.

I was puzzled by the inclusion of a tone knob on this pedal. I know lots of overdrive pedals have a tone knob, and I never knew why. With a distortion you expect your signal to be clipped, not altered in frequency. But I didn't know much about these matters. The manual states that the tone knob is a "traditional passive shelving tone control." I had no idea what this meant, so I did a bit of searching on the web and discovered that passive means it requires no power to work and cuts frequencies rather than amplifies them. Shelving seemed to mean that it was a broad swath of frequencies that were cut rather than a more limited range as in a graphic EQ. Basically like a tone knob on your guitar. This seems correct. To get my original tone I had to turn the tone knob full up. So the tone knob basically acts just like the tone knob on your guitar. Once you understand this it's easy to work with. Then you can also talk to your ignorant friends about "passive shelving tone control" and sound like you're smarter than you are.

If you want the pedal to do absolutely nothing to your tone: set the level to around one o'clock, and the tone full up. Just so you know where you're starting from.

Take these two controls on their own and you've got a pedal unto itself: a clean boost when the level is past 1 o'clock. At least for my rig.

Then I tried the compression. I struck an open E and started turning the comp knob, and I noticed a funny thing. I got no noticeable compression until after around 9 o'clock on the knob; and the real meat of this effect occurs from around 10 until noon. High noon is heavy compression, but still without too pronounced a pumping/breathing effect at the end of your sustained signal. From high noon position until full up there is not a whole lot of difference except in the noticeability of the pumping/breathing, and the very noticeable strangulation of your tone. So I quickly deemed over half of this knob useless for my tone when used alone. So I'd say this knob decreases the ease of use of the pedal. But not appreciably.

The tortion knob works from start position to high noon in a relatively even manner. More tortion, more gain - with really noticeable and mild overdrive starting around 9 o'clock, and high noon being a fat fuzztone. Again, as with the comp knob, from noon to full up is all the same heavy fuzz to my ears. Like the third and fourth and fifth steak after the two you've already had.

So while the level and tone knobs are easy to grasp, both the comp and tortion controls are not so transparent and simple. Most of the range on them is useless, and that range is uneven to boot. Once you are aware of their useable range, they are simple. This may be different depending on the rig and the user's ear.

The manual gives you some useful hints. Like turning the volume down when not playing (at least if you're using the tortion or the comp). Because in addition to being a distortion pedal and a compression pedal and a clean boost pedal, it is also a noise gate. I play a strat, and even though the pickups are lace sensors, the single coil buzz comes through when i have some tortion and comp on and am just letting the guitar hang. As soon as I start playing the noise disappears. If you ever have tunes where you're not producing notes at all times, then you won't want the compression anywhere past noon for it, and probably not even that high. They also say when using either comp or tortion at maximum they recommend using the other sparin

I play an 89' stratocaster through a fender stage lead. This is my only home amp. It is solid state. I have been playing live for about a year in new york city, and have encountered numerous quality tube amplifiers in the rehearsal studios I frequent. But I am too poor to afford any of them myself at the moment. But I have tested the comptortion through a variety of amplifiers.

The pedal can get noisy if the tortion or comp settings are up, and you're not playing. As long as you're playing, the pedal acts as a noise gate - which is a wonderful thing.

Many others have commented, and I will reiterate - the range of useful settings on this pedal is slim.

But the useful settings are good enough. I bought this because it was cheap, and promised to wed distortion and compression as separate effects in a single unit. It does this, within limits.

I like using compression for my basic tone, for just a little added sustain and smoothness to my tone. That being said, I'd say the compression is as good as anything you're liable to find if all you're looking for is a useable compression that will increase your sustain, smooth out your tone and not detract from the dynamics of your playing. It will not color your tone, and if you just want that little hint of compression, then you could buy this as just a compression and your only complaint would be all these extra knobs. Price would not be a complaint considering that you also get an overdrive.

But you do get a bit of overdrive. I say a bit, because I think anything more than a bit on this pedal is not good. If you play metal or are looking for any heavy overdrive, avoid this pedal because it sucks for that sort of tone. If you just desire a mild, medium warm overdrive, you can find it in the comptortion to your satisfaction.

If you find yourself using both the tortion and comp on the comptortion and enjoying the tone, as I do, then you'll be thankful for the built-in noise gate as well. And if you just want a clean boost for a song, this pedal will do it for you as well, without any detriment to your tone.

So, this pedal has good sound quality, but only within a limited range of use.

I've only had it a month so I ought to be able to depend on it.

I always gig without backup effects, because in a pinch I can do without them.

I play blues, classic-style rock and roll, brit-pop, folk-pop, roots-rock and funk. Just so you know where I'm coming from. My belief about tone is that it's mostly in the fingers. I have been playing for 14 years without effects, just a guitar and an amplifier, and I've worked hard to get good tone. Now I figure I deserve some effects to spruce up my sound, so I've begun buying effects, with the intention of making them a part of my sound.

So all I require from an effect is that if it doesn't better my tone, it at least not detract from it. The comptortion fulfills this requirement.

For the styles of music I play the comptortion is a fine match. There may be better matches. But when you consider that within a certain range of styles you're getting a very useable distortion and compression, as well as a noise gate, and with the option of using the pedal as just a clean boost, and when I take into account the price I paid - I congratulate myself on my purchase. Even if you end up paying the full C-note for this item - if your style is among those I've listed above you'll be satisfied.

The Comptortion does not diminish my tone, it gives me exactly the compression I was looking for, exactly the sort of overdrive I find most useful, and it does its job with no added noise. I now use it as an integral part of my tone, with the compression at around 11 o'clock and the tortion off. If I'm playing a song that requires more overdrive, then I'll put the tortion around 9 o'clock. I don't really need the versatility, so I don't mind the lack of versatility in the compression and distortion. I sometimes wish you could engage the tortion and comp separately with separate switches, but this isn't a major drawback.

I plan to get a separate overdrive for those times when I want a really fine overdriven tone, and also just to have the option; then I will use the comptortion as just a compressor. Then I'm going to get a separate compressor, and if I enjoy the sound of my compressor and my overdrive, then I'll just use the comptortion as a clean boost. If having a separate compressor and overdrive requires a noisegate then I'll probably get one. But then, after it's all done, and I have three pedals where before I had one, I may end up just going back to using the comptortion, since I believe that simplicity is a virtue, and the less cable and metal between your guitar and your amplifier the better.

The knobs - volume, tone, distortion, compression - are straightforward, but subtlety is key in making this thing sound good.

I am currently using this with a Yamaha Pacifica (loaded with a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge), a Mesa Boogie Studio .22, and a Danelectro DanEcho delay pedal. I use the comptortion mainly to get a lead boost, which it does so effectively. However, as I said before, subtlety is key; this is not some Boss style "turn everything up to ten and play" pedal. The first variable involves your guitar. Apparently, the input stage reacts to the output level of your pickups, so in other words, certain settings that sound awesome with single coils will sound like crap with, say, a Les Paul (and Vice Versa). The JB humbucker on my axe is pretty lively, so I set the Compression and Distortion to the 9 o'clock setting, with the volume and tone just past 12 o'clock. This setting gives an awesome sustain boost, which is good for generating controlled feedback effects. the tone at this setting is quite bluesy, but not so much more than a tubescreamer. I can't stress it enough-SUBTLETY is the key. Be especially careful with the compressor knob; too much, and you'll be confronted by a blast of noise.

Seems solid (knock on wood). At the store, it was either this (for $120) or one or more of the new DanElectro mini-pedals ($30). The Dano units were quite good for the money, and I may get some down the road. However, they look and feel a little flimsy, so I decided that it was worth spending more to buy something more reliable.

Never needed it.

Overall, its quite good. Its useless for metal, shred, Limp dick type tones, and serves its best function as a sustainer/booster, which is what I use it for anyway. Although its a little pricey, it looks and feels like its solidly built, and unlike some pedals can be adapted to use with any guitar, depending on how patient you are with setting the knobs. However, its sensitive controls may be a turnoff for some.

Four buttons, very simple to use. Just keep trying out new combinations and you'll find something you like.

Here's the thing, I love the sound I get out of it, but it's not what I was expecting. I figured I would get a good compressed sound and distorted sound individually, but I haven't found one for either. But I have found an awesome setting for overdrive at level 10 o clock, tone 9 o clock, tortion at 8 o clock and comp at 9 o clock. I've only had this for a day, so I don't know the full capability of it, The distortion sounds harsh after 11 o clock, and the compression sounds like a thud after 1 o clock, but I think I can get some good sounds out of them if used sparingly. I actually prefer the overdriven sound produced by this rather than my TS-9 DX. It' accurately simulates the sound of a tubescreamer and even has a bit more clarity. It produces a lot more noise than my other effects when it's on, but when playing it isn't noticeable. Less noise than the TS-9 when on. No noise when in bypass mode. I'm using the comptortion into a Boss chorus into an Ibanez Tubescreamer into a Boss Flanger into a Marshall VS 102R. I like my tubescreamer for channel 1 and the comptortion for channel 2. I like it for overdrive and it's nice to have compression and distortion without buying two pedals, but if you want a real compressor or distortion pedal you should buy something else.

....I don't know, the footswitch seems very very cheap. When you step on the switch it doesn't always turn on or off. I opened it up and saw that the spring from the switch isn't attached to anything expect for a piece of plastic that it's guarenteed to slip off of. The case is sturdy, but I'd be careful with the cords and moving them too much. And I wouldn't step to hard on the switch for fear of the spring shooting off to who-knows-where.

No idea.

I play hard rock, but I don't know how useful this thing would be for blues or jazz. It would probably add a nice full sound to it, but if you're looking for compression or distortion alone you should probably buy something else. Awesome overfrive, and it's nice to have the options of using distortion or compression since I normally don't use them anyway, but I wouldn't use this pedal for primary use of either. It would be nice if it has a switch for either distortion or compression and one for both, but it's fine as an overdrive pedal. I don't know if I'd buy it again because I have a tubescreamer as a backup. I've been playing guitar for five years, I have a korean strat and a Gibson Les Paul and I only need to use this with the strat cause the Paul sounds beatiful just with the gain form the amp. Overall this is a pretty cool effect since it has both distortion and compression and can give an awesome overdriven sound, but it's not perfect for either.

Simple, easy to use pedal. Has four controls- volume, distortion, tone, and compression. The manual gives a few settings to try out, but none of them really impressed me.

I use the Comptortion on the "clean" side of my rig. I usually run my guitars into a TS-10 Tubescreamer, then the Comptortion, then into a Fender Musicmaster Bass amp. It's a great blues/jazz/rock setup. Sometimes, it's just guitar>Comptortion>amp, depending on the song.

The Comptortion works best when used as a boost. The distortion sounds terrible if cranked up past 12:00, and the compression is also worthless after 12:00. But with just a hint of distortion (no more than 9:00), and a little bit more compression(around 11:00), this box makes your guitar sing. I often use it to give a little extra push when soloing. It works well for songs like Little Wing or Comfortably Numb, where the solo builds up at the end of the song. Start clean, then add some more drive, then throw on the Comptortion. It adds extra push, but doesn't sound like an effect. It also works to give a decent Jerry Garcia/Trey Anastasio/Steve Kimock clean boost kind of sound.

Useless for surf, rockabilly, country, or metal

The metal casing, switch, and knobs seem very sturdy. The downside is that the line in/out jacks are mounted directly to the pc board. If your idiot singer happens to land on the cord/plug while jumping around, you'll be looking for a replacement pedal (and a doctor to remove the mike stand you rammed up his ass).

Never had to deal with Tech 21, but they seem easy to get ahold of. Their website offers a lot of information and email support.

For me, this pedal is definitely a keeper. I don't use it all the time, but when I need that extra push, it's there for me. If you are just starting out, this definitely isn't the first pedal you should run out and buy. It's just a rally nice extra.

see below...

Been giggin with it for months and its seen lots of studio use too, not even so much as a sputter out of this thing, and I have dropped it a few times too.

never dealt with them.

This is a follow up to a review I posted a few months ago. My setup is as follows fender american deluxe strat, wah, fulltone stereo dejavibe, fulltone fulldrive II tr100, fulltone fat-boost, way huge aqua puss analog delay, tech 21 comptortion into a '65 fender twin reissue. I power them all with a voodoo labs pedal power except the vibe. I have tried and tried to replace this thing, because I was sure there was something better out there. What I found is that this pedal is a very key ingredient to my sound. I have it set as follows. Volume: max, tone: 2 o'clock, tortion: off, comp: 10 o'clock. It is almost completely silent and it really fattens up my tone. It adds a degree of sustain, and while there is a little noticable volume swell in the sustain it is no big deal, an untrained ear cannot hear it. The overdrive on this thing is horrid, though, the compression on this thing is a real sleeper.

Simple manual, but I hated all the recommended settings.

A noisy touchy comp mated to an artificial fuzz. However with both effects throttled back to almost nil, I can get a useful boost to my stock amp tone. So I'm keeping it for now, but it ends up being a one trick pony.

Seems trustworthy, but I always have my trusty battle scarred Boss OD-1 just in case.

I play retro twang & Chuck Berry style rock, with occasional trips into Crunch & Roll. Tele into a Laney VC-30 (class A tube 2x10). I use it with a Westbury (guyatone) analog delay & Nobels (poor construction, great tone) tremelo. This gizmo is not the do all end all. I feel it's place in my effects chain is temporary.

Nothing very difficult. Volume, tone, compression, and distortion knobs. The on/off switch, however, was weird. I had to screw it in, kind of, before it would work. It didn't seem to move any more downward when I twisted it, but it had to do that before it would work.

It sounds okay, except there is a very subtle hint of distortion in it, even when it's supposed to be totally clean. It's not a bad sound even with that hint of distortion. If I was a hardcore blues guitarist, I'd might use this pedal and nothing else. Nice blues sound. However, it did castrate my amp's distortion. For some reason though, it didn't seem to effect my Big Muff at all (Comp in front of amp distortion and Big Muff, and everything else too).

If you want to switch between clean and distortion, it will take much knob twisting. Because when you turn the distortion up the volume goes WAY up, so you have to turn the volume knob down. Annoying. You know what's weird? My friend's Danelectro Surf & Turf compressor that I bought him for $35 sounds better than this compressor. No hint of distortion, plus you don't get that hard pick attack sound either. Another nice thing about the Surf & Turf is that there is no tone control. In other words, your tone is not effected, which is great if your guitar has a great tone. Actually, my friend's guitar sounds like ass, so it's not so great for him. He could use some serious tone sculpting.

Anyway, I would only use this for blues, and that was if blues was the only thing I was playing--in other words, for semi-distorted warm compressed sounds, and then shut it off if I want to be Eric Clapton or something. I bought this to replace my Korg Toneworks 411 multi fx. No deal. I'm not totally satisfied with the Korg's compression (attack is still too strong), but at least I get good fuzz distortion with it too.

Probably reliable.

Don't know, sent it back.

As I said, it's got serious drawbacks if you play more than one style. It's not horrible, but it's not great either. It would be much better if it had a seperate switch to activate the distortion, plus a seperate volume knob distortion, plus it would be good if you could bypass the tone control. I should have known not to try to displace the workhorse of my effects chain.

Easy once you realize that the sounds past 12 oclock are too distorted and sensitive.

Beautiful. Set the distortion and compression to about 9 oclock(pointing to the left for all you ""digital time reading only"") people. It adds a lot of depth that words of course can't describe, because they are words, not music.

Good I assume.

Good I suppose.

This pedal should be about a 9.5 overall, but some guy(girl?) who didn't leave their email or name submitted a bad review for it about two years ago. This person complained because the sounds are terrible between the 12 and 6 oclock setting, this is true, but the sound quality between 6 and 12 oclock is amazing. Buy it of go to a store that will let you test one.

This is extremely easy to use. Just read the antidumb manual and play with the pedal as long as you can, experiment and try all the settings that you can possible imagine.

I got a Fender Mustang, a Big Muff, an Analog Delay, a Fuzz Wah Morley, a Phaser, a Chorus and of course the Tech 21 Comptortion all connected to a Carvin amp. The great thing is that you can use it in a bass without any trouble. I play guitar in a couple of bands and the Comptortion is very adaptable to any kind of music, I use it for sustainer porpose only and it's really great, the best sustainer ever!, keeps the sound up to 10 seconds. It is ideal for solos or ambient effects. Sometimes is a little noisy when you set the comp to the top, but I play noise music so, it's ok with me. My settings are: Level at 11, Tone to the top, Tortion off and Comp to the top.I used to play the bass in another band. A 4 string Active Ibanez Soundgear Sr400 (amazing bass) connected to a Zoom 506, then to the Comptortion and then to a Carvin amp PB 150. In some songs I used the distortion with the bass and it was really cool, a great sound like a fuzz but different, like a Big Muff for bass. The setting were: Level near 9, Tone to the top, Tortion almost to the top and Comp off.

You're not gonna a have a problem with this pedal in at least 100 years if you take care of it.

I played in a lot of bands so I can assure that you can play any kind of music you want with this pedal. I played Classic Rock, Dark, Goth, Indie, Noise, experimental, Grunge, Industrial. If you're looking for the best compresor/sustainer this is it, but if you're just looking for a distortion you're not gonna find a great one in this pedal. I play my guitar with an e-bow sometimes, and the sound sometimes is not very good with the Comptortion, unless you increase the level or connect a Delay to the chain, the sound of the e-bow is gonna be missing loosing it's bright and unstopable sound. But anyway, this Comptortion Tech 21 is the best compresor/sustainer ever!!!!!

Its very easy to use. It has four knobs: Level, Tone, Tortion(overdrive), and Comp(compression) plus your standard switch and a LED. The manual is very helpful in regards to where to place this effect in your effects chain as well as giving some helpful hints and a few recommended settings. I bought this pedal for its compression effect only, and I found I was able to find its sweet spot in 10 minutes or so.

I am using a Fender American Deluxe Strat with those Vintage Noiseless pickups through a '65 Fender Twin Reissue and a Sunn 2x12 bass cabinet. Others effects I am using include an Ibanez TS-9 Tubescreamer Reissue and a Way Huge Aqua Puss Analog Delay. Let me reiterate that I only bought this pedal to use as a compressor, but I did experiment with the overdrive. I found the overdrive to be very saturated and loaded with sustain, yet it seemed to swell and become metalic, mechanized, if not computerized for lack of a better word. It was not as organic and warm as the TS-9. The compression on the other hand is excellent. I was searching for an effect that would increase my sustain, as well as narrowing the volume gap between my chords and my solos. This pedal delivers exactly that. I have it set as follows: Volume: 12 o'clock, Tone: 3 o'clock, Tortion: off, Comp: 10 o'clock. The effect is very quite unless you turn the comp and/or tortion passed 1'oclock, then its pretty unbearable. However, it does have a built in noise filter, which allows you to run your favorite overdrive pedal before it and not have any noise. It sounds great with the TS-9. I have not noticed any loss or change of my tone. It is not a true bypass pedal, but it is completely analog. I leave it on all the time, as it is now an intregal part of my setup and sound. I am rating the sound quality as an 8 because of the poor quality overdrive, however if this were just a compressor I would rate it as a 10.

I cant afford backups really, so I try to only buy th emost reliable stuff. Its built like a tank. No worries here.

Never dealt with them.

I play rock music - alternative (Pearl Jam), southern(CCR, Lynyrd Skynyrd), classic (Alman Brothers) with some blues here and there. I have been playing for about 8 years now, and if this pedal were lost or stolen I would definately find another. I did shop around for compressors, but this one came highly recommended and I got a great deal on it, so I figured I would give it a shot and what do ya know, I really liked it, so that'll save me from breaking the bank on a Way Huge Saffron Squeeze. I think the compression is great and the noise filter is a nice touch. Its built well and its affordable too, but the overdrive is just not for me, but it may be great for industrial types. Therefore I am rating it at a 9 here, if it were just a compressor again I would've given it a 10.

NO PROB USING IT AT ALL WORKS FINE EASY TO TRN ON OR OFF.

IM USING A FENDER JIMI HENDRIX VOODOO STRAT OR A CUSTON SHOP 69 RELIC STRAT. I HAVE A VOX KING GOING INTO THE COMPTORTIOIN THAT GOES INTO A YARDBOX CLEAN OCTAVE BLEND AND A UNIVIBE THAT GOES INTO A LINE6 FLEXTONE AMP AND IT SOUND PERFECT. BLENDS IN WITH OTHER EFECT GREAT ALSO THE PEDAL HAS A HUGE RANGE YOU CAN GO FROM A NICE WARM TUBE SCREAMER SOUND TO A HEAVY FUZZY GRUNGY SOUND

PERFECT TO DEPEND ON EVEN THOUGH I USE OTHER DISTORTIONS I HAVE PROB USING THAT ONE ON ITS OWN

ITS JUST A PERFECT PEDAL

It took me about 20 seconds to get some great tones. If you have a basic understanding of how compression works and can twiddle knobs, it's a no brainer to use.

I don't generally give out 10's, but this pedal makes my guitar sound better every time I use it. I use a Les Paul with Fralin humbuckers, into a Clyde wah, Comptortion, Budda Fatman, Ibanez EM-5 and Budda Twinmaster. This pedal compliments everything in the chain. I use it mostly as a boost for my Fatman and Twinmaster. Here are the settings I usually use. Level 2 o'clock, Tone 2 o'clock, Tortion 7:30, Comp 9:30. This kicks the tubes right in the balls and brings out the best in everything in the chain. Sometimes I muck with the knobs for additional overdrive or compression.

No problemos.

This pedal has become an essential part of my rig. I'm actually considering getting another one for boosting solos and leaving the first one on full time.

4 knobs - turn and listen to. Good manual.

I use it for distortion between a Peavey Spectrum Organ and a Dynacord CLS 222 lesloid. Leslie goes into mixer. Stereo transistor amp.
Both left knobs full on, both right knobs at 9 o'clock. No noise. Sounds great: lets the character of the specific organ sound get through, makes a quiet, growling, warm, rich distortion. You can easily modulate the distortion by controlling the Peavey's output and by Your keyboard strike. Not very far from some recordings by Jon the Lord of almost all keyboarders. No "unwanted frequency events".
After having tried a Morley Overdrive pedal (which clipped so badly) and the drive section of a Digitech RPM-1 lesloid (noisy, biting): seems like a dream to me.
Sometimes I chain the reverb of a Kawai RV-4 after the lesloid. All together sounds rich, deep, warm, with a crystal clear sound-background "like a belly".
I like it very, very much.

No problems.

No contacts necessary - hope they are proud to read my lines.

I play - I told You above. Since 20 years I try to replace Jon Lord. The Tech 21 Comptortion is the device that brought me the biggest step forward to the sound I imagine. I will neither give it away nor lend it. I would try to buy it again same day when it would be stolen.
The only recommendation I would give to Tech 21 would be to spread the right (distortion, compression) potis in the way "six to twelve o'clock over the entire scale". Later than 12 o'clock the brick begins to effects become useless ... for my taste.
To all who like the same music style: do something good to You and test this plain "one amongst thousands" device with Your beloved machinery - I wish You the same pleasant experience I've had.
PS: So much ten's. Be critical, they advise. I am. It's not cheap.

This pedal takes some tweaking to get the best sounds out of it...It's not a "set it" and "forget it" kind of pedal....It's also hard to go from a clean channel to a higher gain channel because it's not going to sound right on both. It takes a while to get use to this pedal..You have to make different settings for clean, and then change them for the overdrive channel....In a live situation, I use my clean channel to play clean, then boosted with a little dirt in it with the Comptortion, then I footswitch into the higher gain channel with no Comptortion.....There's gotta be a better way !!

I play mostly Strats and Teles, with a few P-90 Gibsons in there for flavor..This is a very transparent pedal...It works extremely well as a clean boost...then add just a touch of distortion, and you have instant Stevie Ray.....Your notes don't hang long enough on the clean channel ?? Not a problem....Dial in a little compression and your clean (or semi clean) is singing for days !!...One of the big drawbacks of this pedal is the distortion...It's not bad if you don't go any higher than about 9:00 and that's just enough to put a little grit into your tone...Don't go too high with the compression either..A little dab l do ya, otherwise you loose the initial attack of the note. This is a great pedal for lead work...I've played around a lot with it, and I have gotten some extremely beautiful violin type tones out of it by rolling off the tone control on my guitar, and boosting the compression anywhere between 9:00 and 12:00....Any higher than high noon you loose the attack of the note........

So far so good....It's built very strong, and I've used it quite a while and haven't changed the batteries yet !!....I have an original Sans amp that's still working fine...I'll be happy if I can get as much use out of this pedal..

Both my Tech 21 pedals have worked without a hitch..I've never had to contact them for anything...

My rating is base on using this pedal for the Blues or for using it as a Clean boost....It's a great pedal for both uses

The manual is OK, with 5 sample settings various styles.

I plug a Jap Squire Strat (don't laugh, somebody was having a good day when they built this one) into this pedal. Next comes a Tech 21 SansAmp Classic set to "BB King/Fender" configuration, then the signal goes into a Mackie 1202 and a Carvin DC1000 (!) power amp. I've had the SansAmp for quite a while but just bought the Comptortion a few days ago after thinking about it quite awhile. The sound samples on Tech21s website convinced me to try it.

There's good news and bad news here. First the good; with tone and level set at 12:00 o'clock, "tortion" and compression set at 10:00 o'clock, my rig finally has the creamy singing tone I've been looking for. Oh Yeah! This pedal is great for blues, my fave. I'm not sure metal heads would like it as well though, and I suspect the guy who said they don't all sound alike might be right. Further, the fellow complaining about strange (read "bad") effects when turning up distortion and compression is right. When I turn EITHER control up past 12:00 clock it all sounds pretty ugly. But for blues, this pedal delivers a really sweet tone even used all by itself and straight into the board. Combine it with a SansAmp or PSA-1 you'll be in tone heaven.

The case and switch look like the usual level of Tech21 quality; not necessarily built to be the toughest on the planet but certainly adequate for pro use. I'd use it at a gig but of course, pack a spare 9 volt batt'y.

Tech 21 is great for support; when I bought my SansAmp used it came with no manual. I e-mailed asking for one, and got both a reply in e-mail and the manual mailed promptly at no cost. It doesn't get any better than that.

This pedal works great for the chicago blues I like. I've been playing for 25 years, and perform as an acoustic single. The electric stuff is just a toy for me to play with at home but I get a lot of fun out of it. With the SansAmp/Comptortion combination I can now get the Albert Collins/Albert King/BB Etc tones perfectly out of the same PA I use for my acoustic act without having to spend hundreds of dollars on a separate combo amp.

Pretty obvious controls. A knob for level, tone, distortion and compression. No need for a user's manual, really.

My guitar is an Ibanez RG450 and my amp is none other than the Tech 21 Trademark 60 combo. The Comportion is a brilliant combination of distortion, compression and noice gate. It works well, unless you set it to extreme levels (such as maximum distortion and compression at the same time) but this can be said for most effects.

I found it to be pretty sturdy. I've only had it for a week now. Haven't played any gigs with it yet.

Haven't had any reason to require customer support.

I play classic rock and 80's-type metal. This pedal does a lot for my leads. You could play an entire gig with just this pedal and an amp with good reverb. I chose it because it's 3 essential effects in one.

This is a very practical pedal. The controls have a wide, usable range. One reviewer said the compression got overbearing past halfway. I would agree with that; except, the compression sounds fantastic below that. This box offers both subtle as well as radical tones

This is one of the most neutral sounding pedals out there. It has the ability to leave your amp's eq intact. I like using it as a clean boost. Just hit the amp a little harder, maybe a little compression, or maybe a little dirt. REAL cool. You can get real gainy with this one too. I just can't get over how good it sounds as a boost/overdrive

haven't had it long enough. Doesn't seem as sturdy as a Roger Mayer or Fulltone. Of course it doesn't cost that much either

If you like overdrive, you'll dig this. It colors the sound less than a Klon or Fulldrive. But that's the strength of those pedals. If you want a pedal to leave your amp's eq how it is.........try this one.

This is a very easy pedal to use. I have tried almost every pedal on the market and this beats them all. The manual was easy to read and gave some good jumping off points to get the sound you're looking for.

I run this using either a Mesa Boogie or Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and a Zoom 4040 or Digitech processor. The Compression was weak on the Zoom so I stuck this on it and what a difference. I put the level on 12:00 or less, tone all the way up, distortion off and the "tortion" knob at about 10-11:00. This thing will make your guitar sing and sustain for days, but does not color your sound - it lets the natural sound of your guitar come through, plus - there is virtually no noise - even with single coils. As I said, I have tried literally everything and my quest is over. This is a great compression pedal.

I've already used it at several gigs and it has never failed me. I would not hesitate to use it without backup.

Never had to deal with them.

I play rock, jazzy type fusion and blues - but am more of a blues player. For those natural super sustain notes - you can't beat it. It will literally hold a note for over 30 seconds or more if you get it just right - it does a great Santana sustain imitation. People always want to know how I get that "sound." I will say though, try out several in the store. I tried out three of them and there is a difference in sound. Mine is very "smooth" sounding if I use the distortion (I rarely do with this) but some had more fuzzier distortions. If it were stolen or lost I would definitely get another one - It has become a main part of my playing sound.

Pretty easy to use, 4 knobs- level, tone, distortion, compression. Yhe manual gave several suggested settings for different styles of music and this was found to be a handy starting point.

This thing took some getting used to. The Level and tone controls are pretty much a no-brainer. Turning up the comp or the 'tortion to high levels individually or beyond the midpoint when using both comp and tortion is noisy. Also, where you use it in your effects chain can have a good or bad effect. I settled on using it on all the time with low dis'tortion and comp around half way. This is the first box in the chain, next comes a Vox 810 pedal for the overdriven tube simulation , then the ART multi effects pedal for reverb, flange, delay, etc. This seems to help my Rickenbacker 380 Laguna achieve effortless and eternal sustain at low volume on the Vox Pathfinder for the low volume and my Crate gxt100 for higher volume levels. It really gets the AX7 pre amp stage to emit that warm tubey sound.

Have only used it 2 weeks. Seems to be built like a tank, but it is physically very small- a plus for going to rehearsal, just put it in the guitar case or throw it into the back of the combo amp. I will gig with it, the 810 will back it up with a little knob fiddling.

never dealt with 'em.

I play mostly a pop/rock sound of all original tunes. If I had to emulate a guitarist I would say Tom Scholz for the rock sounds and Pete Anderson ( dwight yoakum) for the 'billy tunes. My rig can approximate the signature tones of these guys. ( I said approximate!!)
I chose the comptortion because I want to use as few effects as possible and it was becoming obvious that I needed a compressor for the extra sustain at low volume and the nice clip for the country twang. the distortion was a plus as is the tone control to help brighten the 380's humbuckers.
I would probably buy this toy again if it was lost or the thief got away alive.

There are only 4 knobs: Level, Tone, Distortion and Compression.

I bought this last week and used it yesterday in a "basement band" jam. The distortion, to my ears, was not as good sounding as some of the other Tech21 distortion sounds. The compression, anytime I set the control knob past 12 o'clock, amplified every touch I made to the guitar strings, even miking every touch I made to the pickguard area, in a "microphonic" type way. It certainly compressed as advertised, but was essentially useless because of the unwanted sounds. (I was using a Fender Deluxe on 3-4 volume, with a Paul Reed Smith bolt on EG guitar).

I would not use it on a real gig- too noisy. I returned it yesterday afternoon.

I have talked with Tech 21 on other product questions. They have been extremely helpful, in general, and make some other great products,

The idea of making a pedal that has both distortion and compression, able to be used independently or combined, is great. For me, the compression seemed almost too "hot", making every touch to the guitar body microphonic, even at low volumes. I was not able to get to the "sweet spot" of the pedal, assuming there is one.