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.