Trace Elliot SMX Dual Compressor

Pretty straight forward, manual explains balance control function well.

* Best pedal compressor I've ever run across
* It's sounds GREAT!
* Hi-Low compression really allows you to optimize your tone.
* Balance feature is really nice to have
* Works great w/ acoustic guitars
* Noise isn't an issue
* On par with high-end rack comp's

* Buttery smooth baby!

These are tanks!..
Only would break from blatant abuse.

Good as gold back in their day...

But these are beasts and should need little customer support.

Batteries do last an unusually long time

If you don't have the orignial Trace power supply...
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but these not as easy / cheap to find as you might think to find an 18v supply that have the correct sized barrel (it's rather unusual).

Only good solution I've found was buying an 18v dc adaptor from Radio Shack, using their switchable barrel system, and buying the correct size (using the pedal in-store to match it up). This'll cost you probably $15 w/ the prices radio shack gouges today. Those white 18v power supplies they sell take up a lot of socket real-estate as well.

The original Trace adaptors fetch for a mini-fortune on ebay if'n when they do show up.

As I said these are great units that unfortunately aren't made anymore.

designed for dummys (musicians).couldnt be any easier.

this unit is very transparent which is good.you dont get that pumping breathing side effect, that you get from improperly set variables.It really does add punch,and even out your dynamics,or lack there of.very quiet and it does have that trace elliot sound,I use to have the original gp11 pre-amp.set the knobs at 12.00 o clock just to start, and play for 5 mins.then turn it off.I bet you will turn it right back on.

no issues at all.

none needed.

the only thing lacking is the quality of the pots/knobs,they are not sturdy enough to instill,kicking around the stage confidence.I do live sound and own high end compressors made ,by drawmer,BSS,dbx,etc.If you dont know how compressors work,intimitly,on different instruments,do yourself a favour and get one of these,the sound quality plus ease of use compares to no compressor peddle that I,ve tried.If you play bass get this,if you play guitar get an MXR dynacomp.

It's a little confusing at first because each knob doesn't do exactly what you'd expect. But once you play with it for an hour or so, you can get the sound you're looking for. It's pretty sorta complicated for a pedal, but far easier than a lot of the rack compressors and processors out there. My only real beef with the "ease of use" is that it takes 2 9v batteries.

Everyone really seems to like this compressor, but I personally have heard better. It doesn't quite match up with a lot of rack processors out there and is a bit overpriced on Ebay now. I paid a whopping $100 for it, not worth it at all. I could have put that towards a nice rack compressor or bought 2 DBX MC6 compressors. The DBX MC6 processor I was planning on replacing with this pedal sounds better in my opinion and is much cheaper. Despite the MC6 being digital, it gives you a rack processor sound. The sound is very natural and you can set it so that the compression sounds somewhat "transparent", which I liked. But I felt that there weren't enough usable sounds I could get from the pedal. It had one really good sound that I didn't want to use in all situations. My MC6 was more versatile, could get a similar Trace Elliot sound (not quite as good), and was half the price. Overall, the Trace Elliot is a pretty good compressor pedal, but not worth money.

Seems like it will last forever. A tank!

No idea, I hear it's not taht great tho.

It's a pretty good compressor, especially for a pedal. But it's not quite I was looking for. I suggest a DBX MC6 for all those interested in buying a compressor pedal for bass.

Couldn't get much easier to use, 5 knobs and 2 switches.

I used it on a few gigs, but it really sounds great for recording. A compressor that made my bass sounds alive! The sound is great. No problem with noise and VERY little breathing even at high compression levels, much better than more expensive rack compressors I have used. It reminds me of the old half rack DBX compressors, but better. It is made for bass.

I have had no problems so far, I have had it for 4 months now and it is built like a tank. I would have no problem using it on a gig without a backup. Solid!

Well this is another story, if anyone has delt with them you will know what I mean, your best bet is to go through the UK guys, they are the only ones who even responded to my emails. But they were kind of evasive to my questions about recommending a proper replacment for the 18 volt adaptor.

I have been playing for almost 10 years and playing professionally for around 4 years and I have never used a compressor I like better than this one. But that is only my opinion, if you like the breathing sound of the Alesis 3630's stay away from this pedal! I have been trying to find a adaptor for it over the past few months with no avail. That is my one problem with it, but it has been very good with batteries. I have had it for a few months and only changed the batteries once. If it was stolen I would buy another asap, honestley I plan to buy 2-3 more and put back JUST incase something happens to this one. This pedal will be my compression for MANY years to come. It is sad they stoped making it, it was one of the things Trace Elliot ever made, I also plan to get one of the Trace Elliot EQ pedals in the future. If I remember right these were first produced in 93-94 and kick the crap out of any modern compressors I have tried. The $55.00 I paid for this is the BEST value I have found in all of my time playing.

Quite simple, really. But the controls just do'n't work for the ussual functions you'd expect. I mean that despite the confussing and or relative reaction you get from each control, the final sound you can tailor is good.

It doesn't seem to add relevant hiss or noise at all. But what it's great about it is that it makes your sound much more alive than it is straightforward, not only in the higs but also in the lows. It gives more impact to your bass. I own a passive Roscoe Beck Fender 5 string and the thing just makes it alive when you put it befor going directly to a mixer desk. When I go to a slap tone it allows me to get that Will Lee slapaton sound which I love.
I don't give a damn about what my favourite bass player is using really, I just like the sound I can get with the thing.

This pedal is great because it smoothes the transitions in sound and volume between your different plucking fashions, allowing me to forget about touching the amp.
I really don't feel too much a compression effect in it. What it really comes evident when you switch it on is that it completely changes the eq curve as if it was some sort of exciter, or as if an engineer had changed the pots in the mixer radically, making the sound more profesional. If you can grab one don't miss it. It'll give you a better result than a DBX rack compressor in many ways and for a lot less money.

This is a very well thought out pedal. It has separate compressors for the highs and the lows. It also has a knob to put make your tone have more lows or more highs. It is very easy to get a good sound out of it...period. Manual is well written and explains all the controls to the T.

I use this with a stingray and a nemesis 210 combo. It is very quiet and always sounds great. It is very subtle on all settings, and does a good job. I love the middle knob to control to make your sound lean towards the lows or the highs, very cool to have that on a compressor pedal. I use this to get a classic mid-rangy tight as a whip tone. This makes every note sound so crisp and clear, I can't believe I lived without it before. I used to have a Tech 21 bass compressor pedal, and the stingray's active electronics would overdrive the pedal on low notes. This pedal has the input and output controls to rid you of that problem. Very well though out pedal with a tight tone.

Very reliable, I would use it without a backup. All metal design, and the buttons are solid as they come. The knobs could be beefed up a little more, but they are still very solid.

Trace dropped the pedal effect line when Gibson bought them out, so customer support is non-existent....so sorry

This is the best pedal compressor I have ever played, I haven't tried the EBS and won't until this tank stops working and probably still look for another used. It makes your notes come out so tight, great for clearing up a muddy bass tone.

THIS IS A BRIEF REVIEW - This was my third compressor so my experience with such is moderate at best. This unit was used for 6 string electric guitar. Most of the features and functions have been covered in previous reviews and I do agree that it is fairly easy to adjust for good results however there is much better versatility in adjument parameters than most guitar compressor 'pedals'.

My previously owned compressors were a DOD (in a multi-effect unit) my rating = 1.5 out of 10, and a Japan made Boss CS-2 which I bought based on the high ratings received here at HC. The Boss was pretty nice but the Trace is in a different category altogether. If you read the company literature about why 9 volts isn't enough for a compressor and then you compare the versatility and the transparency of the Trace to most other stomp box compressors, you'd probably also be sold on why it's a superior device. Compressors tend to be rather noisy but this one was definitely quieter than the DOD and Boss.

The unit is as hardy as a stomp box needs to be. The adaptor is 18 volts so replacement (in the unlikely event of an adaptor failure) won't be as easy as finding a 9 volt model. I never used batteries (2x9volt) for power, so I can't comment on battery life.

I think that Trace was bought by Gibson or a division there-of. I was able to find a link to company support in the U.K. however, and within a few days was emailed a copy of the manual (which did not accompany the used SMX I purcchased). Good luck on this one though if you ever do need servicing.

I had this unit for several months and I sold it because I wasn't in particular need for a compressor, since my quest for great tube amp tone implies natural compression from the valves, because I'm a gear head (in training) and because I knew I could get 3 times the $ I paid for it. If however, I played in a band, or used a real studio for recording, I'm sure the Trace SMX would be a regular in my effects chain. I never tried it with other instruments but I'm sure it would have value in most applications, possibly including even vocals.

Very easy to use. If there's anything you have to figure out is not to overload the input. Here are the stats: INPUT LEVEL KNOB W/MULTI COLOR LED- The LED is cool. It's green at low or "safe" levels, turns orange you hit a hard note and turns red when you distort it. Very cool.LOW COMPRESSION KNOB- Controls amount of low compression. It is set with an attack time of 22ms, Decay time 122ms and the maximum compression ratio is 8:1. EQ BALANCE KNOB- This lets you balance the output between the high and low compression. For example, if you want a beefier sound you can set the EQ towards the low compression. Very easy to set. HIGH COMPRESSION- This is set at an attack time of 1ms, decay time of 70ms and the Maximum compression ratio is 8:1. There is one output only. (not stereo). The low and high compression overlap at 360Hz. Some may not like the fact you can't set the compression parameters but the settings are very smooth. It really makes it idiot-proof. The LED's really helps you set the input level. There are also effect on LED's for the low and high compression.This is the easiest to use compressor I have ever used. There's a reason I get an "8" for this section. It's because of the 18-volt wallwart (you can use batteries). I have to add an extra adapter to my pedal board. Also I tried to connect the adapter so that I could use one adapter for the SMX and my Mutron III+ but the SMX's adapter input jack is not standard, it's thinner. I ended up with THREE adapters in my board. (one for 9V effects, one for the SMX and one for the Mutron.)Putting the Mutron and the Trace Eliot takes up serious board space!

The compression seems very natural. The low compression is very subtle and if you don't like the sound of compression this may be the answer to saving your speakers and setting recording levels. When the high compression is on it sounds more like a regular compression but works far smoother than any compressor I've used. The compressor is also good for changing picking styles too. For example, when playing two finger style you can leave the low compression on and when you switch to slap you can step on the high compression to control the peaks. The only other compressor like this that I know of is the one in Trace Eliot preamps and the Rane Dual Compressor. I don't know how this pedal compares with rack mounts but I bet no pedal can come close. The sound of the compression itself may not be a good as some high quality compressors but hardly anything is this easy to use and sounds this good.

Made in Britain buy those guys who make the groovy sounding amps with the flashy green writing. Seems sturdy but the knobs kinda wobble. So I'll give it a 7.

I never even change settings of this thing. I only change the input level and sometimes fool with the EQ balance. Even with the knobs all the way up, this unit doesn't seem to overcompress. (Of course, like lots of compression). It's not as cheap as other pedals. It is almost like buying two pedals. If they made this the price of one and a half a Boss pedal, it would be a bargain. It's not a bargain but if you want a "no hassle, any moron can use" piece of equipment that's quiet (Ok, it has some hiss at higher settings on the high compression but it's a COMPRESSOR!)and works smooth and sounds good. This may be for you. Again, if you're one of those guys who hate the compression sounds, (just use the low compression and leave the high off) this may be the ONLY choice (besides the Rane Dual Compressor of course).

Quitr simple to use. There are five knobs. Input, output,low compression, high compression, and EQ balance. This is called a dual compressor, but in actuality it's really more like a single dual mode compressor, not like two independent compressors in one unit. The input is split into high and low signal by low and high pass filters and then sent to seperate compressors and finally mixed back together before the output. So the highs and lows can have different amounts of compression. The EQ knob allows you to pan between all low and all high compression. There are two footswitches, one for total bypass and the other for the high compressor bypass. The pedal is powered by either two 9 volts or an 18v adapter. The manual is fairly short and well written and explains everything, but is a little hard to follow sometimes, it's kinda like reading a science text book or something.

I use it with a Fender reissue Musicmaster bass and a Fender tube amp with a bass cabinet and it really adds a lot of punch to the musicmaster. Being able to separately compress the highs and lows is a great feature, compressing the lows heavilt and the highs lightly gives the bass a very balanced sounds. it does boost noise a bit but most compressors. I also tried it with my 63 Jazzmaster and it worked well also. I could get that really bright Byrds/Rubber Soul era Beatles kinda sound with the EQ all the way to the High side.

well, I've only had it a very short time but it has a two year warranty. I think I could live without it on a gig if it broke down. It does improve my sound but it is not absolutely essential.

Havn't contacted Trace Elliot yet, but I probably will have to in order to get an 18v adapter from them.

I've heard that this pedal has been discontinued but I found a place that has some new ones still and were clearing them out. The inspection date is over two years old so I don't even know if they're made any longer or if they're still selling old stock. The only feature I wish it has was larger statusd LED's, the ones it has are tiny, and also knobs for attack and release for each compressor would be nice rather that being preset. In this price range there's probably not many better compressors for bass.

Interesting concept -- two independently switchable compressors built into one unit. One compresses the highs, the other the low end. That means that you are not only compressing the signal, you're also EQ'ing it to some extent. Include the built in preamp and the unit's 5 humble knobs (plus two footswitches) give you a lot of control.

Picked this up about a month ago, so I'm still fiddling around with it, but I am very pleased with the tone quality. I use mine mostly for pedal steel, and by compressing the lows but not the highs, I can get lots of sustain without sacrificing the picking attack. Works on a Strat too. It doesn't "sound" like you're using a compressor. It's very quiet. I also have an old TC Electronics Sustain +, which has a reputation for great tone. The Trace Elliot is definitely in that league: Quiet, very warm, nice tone, useful sounds, subtle yet dramatic -- this is something I'll probably be using years from now.

Seems pretty rugged, and it's good on batteries too -- an unexpected surprise! Since I've only had it a month, I don't want to jinx it by saying too much here. It's labeled as "Handmade in the UK", and most of the Limey blokes I know take their sound reinforcement very seriously... ;-)

Serious Tone. If it doesn't self-destruct as soon as the warranty expires, this is destined to be a great box. If it did self-destruct, I'd have to buy another one. Check it out and you'll see what I mean.