Opto vs Tube Compressors

[chjohnst]

So I have had my eye on a Maxon or Demeter compressor after reading a TON of reviews. I went to my local music store and asked a few questions about them with the sales man. I was told get a tube compressor as they just "Sound better, by bringing a more dynamic sound out of the instrument and keeping things more natural sounding and less squashed"

So I am bit confused on this topic as to me that sounds like the right thing to do but I do see there are a lot more opto compressors available today then tube compressors. Is there really that much of a difference in sound?

Maxon has both a tube and an opto compressor so its making my purchasing decision difficult. I dont want to be buying a dozen compressors until I find the right one either.

[dannybuoy]

He was talking crap. Compressors use either optical elements (LED/Lamp + LDR) or VCAs to achieve their effect, and some also have a tube preamp in the signal to warm up the sound. For example, the EHX White Finger and Black Finger are both similar optical compressors but the Black Finger has a tube in the signal path to colour the sound. Most tube comps sound less transparent and have more noise than non-tube ones, although their warm tone might make you hear them as sounding better.

If you want that tube sound you can get a non-tube compressor and run it into a tube preamp or overdrive and get a similar effect. Or get the EBS Multicomp that has a built in tubesim mode!

[chjohnst]

I was just looking at the EBS multicomp, the sound samples they have on their sound pretty bad @ss!

[chjohnst]

Couldnt resist, I bought the EBS multicomp from pedalgeek.com. 7 day return if I dont like it.

[bkbirge]

Opto and Tube can be in the same compressor. For example the famous LA-2A limiter is an opto-limiter with active tube components. The retrosonic squeezer is another example in pedal form and boy is it juicy. I vote tube everything as long as the design is good. I've got a black finger too (among a ton of other rack compressors) and like it but it is a completely different sound than the squeezer. They both use tubes but have different design philosophies, that is what is more important. The question usually debated is solid state vs. tube and I tend to like tubes but a good design with either technology will blow your mind. A good GML compressor will sit happily in my rack with an LA-2A anyday. Of course that'd be close to $16k just for those if you can find 'em. Almost none of the pedal compressors are that great (with a few exceptions), they don't give you enough control. Look up bongomania's compressor reviews here and you'll see some more opinions.

[bongomania]

Originally Posted by dannybuoy

He was talking crap. Compressors use either optical elements (LED/Lamp + LDR) or VCAs to achieve their effect, and some also have a tube preamp in the signal to warm up the sound.

+1 Further, the only thing that brings a "more dynamic sound out of the instrument and keeping things more natural sounding and less squashed" is if the compressor is set up correctly, completely regardless of tube vs. solid state. Check my FAQ for more info on that subject.