My Markbass Compressore crapped out. It is going to be sent out to the Markbass factory for servicing (I'm Italian), but in the meanwhile, I bought these two compressors for backup, with the intention of selling the one I like the least.
Here is the Sonicake Source Comp (€45):
www.sonicake.com
It presents six controls: dry, input, output, attack, release and ratio. It can be powered from 9 to 18V (around 100mA). It has a dual LED signalling operation and compression (the LED is green when the pedal is on, while it turns orange when compression is happening).
And here is the Joyo Avallon (€69):
Invalid Link Removed
Five controls this time: input, output, ratio, attack and release. It can only be operated at 9VDC (120mA). It has a full LED scale for gain reduction, with a separate green LED to signal operation.
They should both be FET compressors, although there is no clear indication of this for the latter: nevertheless, they both function like an 1176, with a fixed threshold and the input gain basically adjusting the amount of compression.
How do they sound?
The Sonicake compressor outputs some hum, and touching the case, the plastic knobs, the connectors etc. yields some handling noise (it's microphonic). I have contacted the company asking for a replacement but they are on holiday until the 8th so it will have to wait. In any case, the hum is tolerable, much lower than whatever the guitarists are happy with in their own setups
but it isn't nil.
The Joyo Avallon, on the other hand, is much quieter, although not completely silent. I haven't tried this with a switching power supply, as I use an old linear PS, but the Sonicake is not very usable with my 12VDC switching power supply (which I used with the Markbass compressor - in fact, it's a Markbass-branded power supply), as it outputs quite a lot of whine, which is much less tolerable than 50/60-cycle hum even if quiet.
As for the tone and compression itself:
- the Sonicake is snappy, quick yet thick, although it is a bit harder to adjust due to the tiny knobs and their sensitivity. Attack and release, like on an 1176, are in reverse, with both values decreasing clockwise. At 9VDC, there is some audible distortion happening, and there is also some highpassing, although both are actually pleasing to me, and their combination ends up yielding a very punchy tone, especially when allowing some of the dry signal into the mix. With no dry in the signal, it chokes the treble a bit, but not excessively. Compared to my old Markbass compressor, it tends to want to compress more, but the tone is rather nice.
- the Joyo is much cleaner and it sounds like it preserves lows better. It is also easier to adjust due to the regular-sized knobs and a better tone sweep than the Sonicake, where the pots are overly twitchy and sensitive, and you need to be careful especially with the dry, input and output knobs. It's a darker compressor and it sounds less compressed in general, even when raising the ratio (frankly it doesn't feel like it does that much, at least in isolation; it might be more apparent in the mix), and the compression itself has a more gooey character. I don't trust the gain reduction meter though, since it quickly shows like 15dB GR when to my ears it only sounds mildly compressed. In general, the Joyo sounds more like a clean leveller, while the Sonicake is a more aggressive compressor. It too has attack and reverse decreasing clockwise.
I would actually prefer the Sonicake compressor, tone-wise (even though adjusting the knobs is a pain), if it weren't for that noise. I suspect it is a grounding issue of some sorts (and its microphonicity is weird). So the idea is to wait until Sonicake actually replies and possibly sends me a replacement.
The Avallon is very "tame" and unexciting in comparison, but sometimes that's exactly what you need in a compressor.
Compared to my old Markbass? I do prefer the Markbass (there is something in its compressor action that appeals to me), but if I can get a silent Sonicake Source Comp, I would happily have both, one for pickstyle and the other for fingerstyle.
Here is the Sonicake Source Comp (€45):
Sonicake Source Comp Compressor Pedal | QSS-27
Sonicake Source Comp is a compressor pedal based on a world-famous 1176 studio compressor, it is full of engineers' ultimate understanding and design of compressors and artists' ultimate pursuit of sound and dynamics. We pay homage to it once more with our innovative concepts. 100% analog...
www.sonicake.com
It presents six controls: dry, input, output, attack, release and ratio. It can be powered from 9 to 18V (around 100mA). It has a dual LED signalling operation and compression (the LED is green when the pedal is on, while it turns orange when compression is happening).
And here is the Joyo Avallon (€69):
Invalid Link Removed
Five controls this time: input, output, ratio, attack and release. It can only be operated at 9VDC (120mA). It has a full LED scale for gain reduction, with a separate green LED to signal operation.
They should both be FET compressors, although there is no clear indication of this for the latter: nevertheless, they both function like an 1176, with a fixed threshold and the input gain basically adjusting the amount of compression.
How do they sound?
The Sonicake compressor outputs some hum, and touching the case, the plastic knobs, the connectors etc. yields some handling noise (it's microphonic). I have contacted the company asking for a replacement but they are on holiday until the 8th so it will have to wait. In any case, the hum is tolerable, much lower than whatever the guitarists are happy with in their own setups
but it isn't nil.The Joyo Avallon, on the other hand, is much quieter, although not completely silent. I haven't tried this with a switching power supply, as I use an old linear PS, but the Sonicake is not very usable with my 12VDC switching power supply (which I used with the Markbass compressor - in fact, it's a Markbass-branded power supply), as it outputs quite a lot of whine, which is much less tolerable than 50/60-cycle hum even if quiet.
As for the tone and compression itself:
- the Sonicake is snappy, quick yet thick, although it is a bit harder to adjust due to the tiny knobs and their sensitivity. Attack and release, like on an 1176, are in reverse, with both values decreasing clockwise. At 9VDC, there is some audible distortion happening, and there is also some highpassing, although both are actually pleasing to me, and their combination ends up yielding a very punchy tone, especially when allowing some of the dry signal into the mix. With no dry in the signal, it chokes the treble a bit, but not excessively. Compared to my old Markbass compressor, it tends to want to compress more, but the tone is rather nice.
- the Joyo is much cleaner and it sounds like it preserves lows better. It is also easier to adjust due to the regular-sized knobs and a better tone sweep than the Sonicake, where the pots are overly twitchy and sensitive, and you need to be careful especially with the dry, input and output knobs. It's a darker compressor and it sounds less compressed in general, even when raising the ratio (frankly it doesn't feel like it does that much, at least in isolation; it might be more apparent in the mix), and the compression itself has a more gooey character. I don't trust the gain reduction meter though, since it quickly shows like 15dB GR when to my ears it only sounds mildly compressed. In general, the Joyo sounds more like a clean leveller, while the Sonicake is a more aggressive compressor. It too has attack and reverse decreasing clockwise.
I would actually prefer the Sonicake compressor, tone-wise (even though adjusting the knobs is a pain), if it weren't for that noise. I suspect it is a grounding issue of some sorts (and its microphonicity is weird). So the idea is to wait until Sonicake actually replies and possibly sends me a replacement.
The Avallon is very "tame" and unexciting in comparison, but sometimes that's exactly what you need in a compressor.
Compared to my old Markbass? I do prefer the Markbass (there is something in its compressor action that appeals to me), but if I can get a silent Sonicake Source Comp, I would happily have both, one for pickstyle and the other for fingerstyle.
Last edited:
