MXR M87 Compressor

I think you made the right choice $-wise. It's a pretty transparent pedal. I tend to play mostly faster stuff lately and have my attack/release set for this style. It won't change your tone much but there is a small amount of noise IME. Check the manual to adjust it to your style of play and give us your thoughts. For the $ I'm quite happy with this pedal.

 

It gets good reviews. Said to be transparent.

 

I recently bought one and love it. As a newcomer to compressors, I find the ten LEDs a great aid to seeing what is going on at a glance. Still playing around with the settings. Sounds good on it's own when recording,the bass really cuts through the mix.

 

Good compressor. I use this pedal for 18 mounts.it works perfect for rock.funk.jazz. and death metal. Only one small problem. It makes lilte noise. Try the "relese" button, and ratio.

 

It works for me. I think the noise folks mention may be amplification of anything preceding the compressor -- pedal, preamp or pickups. I now have it up front in my chain, so I get no noise. When I had it after other pedals, I could detect some noise. Given a clean signal, it performs well.

 

This pedal is number 2 in my chain after tuner. And when i rut compressor with my sansamp it makes more noise. But it is not loud. I dont care about that.

 

You'll love it. I always run it early in the chain as well and don't have a problem with noise. Enjoy!

 

Im a big fan of mine, I did notice some (very little) extra noise with it switched on. Honestly all the compressors Ive used have increased the noise level when not playing (just the nature of how compressors work). However my bass cuts through the mix much better with the m87 and I have a nice even sound from high to low. Mine sits right after my sansamp in the signal chain. BTW I run mine setup like this, the gain LEDs represent my normal amount of attack when playing. Output is set just a touch above unity:

 

From my readings, I'd say the Diamond is the one you want for thicker and warm. The MXR will give you thicker. I have the M87 and love the transparency it provides with the functionality of compression.

 

I would characterize it as transparent. It just evens out my stuff. Otherwise some notes disappear while others honk out and take over the mix. I've had some reliability issues with mine, but I do love how it works.

 

What reliability issues?

 

That's what I've heard about the Diamond too. Depending on what the compression is used for, that "warmer" effect may or may not be a good thing. Sometimes you want that a compressor that flatters your tone a bit. Other times you just want some help with levels, without adding to your tone or taking away from it. If that describes you, you probably want two different units.

 

For what it's worth: I ditched my M87 for a Dismond BCP-1 and have never looked back. Far fewer option on the Diamond, but the sound is such an improvement that I really don't mind. The M87 was a good tool for fairly precise compression, or limiting. The Diamond is a good tool for light compression, and a great tool for tone "sweetening." It's not all about fattening. Bongo says it in his review, and I agree that it somehow fattens and simultaneously clarifies your tone. Really cool pedal. It runs noticeably better on an 18v power supply, which might be a deal killer for some.

 

How does the compressor help with death metal? Is it important?

 

The Diamond, not the MXR.