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which compressor is best?

I'm going to have to agree with Lyle on the ART. The best place for it is sitting in the closet collecting dust.

I have the Trace Elliot pedal. It's very nice. I haven't experienced the tone robbery in question. The only problem with it is that they're not made anymore. This makes them hard to find since you have to get it used. The upside of that is that you won't lose much money by buying one and trying it out though (you might actually make some). It also makes it impossible to get serviced, but they're built like tanks so that's not a big deal IMO.

The JoeMeek stuff is not transparent, by the way. It's good, but it's a colored good.
 
First, the reviewer was comparing the ART to a bunch of stomp pedal compressors, none of which are comparable to professional pedals.

Second, the reviewer was using a Strat for his test.

Third, he said of the ART "...these are just plain warm and fat... and was the poster child for the 'Isiton?' award".

Excuse me? "Warm and fat" means that it is colored. If it's colored, you can easily tell that it's on. Judging by these and other statements throughout the review, the guy has spend a lot more time reading magazine ads than using professional compressors.

Also note that his ART died, and he seems to be reviewing his memory of the unit, rather than how it actually sounds in comparison to the other pedals.

Look, I'm glad you like the ART. But how many other compressors have you used? All opinions are not created equal.
 
fact is transparency in itself isnt a good or bad thing. the cheapest compressors are not transpaprent, but at the same time the most expensive ones are not transparent either... thats why you have to try them out yourself and see what you like.

personally i'd recommend a decent quality compressor that has both hard-knee and soft-knee compression. if you plan on using it like an effect (add in some punch, etc) you'll be wanting some hard-knee compression. dual band and multi band is personaly preference too, but i've been satisfied with dbx's 16x series myself. i also have a 163x which although is pretty good, does not have hard knee compression, so i leave it at home.