That is what is known as a Ross Compressor, and it is probably the most copied pedal of modern time. Ross was a company owned by Kustom. The company MXR had come out with a Dynacomp based on an earlier design, so Ross decided to try their hand at that as well. Because of this, the two most common compressors are very closely related, but since Ross went out of business, it is the most copied.
From Chinese makers like Biyang, to big name makers like Wampler, the design pervades the market. Guyatone, BBE, Behringer, Modtone, even MXR(their Super Comp) does a copy of it. I have read on so many pedal review blogs that when the reviewer gets a new compressor, they check to see if its just a Ross clone, and then chunk the thing. Frequently I see "Ross clone, refer to this link for a review of another Ross clone", because they pretty much all do the same thing, but may add dry blend, tone shift, etc.
Compression is a subtle effect, and the differences between them are largely based on their circuit design. There's a lot of "if you can't hear it, then you just need to train your ear" kind of stuff going on with compressor voodoo. Essentially it makes the sound more even, your subtle sounds come up in volume, and your loud peaks go down in volume so that everything is evened out. It is very easy to pull the wool over the eyes of people with a compressor.
Just do yourself a favor, and before you go out and spend 250 bucks on a boutique compressor, find out if its a Ross clone. Ross' have 2 knobs and the circuit. If you're paying 180 bucks extra, find out WHY its 180 bucks extra. is it the fancy paint job? The clever pedal name? Or have they added things like blend knobs so they are usable with bass guitar, or done things like double the circuit, or add muliple types of compression. There is no reason you can't get a studio quality Ross clone for 70 bucks.
*bonus
Other compressor designs include optical that uses photo sensors and light pulses to create compression. Some, like Electro Harmonix, make designs that use pre-amp tubes to compress the sound. Both of these types can be more expensive, not because of the fancy name, paint job, and pedal maker pedigree, but because the components are complex and expensive. Many bassists like the optical compressors because they are "transparent" meaning you do not lose a lot of bass, unlike the Ross clones. If you want a Ross clone that works for bass and guitar(to simplify your life), get one with a dry signal blend so you can blend your bass back into the signal.
Day 39
Early morning and late night practicing. My Sunday practices just don't settle on a regular course. This was mainly due to the fact I got my practice area set up. I also pulled the bass guitar out and took my old friend for spin. Poor thing was feeling neglected. I've got my bass and guitar amp in an easy to use and operate area now, so they'll both get a work out. I'll try not to talk so much about the bass stuff during this Rocksmith thing. I am thinking of taking the 60 day challenge for bass later this year, after I get on my feet with guitar. It will be interesting as I find most rock bass to be boring, and I'm no where near the noob I was with guitar.
Funk funk funk. I am wearing out my wrist with these funk strumming patterns. To try and put it in perspective, count to 4. Now in the same amount of time as you just counted to for, count to 8. Yep, twice as fast. Now, in the same space that you counted to 4, count to 16. There ya go. Funk is a lot of 16th notes, which means compared to many blues-rock bar room songs, you're doing 4x the amount of notes. Well, that's technically right, but not 100% right. Anyway, that's some muscles to get conditioned.
The "most accurate" way of playing Simple Man is to have a walk up to the C chord in it. Listen to the real song and you can hear the "walk up" to it. This really sucks for me. See, I realized that an A minor chord only needs one finger to move to become a C major chord. I have gotten use to starting off in that A minor shape and moving that finger instead of stuff making a C major. This has screwed me for doing that walk up in the song. So time to re-learn C major from scratch and get out of that habit.
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