Extensive compressor reviews and FAQ

EMMA Transmorgrifier: This pedal has a very hi-fi quality to it, with a flat, tight, uncolored sound. It really tightens up the incoming tone. It has a bright clear high end, really crisp and airy; unfortunately it does seem to lose a bit of the lows, and is not fat or full on the bottom. It's not bad though. There is more noise than I would like, but not so much that I wouldn't use it. For comparison, it is a bit noisier than a modded Boss CS3 at seemingly equivalent compression settings. But like the CS3, it has a strong ratio even at low settings, so it will clamp down on hard incoming spikes, making it a good choice for slappers or anyone else who needs peak limiting with a bright crisp clean sound. Note that the recommended settings in the instructions that come with the EMMA are insanely heavy squashing settings only suitable for lead guitar type effects. A realistic ratio knob setting for bass is around 9:00 or 10:00, anything higher is all noise and squash. Adjusting the level of your instrument signal going into it may improve the range of response. The attack and release controls are fully useful across their range though, and they are a good feature to have. The footswitch is not true bypass, but the bypass is clear sounding.
 

 
 
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