Extensive compressor reviews and FAQ

BBE Opto Stomp: This was a good surprise, for a change! I paid the same amount for this (used) as I did for the Digitech, but the BBE is so much better it's not even funny. There is barely any noise, no rolloff of the lows, and the highs are pretty good too. The compression action is smooth and natural. It doesn't even get noisy when you crank the compression up high. The only notable issue is there is a little fizzy artifact sometimes; it's very quiet, less noticeable than the "pop" artifact of the LMB-3, but it still needs to be mentioned. Also, like the Punch Factory, the compression available is fairly gentle; this pedal is not suited to major squashing or limiting. I think this pedal is meant to be a direct competitor to the Punch Factory, since they are both optical comps at the same price. I have to say, the BBE wins by a knockout. It has a better range of compression, better tone clarity at high settings, a 15dB pad switch for active basses, and the construction is superior: the jacks are mounted to the chassis (not to the board), the footswitch is true bypass, the jacks and knobs are metal instead of plastic, and the components inside are fairly high quality. Overall, I'm impressed. Note: I've read one review saying the footswitch is not true bypass; it was on the one I tested, so who knows.
 

 
 
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