I have tried several compressors over the years, but I always end up kicking them to the curb after a few gigs. I liked the idea of increased sustain, but didn’t want to sacrifice my tone to get it. After watching some videos online, reading up on the specs, and hearing a friend’s, I decided to order a Wampler Ego Compressor and see if it lived up to the hype. It absolutely did.
The ordering process at wamplerpedals.com is very user-friendly, and there is plenty of information on every product they offer. The Ego Comp was delivered promptly, packaged well, and came with a Wampler decal (as did my Euphoria and Plextortion). I liked the fact that it came without the rubber feet attached (they were in the box in case they are needed, but let’s face it… we would all remove them if they were on there). The pedal itself is fairly lightweight, and doesn’t take up a massive amount of real estate (pretty typical footprint).
Now, to talk about the tone. I love the amount of control the Ego Comp offers. Too many knobs can be a downside on some pedals, but the tonal options the controls offer are everything you could hope for in a compressor. Being able to adjust the Volume, Tone, Blend, Attack, and Sustain independently allowed me to dial in the perfect amount of compression I needed, and still keep my tone intact. In fact, it made my tone more lively than it already was! My favorite feature was the Blend knob. After I dialed the “normal” compressor controls to the slight amount of compression I like, the Blend knob allowed me to set the dry:compressed ratio to a level that gave my guitar an overall thicker sound while maintaining it’s natural tonal integrity.
I will note that the tone knob is not a “typical” tone pot (like that on a guitar). It almost feels more like a “Bright” knob. I keep the Tone knob on mine all the way down for my Tele, as this seems to *retain the original tone of my guitar. For my PRS Starla, I will run it about 12 o’clock. This helps alleviate the “muddy” trait of some of humbuckers, but still keep the fat tone they offer.
(*Turning the Tone knob up will not cause the pedal to color your tone, it just adds extra bite that is unnecessary with my single coils.)
If you are looking for a compressor that will enhance your tone without draining the life out if it, I highly recommend you give the Ego Compressor a try. Not only is mine still on my board… I never turn it off!