Carl Martin makes some of the best pedals in the business. I own two, a compressor/limiter and a neat little delay pedal.

Davedog, post: 300229 wrote: Carl Martin makes some of the best pedals in the business. I own two, a compressor/limiter and a neat little delay pedal.

I knew when I posted that that Mr. Dog and his good taste in boutique handmade equipment would chime in :D

This overdrive pedal that I am looking at, do you think that it would be a good tonal compliment to a Mesa Dual Rectifier?

Great minds think alike...
I have an early version of the comp pedal. It has a single band of parametric EQ onboard, too. It looks like it's been through a war, but it still squashes the daylight outta whatever I run through it!

moonbaby, post: 300240 wrote: Great minds think alike...
I have an early version of the comp pedal. It has a single band of parametric EQ onboard, too. It looks like it's been through a war, but it still squashes the daylight outta whatever I run through it!

Dave & Moonbaby, are you guys rockin' the opto version or vca version of that comp?

I have the compressor/limiter from the Pro-Series and a Red Repeat from the vintage series. They are both seriously good pedals. I have no qualms at all of running the compressor across a bus or as an insert.

Very, very, very well-respected builder. As with anything pro audio (which Messrs Martin and Keeley do approach - like Dave, I'll use Keeley compressors in my main chains at a pinch) you will benefit from a listening test. Shoving this into a Dual Recto is something you're gonna have to evaluate - I've had a few Mesas and they always seem to me like the pre tubes and power tubes are very tightly linked; they don't have the kinda spongy warm feel i look for in tube amps - i think they are always biased hard and tweaked to tightness whereas i like a sag in the power stage, and then the freedom to overdrive from the floor.

For your Rectifier I'd really recommend looking at the Keeley BD2 modded pedal and engaging the bass boost; its a nice fullness which the Mesas really react to. I saw a guy on here earlier commenting on how re-amping a guitar through a para EQ was a good idea; imho a Mesa is one of the few amps that would take a signal like that and perfect it, much like the EMG actives; Mesa modern metal amps don't so much take a clinical signal and warm it up, as take a clinical signal and shove it down your throat until you admit "yes, yes, its warm!!!". For a Mesa I'd look at warmth and breadth over gain on the input stage. The marshall guvnor or BK Butler Tube Driver into a recto sounds immense.

That's what I was thinking as well. It just so happens that the person who recommended reamping a guitar track through a parametric... was me! :D See what I was thinking was exactly what you confirmed. The Recto sounds very fat with its own tonal color and basically decimates anything you throw into it. I am thinking that the warmth and bass of the Drive n Boost MK3 would be a little much and would probably counteract some 'tightness' in the amp that I would need. I play mostly thrash and progressive metal BTW, so I kind of need a boost without too much grit.

I flounder a lot on this and I know I should really be looking into a clean boost and not an overdrive, but I like the tweakability of an overdrive over a single knob clean boost. I may eat my words when I try something with as much power as the Hydra Boost haha. So you'd recommend the Keeley Modded Blues Driver? It's funny because I was looking at that as well, I've seen clips and I'm very impressed with its performance particularly the modded one, very very fat sounding. Although the demo was done using a Lonestar and playing classic rock/blues style so again I am not sure about how well it would translate into my style of playing.

EDIT: I think that it would be a good thing to note that I like the flexibility in the gain staging, not necessarily in the EQ. I like a pedal's EQ to be transparent and largely un-tweakable but its drive to be colored. Not sure if you know where I'm coming from here but that's how it makes sense to me.

I hear the Keeley stuff every week. One of my guitarists has all Keeley on the board and that stuff is fantastic. I REALLY like the Blues Driver mod. It doesnt have the breakup edge of something like the Keeley OD or a Boss OD, its rather sweet in its presentation.

I know you dont have the Mesa top yet so perhaps the compressor is a good place for your Marshall at this point, but I gotta tell you that if you havent spent a lot of time with a compressor the level of a Keeley or a Carl Martin, its going to be a shock to your system and you will have to get used to using it. There will be a period of adjustment for sure.

I also agree with Jeemy on the Mesas link between the power section and the pre. Its probably why so many guys use them for big stage presentations when running a lot of front-end stuff. I've always found the Mesas to be cold as far as the sag and the type of sensitivity you get from something like a Dr.Z, VHT, or even an old AC Vox. But, as you might be able to see, I also like that sag and sensitivity. Give me a Blackface Deluxe on 6 or 7 and thats where my playing lives. Or the ultimate in sensitivity to the guitar and your hands, a Conrad.

Davedog, post: 300989 wrote: I hear the Keeley stuff every week. One of my guitarists has all Keeley on the board and that stuff is fantastic. I REALLY like the Blues Driver mod. It doesnt have the breakup edge of something like the Keeley OD or a Boss OD, its rather sweet in its presentation.

So you think it would be appropriate for my style of music?

Davedog, post: 300989 wrote: I know you dont have the Mesa top yet so perhaps the compressor is a good place for your Marshall at this point, but I gotta tell you that if you havent spent a lot of time with a compressor the level of a Keeley or a Carl Martin, its going to be a shock to your system and you will have to get used to using it. There will be a period of adjustment for sure.

Does a stompbox compressor function differently than a software or mixing compressor? I can't imagine that it would be too difficult to use, kind of one of those things that you learn to listen to rather than eyeball. I just have no idea which one to get, I mean the effect is the same, but each will have its on flavor. I've heard the Keeley Compressor from the clips on their site and I wasn't as impressed as I was with his other pedals which were all like WOW. Not sure if this is related to me just not being used to hearing a compressor before an amp or what. I know many people use the Dyna Comp, but I have expensive tastes, and that's a big name brand, so eww. haha.

I would most likely record a DI track and loop it through the compressor and the amp tweaking and bypassing and look for the sweet spot for my pickups. The thing that I would have to get over is mental. I am one of those tone purists and the idea of a compressor squashing the AC signal prior to it reaching the amp makes my neurons go all zappy. I'll get over it if it sounds good though.

Well, the Carl Martin does NOT suck the tone out. I'm thinking more , for you, of the slight sag and delay in the attack that the compressors bring to the table. Tweaking will probably get you there but its going to be a learning curve. Also not that impressed with the Keeley comp. Very much a better cleaner Dyna. But still a Dyna in its sound shaping. Maybe an OCD for the front end for you.

I think the OCD sounds bangin. To me that seems to be the winner as far as what I want to do with the tone and the tweakability is good too, good call Dave. And what would you personally recommend for a comp to get that sag you were talking about? I need it to be transparent, but maybe a little on the compressed side (compressed as opposed to jangly) I think I need a pedal that gives me control over the attack and sustain times because now that I've learned to use them I don't know if I could go without it. I was turned off at the Keeley pedal because it didn't have an attack knob.

I would recommend the Carl Martin for the clarity, lack of tone loss, and the fact that you can adjust it from all aspects. Its one of the best. An OCD and Carl Martin compressor on the front end is great quality and tone.

GF, you'd THINK that a compressor is a compressor is a compressor, right? I mean it's just a stomp box...LOL!!!
Well, way back before you were born (this was in 1978) I had a guitar compressor that was this little square metal box with a 1/4" plug sticking out of it and just a mini toggle switch to turn it on/off. It was a Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer, and it was absolutely devastating as a gentle lead-boosting, rhythm-smoothing tone machine that gave my Les Paul the sound to die for. I lost it on the road somewhere near Vegas. I was never the same after that...LOL!!!!!!
Fast forward to now...Analog Man (google him) has resurrected the Orange Squeezer (called the Orange Juicer). Now it's a stomp box, and has a single knob, plus an internal bias trimpot. I'm in heaven...check it out.
BTW, you have to realize that these guitar compressors really need to be P L A Y E D. They ALL respond to the playing technique that they are presented with. I've heard some of your playing, you seem to have pretty good finesse with your right hand, this will be in you favor. I've noticed that guys who bitch about compressors are the ones who beat the living daylights out of their guitars...

Davedog, post: 301133 wrote: I would recommend the Carl Martin for the clarity, lack of tone loss, and the fact that you can adjust it from all aspects. Its one of the best. An OCD and Carl Martin compressor on the front end is great quality and tone.

Mmmmmmmm I loves my OCD!!!!!

moonbaby, post: 301134 wrote: GF, you'd THINK that a compressor is a compressor is a compressor, right? I mean it's just a stomp box...LOL!!!

Oh, I definitely don't, that's why I am here asking for rec's and not at GC buying a Dyna Comp LOL :cool:

So the Orange Juicer is very similar sounding if not identical to the original Orange Squeezer? I have actually heard some excellent things about this pedal elsewhere as well so I am curious.

Wow just shows its each to his own. I love the Keeley comp (I do have the 4-knob version which is a bit subtler), and I lent out my OCD to a chap last week and he just can't get on board with it....