The reason i love this pedal is obviously the price point. I have 4 amazon basics pedals that i purchased for the price of my lone distortion pedal. The sound quality is less of an issue to me considering i wouldnt have the pedal at all if it had been more expensive.
I love comparisons like this. Nowadays, most pedals are so insanely expensive that experiencing buyer's remorse almost hurts one's soul. So, taking a risk on an inexpensive option isn't gonna hurt too much, even if it really wasn't what you were hoping for. And the pedals I usually want aren't in my local store - least not when I'm looking for it. And I totally hate trying out pedals in a large room with an unfamiliar amp - it's just difficult to really get a good sense of its capabilities and tone like that.
Was given a Kokko comp for free by a friend. Not bad for little money. Or in my case zero money. I found it useful with a Boss LS2 on a dry signal blend for bass w distorion or fuzz. Any fuzz or distortion signal is compressed by the circuit anyway. So a compressed dry signal is handy for a smoother blend. Yes it is noisier and less versatile than the 76 but its better than I actually expected ( not much!) And it has limited headroom that $#!ts itself easily with too hot an input signal. But within those limits it does do its job. Mooer, Donner & Joyo have better working options for over twice the price. Top of the line I've heard in my order of pref. Mark compressore, Empress, Origin, Keeley, Mozztronics CO2, MXR m87 Boss BC1X Life is a $#!t sandwich. The more bread you got. The less $#!t you have to eat. But the Kokko is less $#!t than I expected. I was actually pleasantly surprised. 😳
Electronic components are cheap! The price of a more expensive North American or European-made pedal is reflected in the research, quality control, customer service, etc. Not to mention - you're supporting the industry and not someone slowly siphoning money out of working individuals.
The Cali76 is an amazing pedal. One of the best I’ve ever played. Endless, beautiful sustain and makes every other pedal or amp sound so much better. I’ve played some really good fuzz pedals through a Cali and it like putting a Sustanianc or Fernandez sustainer pickup on your guitar. The dry blend an awesome feature too so if you just want to boost the signal or enhance the tone while keeping most of the non-compressed signal, just turn that dry knob down and you barely know it on, only when notes tend to pop or sustain a little bit more. Can’t say enough good things about the Cali 76.
There’s a lot of placebo effect in the guitar gear world. I have been using pedals since I was a kid living in Singapore in 1980 and just stuck a £25 Shenzen compressor on my pedal board, I love it. Those same Amazon basics now appear under different brands but they all come from the same factory in China. Amazon is a listed company owned by investors, foundations, pension funds…. And Bezos will still own a big chunk… so your money is not only feeding Bezos. I love the fact that I can buy a mini versions of pedals for less money than I paid in 1983 …. And they are in some cases actually better.
Just found you tonight. Your Glarry strat setup video is not working. Is it possible to look at it, I would love to learn from it. Great channel and your playing is great.
Its a Koko. Its good for 25 ones. Easy, if you are broke like most Americans, buy the cheaper stuff that works, then upgrade as the means come. This pedal is awesome if you are just running to the amp.
Great video comparison. Both sounded quite nice to me. Frankly it seems to me that it boils down to personal preference and how one plans to use it. The transparency of the slide rig is impressive , but if i dont need that , or want that, the little pedal sounded just fine. I actually liked the coloration . This comparison was inherently unequal. but it does demonstrate that there is a lot of useful musical potential without needing to spend a lot of money
Cost of parts, labor in the UK vs. China, testing components to ensure consistent tolerances is time consuming, etc. It’s expensive, but not unwarranted for what it is.
Great shootout Alex....but it’s like comparing a Ferrari to an Elantra. Both will get you where you need to go, you just have to decide how much money you want to spend to get there.
As a lifelong musician, I love “bang for the buck” gear. Always nice to see when you can 85-90% of the performance on something for 5-10% of the cost. Music snobs will turn their nose up, but to each their own and if it drives you play more and get better, rock out the $25 pedal with pride. Haha!
I bought one 2 weeks ago but there was little compression even when all the way up. I returned it. It might have been just a one-off lemon. I may try again with a Kokko.
I've been using the kokko one, and it's great! Working just fine, low noises, small size and gives me something pretty cool when using with humbuckers... It sounds brighter, but at the same time more balanced with my SD hot rails
try the kokko after a fuzz to allow you to turn the guitar volume down and clean up with out losing overall level and volume. I crank mine to full and set the level knob to slightly overdrive my preamp. This gives a good edge of break up and a huge range of drive from my fuzz. The Kokko cranked feels squishy in a good way and very touch responsive with heaps of sustain. I have lots of other compressors software and hardware but the Kokko will always be on my pedalboard as will my Tomsline fuzz. They go into a Laney tube preamp then off to th effects via a gate. The Kokko is fantastic for me. Highly recommended at any price. I thinkk the Nu-x is probably the same pedal too.
If it's quiet when you're not playing then it's good. Cleaner crisper, more refined sound with the 325. The basic looks good for an after thought on a board, turned down to preserve other effects.
Does any pedal compressor works for just limit the high picks of the sound, without affect the attack ? Lets say when I quiet sounds quiet, and if I play hard sounds louder, I want to even if playing hard, dont get so high valume. A compressor can do this ? And not afect the sustain, or any other thing else.
Yeah, that's doable. What you should look for is a compressor that has a dry-blend control. Set the attack slow and the release fast. You'll have to experiment to find the sweet spot for threshold.
Considering that the Amazon pedal has fixed attack and release settings and only one stage of compression, I’m not sure any comparison would’ve been helpful had I not removed those variables. Running through those controls would’ve been a waste of everyone’s time. You can find a proper demo of the pedal if you’re interested in that.
Law of diminishing returns. Would I prefer the more expensive one? Yeah but... I have a helix anyway so I'm really only interested in pedals that do something truly unique or exceptionally well. Anyways, good video as usual!
For me, I like easier to use, and less expensive. Sure, the best compressor may have features that are more apparent the the player, but is it really worth that much more for just the average player ? I got the Amazon Bass Compressor for $27 bucks and all is good.
Should I consider the SlideRIG vs their other 2 comps or are they very similar? I own the Xotic SP comp but it doesn't seem to do much and the Origin Effects Magma 57 which is top shelf.
Have you played with the internal switches on the SP comp? I had that pedal for awhile. If you want a much more dramatic compression, switch the attack from slow to fast. I chose the slide rig because I wanted two stages of compression. The other pedals the offer have dedicated attack and release controls, which would’ve been nice too though.
