Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hopefully someone here has been able to compare several compressors and can guide me here.

I am looking at the JangleBox, a Barber Tone Press and Diamond Compressor. Is the Janglebox a 1 trick pony, that works for giving your 12 string that Byrds/Petty/Beatles sound, or is it more versatile for use with your 6 strings?

Appears you can blend some of the dry signal back into the wet with the Barber and the Diamond seems to both blend in some dry plus it has a rotary knob for changing the treble boost (or voicing) versus the 3 way switch on the JangleBox.

So, if you have tried all of them which is your keeper?

FWIW, I'm running a 360/12C63, 360/6, strat and ES-339 into a Vox AC15 heritage, a Fender SFDR or a SuperChamp XD. I have a Boss ME-50, and get some idea of compression, but it sure doesn't have the same quality of sound as I think one of the stand alone compressors would have.

The Janglebox is probably (from what I hear) the best and most loved compressor of them all. It is extremely versatile, and the impression I get is the "Dark" position on the toggle can give you a good jazz or blues tone, the "Bright" position provides the ultimate sustain and chime (acting like two compressors to my ears) and the "Normal" switch does everything else.

I currently use a MXR Dyna Comp, it gets good sustain, but instead of getting that Jangle and chime from a Ric, it just seems to compress the sound more than anything. I also have owned a Boss CS-3 (good for a Tele or Strat, but not for a Ric) and a Danelectro Surf and Turf compressor (which didn't do anything compared to the other two).

Bottom line, you want the best compressor, get a Janglebox. Using the 12-string with it through the Vox, it'll get you the ultimate British 12-string rock sound (Beatles, Who, Hollies). Using the same guitar with the Jbox and the Deluxe Reverb, you will get a good idea of the McGuinn sound. Through either amp, you will nail Petty's sound. (I've been looking at photos, and in '91-'99, TP himself used a Silverface Deluxe Reverb with a Vox Super Beatle cab. Campbell used/uses a Vox AC-30 and a Tweed Bassman)

I can't comment on the Janglebox or the Tone Press, but I have A/B'd the Diamond and a Keely, also later against a CS-3 and a Dynacomp with my 350 and 660/12. I am not trying to get any particular artist's tone, but was trying to get something that sounded the way I wanted it to.

I bought the Diamond because the compression is very studio strip like (optical if I am not mistaken), because of the tone control, and because it sounded better to me than the Keely did with my Ricks. The flexibility to run from totally squashed country pickin' tones, through the "magic jangle" tone, and to be able to get some great fat/full sounding tones with sustain forever was very clear to me in the Diamond. It is also less noisy than the Keely, the CS-3 and the MXR. To my ears CS-3 and MXR aren't even in the same ballpark as the Keely or the Diamond, and were sold without remorse after picking up the Diamond. I found the Diamond to be the most flexible with all my Ricks (350V63, 660/12, 620/6 and 360WB) as well as my Les Paul and my Godins (Exit22 and XT). The tone control allows great tone adjustment for single coils or humbuckers and is a great tool to have on the floorboard.

Compression really is very subjective though, and if at all possible you should try as many as you can.

Steve -- I don't think Janglebox is a one trick pony. In my case, I tend to use it more with my 12 strings then my 6 string guitars, but I also think that is a function of the type of songs I play on the different guitars, as to whether a Compressor is used or not.

Often on the tunes where I use my 6 string 330 with High Gains, or my 650 with HBs, I am tending to use that guitar with some Distortion from either an Effects pedal or through the Amp's own channel... so I would not necessarily use the Compressor all the time in conjunction with moderate or heavy Distortion. On the other hand, I use the Distortion more infrequently with my 12 strings, so I would tend to use the Compressor more. It really all depends upon which songs you are working on.... if it's '60s and 70's old skool stuff like Beatles, Searchers, Byrds, etc. that chimey Jangle may be more of what you want. If it's New Wave or First Wave stuff like The Jam, the Smithereens or U2, etc. you may want a different sound.

A lot of Amps have built in Compression. I think Vox AC-30s have a lot of natural chime in the bright settings. And on Vox Valvetronix amps, there is a selector switch for Compression. Other Amps are known for their natural tube Overdrive sound.

There is quite a variety of sound you can get with the Compressor -- depending upon how much squish or Attack you crank up. So it’s really a matter of taste and the "sound" you desire for the particular tune you are working on. I also like experimenting with the three settings on the JangleBox of "Dark" and "Normal" and "Bright". It gives you lots of options.

In addition to the JangleBox, I also have my Boss CS-3 Compressor pedal also wired in on my Pedal Board. Not for using two Compressors, but for tonal changes. As you know, the "order in the court" is a big determinant on Effects pedals placement. In my case, I have the Jangle Box first in sequence, in front of any Distortion or Phase shifting or modulation Effects. What I do with my CS-3 pedal is have it situated in sequence AFTER my Distortion pedal -- so if I want to take those Distortion sine-waves and really squish them out, and change the tone totally, I can use the Distortion and CS-3 pedals in tandem. It gives my Distortion pedal a whole fuzzier second-personality to have the CS-3 sequenced after it.... schizophrenia ??

A second aspect is I sometimes turn the effects down on the CS-3 pedal, except for its Loudness control and use it more in the capacity of a Volume pedal, to raise the level temporarily for a lead riff or solo with minimal Compression/Attack.

Note --- I am not recommending that anyone should get two Compressor pedals ... I just happened to have the CS-3, and later acquired the JangleBox. There are also half a dozen threads buried throughout the RRF over the last couple of years where people ask many questions about Compressors or Jangleboxes, and which one to get ?? These threads are all over... in The Quest for Tone, in the Byrds Forum, the Guitars thread and elsewhere. Steve, the owner of Janglebox company, is also a member here on the RRF and sometimes he "chimes in" on the subject.

I think the Janglebox web-site has lots of interesting demo tracks you can listen to, of lots of different guitars and types of music, so that you can evaluate if that's the sound you want to get. They also have excellent, responsive customer service there at JangleBox, if you have questions or need assistance.

There are many different brands and types of Compressors ... many RRF members have voiced their approval or choice of several different ones. So there's no one answer for you. And the amp you have will make a difference. But definitely you can use Compression for 6 strings and 12 strings… and you can use it singularly or in tandem with other Effects pedals.
Happy shopping !!

Thanks Jake, Dean and Rich for the input!

Dean, you feel the Diamond can capture that oh so sweet jangle a 12 string should have similar to the Janglebox?

The $50-80 price difference, plus not having to shell out more $$ for the positive pin adapter, could be a powerful motivator if it really nails that chime.

Rich were you using the Jangle at the Confluence when the Rickenbrothers were performing? A little hard to single it out in the songs you all were playing, and I didn't know if your other members were using one.

Steve --- re SCARF, I believe I was using the Jangle Box when you and I were jamming along to some Tom Petty tunes in the afternoon session.

I was not using the Jangle Box during the Rickenbrothers numbers at SCARF, as was using some medium Distortion effect on several tunes (Need to Know, Zero Hour, Blood and Roses, Million Miles) and, if I recall, a little Phase Shifter on Milky Way and Killing Moon.

If you check the Sink or Swim Jams #1 and #2 that Trotty posted on You Tube (the Trotty-Con Mini Confluence Jam sessions we did a few days after SCARF) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BXDVLI0KJA
I was using some Jangle Box there on my 660-12, as I was trying to let the 12 string float a little bit above, like a halo, accenting the dynamic interaction of Paul's Big Red, the majestic, vintage sound of Trotty's 40-some year old Capri and the crispness of Joey's solid bass line. Paul and I were both using AC 30 amps, so there's some natural chime and compression at work there too.
Regards

I'm going to go ahead and put up a vote for the Keeley 2-knob. Simple, sweet, effective....

Steve, I really have never heard or played a Janglebox in person, so I wouldn't know how to answer that. They are rarer than Rickenbackers in my neck of the woods.

I can tell you that with my Ricks and my amps (Valvetronix AD120VTH and Egnater Rebel 20 heads through various combinations of 2x12 and 1x12s) I can, to my ears, dial in a sweet jangle when I need it. The Diamond has great tone flexibility and can be adjusted to get pretty close to the same jangle tone on any of my amp head/cab combinations. For my purposes though, it is the many, many other compressed tones I can dial in with it.

I've always been able to get plenty of chime out of my RICs, both 6 and 12 strings, without any compressor at all (try a light pick). I've never used a Jangle Box, so I can't comment on them, but out of all the compressors I have used over the years the cheap little Danelectro Surf & Turf is my favorite. I don't really know why, it just seems to fit me. My guess is that you'll just have to try out a bunch of compressors until you find the one that fits you.

Steve -- check out this other concurrent Jangle Box thread .... member TEB has posted a link with some recordings he has made to demo the JB sound.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=391033&start=15&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

Thanks Dean & Rich,

I listened to a whole bunch of compressors on-line at the Pro Guitar Shop. com website which had me leaning toward the Diamond, but I also listened to Steve's clips on the Janglebox website. Now THAT'S the sound I'm looking for!

Problem is the ProGuitarShop clips lean a lot more to the squishin' chikin' pikin' side than the jangle/ treble boost side.

Guess I may order a Diamond and a JB once I see how long I can try them out before returning.

Dean, have you listened to the JangleBox clips and can the Diamond duplicate those?

I can tell you about the Maxon CP101. It's optical and very quite but not bright or snappy. It is literally a compressor and sustainer with very little coloration. It's like a glass of water compared to a coke. I started out with a CS-3 and that was unacceptably noisy. I bought a mod kit and that cleaned it up a lot, but it also removed the Tele spank that I liked about it. Given that everyone goes gaga over the Janglebox for their Rics, I'm convinced that it adds a lot of coloration (in a good way) to the sound. I'm mainly using a Princeton Reverb and that really doesn't need any pedals.

+1 on the Diamond. A very versatile compressor that I've used with my Rickenbacker guitars and basses. When I first tried it out with a 12 string I thought "ah, there's the sound"! I also have their J-Drive pedals and one of their new bass compressors on order. Cool little company (and Canadian to boot!).

BuddyDog wrote:Thanks Dean & Rich,

Dean, have you listened to the JangleBox clips and can the Diamond duplicate those?

With a 660/12 and through the Egnater Rebel 20 head, to my ears yes.

How do you lhe the J-Drive with the Ricks Steve?

I quite like the J-Drive Dean. The nice thing about it is that you can use it to set up a basic tone, and then hit the "boost" switch for solos etc. I'm really becoming a Diamond fan! There's a used memory Lane pedal in my local music shop that keeps calling my name!