Next, I plugged the Compulator Pro into a
65Amps Tupelo combo. With the pedal off, I
adjusted the Tupelo for a fat, clean sound and
then stomped on the Compulator. With its
previous settings, the pedal instantly made my
sound thicker and larger. The tonality didn’t
change—the Compulator simply delivered
a better version of the same sound. Again,
I found the pedal to be quite transparent at
these settings, and I heard all the nuances of
my playing being amplified and controlled in a
beautiful way.
Switching to a Fender American Standard
Strat, I was able to dial in some serious
quack. Because the Strat’s single-coils have
less output than the Les Paul’s humbuckers,
I flipped the Gain switch to High and got all
the signal I needed. I had the sense that playing
my guitar was easier with the pedal than
without it. Leveling out the dynamics made
me feel like I was on steroids—everything
was powerful and smooth.
To test out the Compulator Pro’s singing
qualities, I kicked up the volume and
gain on the Tupelo and let it rip. With the
Compression backed down to about 3
o’clock, the pedal set to a fast attack and
slow release, the sound turned into a wild
sustain fest! Notes spilled effortlessly from my
Strat and transitioned into blooming and very
musical feedback. Switching back to the Les
Paul was like letting the bull loose. I still had
effortless sustain, but it was coupled with a
thicker, more distorted tone. By backing off
the Attack knob, I discovered I could create a
reverse-guitar effect and a sucking sound that
reminded me of a tape flipped backward.
This pedal offers a lot of sonic variety.
I continued experimenting with various settings
and different guitars. Ultimately, I found
that while the Compulator Pro has more knobs
than most stompbox compressors, it was hard
to dial in a bad sound. Demeter has somehow
found a way to give you options without making
it difficult to get a great sound, and that’s
quite a feat. My only niggle was that I found
it possible to distort the pedal with high-gain
active pickups. But this only happened on the
first note—before the compressor had a chance
to clamp down on the signal. And, again, it
didn’t happen with passive pickups. (James
Demeter says users who experience distortion
because of high-gain pickups can safely operate
the unit at 12 volts for more headroom, or
they can send the unit in to be modified for less
overall gain at no charge other than shipping
fees. “As with all things,” he says “there was a
compromise. The stock unit was designed for
99 percent of the guitars out there.”)
The Verdict
I won’t lie—I’m not usually a fan of compressors
in my guitar signal chain. Most compressors
tend to squash the signal in a way that sounds
too obvious to my ears and diminishes my
tone. The Compulator Pro is really the polar
opposite of that. This pedal makes everything
feel better, and what comes out of it is simply
a bigger, badder version of what went into it.
Armed with the Compulator Pro, you’ll never
get washed out in the band. Just twist a few
knobs, and you’ll sound loud and proud, with
soaring lead lines and bristling harmonics.
Highly recommended.
Buy if...
you want more of what you love
in your tone.
Skip if...
tightening up your dynamic range
isn’t compelling.
Rating...
