I noticed when I set my comp at unity volume the feedback from the silver screamers is inconsistent an little harsh sounding. but if dropping the comp volume slightly below unity (maybe 20% lower), the overall tone is better and get I get a smoother sustain.
comp is a analogman BiComp -using the ross side with sustain level between 10-11 o'clock.
Anyone else have experience with this?
That's about where Trey and I set ours.
I set the sustain a bit lower - 9 o'clock. I used to set it higher and dropped it over the years, concurrently having more success balancing the consistency between the tube screamers.
However, regarding the output, I agree with you. Trey has the volume knob on his set around noon. At least on my Ross (of course this can differ from pedal to pedal especially when they are that old), that is probably around the 20% under unity. Having said that, I recently just started using my Ross with the volume at unity. I've been using his older Mesa Boogie settings which are pretty dark and very clean, and I think running the Ross below unity was too much. If I have the amp's knobs a bit higher, I might turn the Ross back down. The interesting thing is - and maybe this is my mind playing tricks on me - just in the last couple days running the Ross's volume higher, I think it has more headroom that way: its less likely to be overdriven by a wah pedal, for example.
So just my 2cents. I would play around with: low Ross volume & high amp volume vs. higher Ross volume & lower amp volume (and possibly treble).
I had big issues with the BiComp and sent it back after owning it for 3 weeks (this after waiting 18 months on the waiting list for it). I'd sell it an get a Ross. Worth it.
I've had a BiComp for several years and love it. What issues did you have?