Compressors: Pedals vs. Rack Units

[Happyorange27]

So it seems that the Ross and it's clones are after very clean, quiet transparency.  Well I have a Behringer single rack unit that has many dials which is extremely clean, quiet and transparent.  It also has level in and out meters plus more.  Why not just us this as my effect compressor instead of one of these pedals?  Is there something about the Ross circuitry that has to be there for the Trey tone or do you think a quality studio rack unit will do the job as well?

[deadbearbobby]

So it seems that the Ross and it's clones are after very clean, quiet transparency.  Well I have a Behringer single rack unit that has many dials which is extremely clean, quiet and transparent.  It also has level in and out meters plus more.  Why not just us this as my effect compressor instead of one of these pedals?  Is there something about the Ross circuitry that has to be there for the Trey tone or do you think a quality studio rack unit will do the job as well?

Good question man! First, the ross and most ross clones do have a very distinctive sound... unlike a good majority of pedal comps out there... the sound is more whole, and at the same time more organic... ecspecialy when placed after an overdrive or even a distortion. I a/b a couple of other comps next to a ross clone (same circut as the real ones) and found them to sound very thin and almost twangy... like a tele run through a compressor. to get to your question though ... the the problem with a rackmount copm is that they are really designed for the studio... which makes it tough to use them and get a good sound during a live show. However, if you are just using it in your house then you'd be able to get it to work just fine... just a minnor recomendation though... if you have a few hundred to put into your rig, i would go witha old ibanez UE 400... which has a tube screamer, compressor, phaser, and flanger chorus in it. its nice because there is a switch that lets you put the effects in different orders like floor pedals... so you can have the tube screamer first then the compressor then the phaser or flanger/chorus. plus it has an effects loop for another needed pedal, like delay or a whammy it's rackmount but it comes witha foot switch. you could also go with an ibanez UE 300... which is a floor model however this one doesnt let you change the order of the effects so you would need to rewire it... pretty simple if you know what your doing. the UE 300 has the comp, the tube screamer and the chorus,the chorus is just the two knob... but its nice for those leslie type effects. a lot oif people overlook the old ibanez UE's but the are still really cheap and all analog and have the original chips in them. something to consider. hope this helps man... sorry its so long