NanoCompressor?

[LoKi6922]

sorry, this is a little off topic... but anybody here ever try to use a NanoCompressor just with an electric guitar? i read all the reviews on Harmony Central... but i don't trust the opinions of people on there very much...

you guys here have never steered me wrong...

i found a good deal on one, and i'm probably going to pick it up, even if it just gets used for recording, or for my acoustic guitar.. but i'm wondering if it can handle input from my Les Paul with Duncan Custom in the bridge....

thanks everyone!

cheers,

-Andre

[(doug harrison)]

I used to have one, and it sounded okay on vocals (after a pre amp) and to mix down four track recordings. I never plugged a guitar directly into it, though. I have read that some of them click under certain conditions.

Alesis 3603 is supposed to sound really good with the Black Lion Audio mod kit. (As detailed in TapeOp magazine.)

[Mark Hammer]

If it's intended for use with line level recording gear, chances are it can "handle" your LP but not exceptionally well on its own.  Line level signals are going to be hotter than your guitar, and a lower output impedance.  This has several implications:

1) unless you feed the unit a boosted signal, the signal-to-noise ratios are not going to be up to spec (listed specs are based on a specified input signal level).
2) the sensitivity of the unit will be based on the assumption of a much hotter signal, such that only a small portion of the compression-amount pot will be useful to you (fixable)
3) the output level may be hotter than is wise for subsequent pedals in your signal chain.

I'd strongly suggest finding out more about what it needs, and if possible trying one out before committing.  There's nothing wrong with line-level gear, but you might end up having to do more than you were prepared to do to be able to use it with your guitar.  On the other hand, if you have any plans to use it for recording or P.A. work, and the guitar use is simply an afterthought, it might be a terrific score.  I picked up an Ashley rackmount limiter-compressor for something like $20 last year, and its a honey.  Of course, unlike the NanoComp, it has a whole lotta controls which can make it behave like floor pedal when I plug my guitar in.  The Alesis unit has only very limited (pardon the pun) control so it may be tougher slogging.

[LoKi6922]

i was a little worried about the input clipping, so i'll probably avoid it, although it would be a great tool for my acoustic rig, and for some simple projects.

too bad it doesn't have an input control.

my les paul is very silent. i put in a Duncan Custom and a 59 in the neck and the pots are custom shop quality... i was worried about the switch, as it is getting older and is used frequently... but it is still holding up!

on the plus side, i got a line 6 echo park today for 20 bucks! i traded a bunch of old junk i had lying around to a pawn shop and paid 20 bucks in difference for it.. brand new, unopened box.

sounds pretty good for a 20 dollar stompbox... a slight high end hiss, but i think that'll disapear once its in the effects loop.

thanks for the advice! i still might get it anyway... its pretty cheap.

-Andre

[Dave_B]

fwiw, I don't think it's a particularly special compressor, but you may feel differently.  It may be more trouble than it's worth for dedicated guitar use. 

You didn't mention the price, but to look at it another way, if it's really cheap it could be worth buying just for the box, the adaptor, and the (I think) SSM2120/2122 chip inside.  ...assuming it's not surface-mounted. 

Last month, I bought a Peavey rackmount mixer-expander for $10.  It's worth a lot more than that to someone who needs one, but I plan to gut it and turn it into a Weak Joe compressor.