MusicRadar Verdict
Possibly the best-sounding compact compressor around.
Pros
- +
Versatile tones via blend knob. Solid build.
Cons
- -
Not much at all.
MusicRadar's got your back Our team of expert musicians and producers spends hours testing products to help you choose the best music-making gear for you. Find out more about how we test.
A lot of guitar compressors are based on variations of the classic Ross Compressor/MXR Dyna Comp circuitry, and the Ego is no exception - but it adds some extra features that greatly increase its versatility, most notably blend and tone knobs.
"It's great for adding a more 'singing' quality to clean (or dirty) leads"
You get a sustain control to effectively increase the amount of compression, and an attack knob, which tweaks the start of your note envelope to give it the sort of 'snap' that works so well for country picking.
But it's actually the blend knob that gives you loads more options for a natural but compressed sound, allowing some of your unprocessed tone through in parallel with the compressed. The tone knob can counteract any dulling and will add some sparkle if needed.
Adding a more 'singing' quality to clean (or dirty) leads, emphasising picking or smoothing levels for consistency - whatever you need a compressor for, this should deliver it for you.
“He stopped writing, I think, because he just ran out. He had used that guitar neck up. He did everything and anything that neck could do”: Sammy Hagar explains Eddie Van Halen's lost years
“Classic PRS aesthetics and a voice that blends warmth with bolt-on articulation”: PRS Guitars keeps the limited edition releases coming with the return of the CE22
“Get the ideas out - and then look back with different ears or different eyes in a few months. Then the really good ones will stand out to you”: Tourist shares his music production wisdom
