[improviduto]

using a pickup setup or mic? gimme more details on how you're electifying this guitar.

[halfmoonbay]

MXR Dynacomp is the classic. Or, if you're on a budget, the Marshall ED-1 is surprisingly good for half the price.

[redhotguitar]

im not smart...what does a compression pedal do?

[halfmoonbay]

im not smart...what does a compression pedal do?

What a compressor actually does: Imagine a soundwave, it's a kind of sideways 's' shape thing, you have a 'peak' and a 'trough'. There's lots of these things joined together, so you have lots of peaks and troughs. How big these peaks and troughs are depends on how loud you play.
A limiter sets upper and lower boundaries, known as the threshold. Whenever the peaks and troughs get too big (ie/ reach the threshold) then they are squished down. Whenever the peaks and troughs fall within the threshold they are not squished.
A compressor is very similar to a limiter, but instead of only the parts of the signal that exceed the threshold being altered, the dynamics of the whole signal are changed. It's kind of hard to explain, but with a compressor you can set the ratio by which the signal is changed. For example, with a 4:1 compression ratio, a 4dB change in input will result in a 1db change in output. This is the amount of 'squish' you get.
The 'attack' level you set determines how responsive it is, basically, how quickly it goes from the original to the fully compressed signal. The 'release' level is the reverse.

What a compressor actually does in non-techie talk: Basically, it squishes your sound up, they are commonly used to create the illusion of more sustain.

[redhotguitar]

ha, that actually makes sense, thanks man..

[evileye]

Thanks HMB I like the look of that Marshall ED-1

Looks solid

Looks can be deceptive with effects pedals, but as far as the marshall go they look sound.

[halfmoonbay]

The Marshall pedals are mixed bag soundwise, but the comp and the Bluesbreaker are the best of them. Reliability and durability are fine.