My new take on FET studio style compression... the EGO 76 guitar compressor pedal

[@williambain2646]

All sweet spots, no dead spots. That needs to be a Wampler merch line.

[@Shmoo0fDoom72]

Seconded!

[@derynlacombe1516]

Hey Brian, a smart man would get t shirts printed up with this. Hint, hint...

[@williambain2646]

@@derynlacombe1516 and you’re picking up what I’m putting down

[@louissoloff7011]

I would buy 2 - one for me, one for my son to go with his ‘Loud is more good’ shirt.

[@bluzzjazz]

I have been loving my always on Ego for close to 7 years now.

[@xxxxneoxxxx]

I did read. Thanks for sharing all this with us. Bryan this is just awesome! Not only is it great to have brilliant minds of the guitar pedal manufacturing world speak to us on KZbin, but also, you tell us what the concept is, teach us how it's supposed to work; share some of your thoughts with us. Not only is this the smartest form of advertising ever but it's the closest and most direct way of communicating with clients and potential clients. What a wonderful time to be alive. Much love from a nerdy follower from Peru.

[@AndyDemos]

So many sweet spots! I loved the clean blend with "all buttons in", still sounded natural surprisingly but with a LOT of sustain!

[@benligil]

I began modding my gear after watching Mr. Wampler's videos. He is such an inspiration and teacher. ❤

[@steveg219]

Seems like the compressor pedal that we all have wanted!

[@bmac5085]

Brian is a genius 😊

[@Brantdrangus8489]

That is ridiculously good. You really nailed it. That tone knob makes its super versatile

[@PrincePloppy]

thanks for really highlighting the whole 'signal chain' nature of the studio compressor. You sir are a legend. I've constantly run into this 'signal chain' type of problem when talking about getting that record sound from a pedal, or amp. People might just listen to you. oh and the new pedal sounds great!

[@chipsterb4946]

I love watching you tweak the controls on any given pedal. It helps me learn how to dial in the sound I want.

[@Ottophil]

You don’t need help, you literally use your ears and play with the knobs. Theres no right or wrong settings. Don’t limit yourself to what anybody on youtube does. Sure hes literally a pro pedal maker. But that doesnt mean you shouldnt trust your own instincts and not to mention you have different guitars, pickups, amps, speakers etc, no two tones are exact. Just play around with the knobs, you will find the sweet spots that work for your rig

[@emmettaudio]

Very excited about this, will absolutely be getting this for my studio.

[@stanislavmigra]

that tone at 12:49 when you engaged the Comp ... og my, oh my 😍😍❤️

[@Eric_01]

This was an excellent break down of how this pedal works and the theory behind it. I'm sold! Compressors, for me, kind of fall into that "not sexy" pedal type because the effect is so subtle, but I could really hear the life in the chords.

[@poesybeat]

Brian going full ASMR connecting and disconnecting all the patch cables. Nice touch.

[@GreccPerspective]

Very good explanation and great idea. I have the ego mini. Love it but, this intrigues me very much. Sounds really juicy of course.

[@Dang...]

Excellent. Wishing you much success.

[@JulesNoir820]

This comp is awesome! I'm a bassist, I run this towards the end of my board after eqs, drives and mods etc but before my delay and reverb, glues my gain stages together nicely and really enhances my whole sound! This is the first compressor I've had where the effect has been immediately obvious and easy to dial in. Thanks Brian ☮️

[@wampler_pedals]

Glad you like it!

[@nickm.9474]

It just makes everything sound better!!!! Awesome job! I must have one. 😄

[@J.C...]

Yea I figured out the fx loop thing a while back. Been doing it ever since I tried it out 👌

[@muffevans5667]

I actually preferred the response of it it in the loop. Never thought of using it that way either. Yet... Many thanks sir!

[@CarlosKTCosta]

That whole explanation just gave me an awesome idea for some presets on the QuadCortex. That being said, I’d love to try the EGO76 on bass, I’m going to start saving for one

[@pageyjjj]

Well thought out.

[@delusionwalker8852]

I am curious how it goes with bass guitar because that's what drives me insane for the past few years now and this might be the answer to my search

[@mannishboy1]

Amen! BASS VIDEO NOW!!!

[@Leychen]

Wow, i mean i already have a Cali76 Stacked Edition but this makes a proper 1176-style comp pedal avaliable at a much better price!

[@randyrhyne4903]

Mine arrived today, can’t wait to get more time with it

[@jeffhughes1039]

Could be something I'd use. Nice work Brian.

[@Joe-mz6dc]

Amazing. Great work Bryan.

[@mannismutter6601]

Today I tried for the first time in my life, about 10 Pedal Compressors in a music store! EGO 76 I never heard about was the only one convincing. I bought it 🎉

[@hoganshideout]

With the attack and release at the slowest settings it does the dynacomp thing a little bit.

[@wampler_pedals]

Yeah you can still get some squash from it if you slow down the attack and release quite a bit

[@m.vonhollen6673]

I am impressed with both my Tumnus Deluxe and my Belle Overdrive. Brian Wampler makes good stuff!

[@seanmurphy26]

I have the Tumnus, and I want the Belle! I have always heard it is so much more dynamic and clearer than the Nobels

[@daveowens9490]

Very cool, and reasonably priced for what you get.

[@IamMusicNerd]

The original Ego has been my favorite compressor for so long, I’m not sure I can bring myself to remove it from my board. But I’m willing to try any pedal Brian makes.

[@dingusfuzzklonnkt2755]

Truth, he has never put a bad product on the market. Everything he builds is a solid purchase in my book even if redundant in some cases.

[@milwatt]

Hello, just want to know if it can be used for bass. A compressor pedal should be usable for both guitar and bass but sometimes the low frequency are not in the range of the knobs. What about this one ? I'm looking for a pedal for both instruments.

[@wampler_pedals]

Yes, works great with bass!

[@milwatt]

@@wampler_pedals Thanks

[@otiskeithwatkins1679]

I like it. My first sessions in the late 70s were through 1176s. I was a little disappointed with the "limiting amplifier" but may have to try one of these.

[@RenanSilva-ue5jp]

I am incredibly curious to understand the difference between this one and the cali76 - I`m sure it is great but what does it do the other one doesnt and vice-versa... what a battle of giants!

[@tonekilltech]

Great question. The Wampler Ego76 has a special feature that the Cali76 doesn't. It's almost half the price.

[@jacobpittman1996]

@6:00 BRAVO, Mr. Wampler!!!!

[@aznsensation44]

I wonder how this compares to UAFX's own 1176 compressor pedal as well as Origin's Cali76 I think these are two of the top 1176 pedals on the market now

[@LesliePaulFarkas]

oh sure you had to show off a KOT by Analogman to make us drooll LOL. Love the video and explanations. I m in > I'll buy one....

[@saardean4481]

i would kill for a stereo version with a sc filter for use in a stereo setup. Lovely pedals you make

[@mikaelolsson5333]

How does it work for a bass?

[@MusicianTracks]

I am going to buy this one!

[@buzzcrumhunger7114]

Brian, you reinvented the Boss CS-3. Congratulations.

[@wampler_pedals]

😂, akshually… the cs-3 is more similar to a dynacomp, as it’s a vca compressor. Also, no parallel compression is available with the boss compressors. And, no release control. That said, I do like the overall circuit of the boss- using a THAT chip, which is quite good!

[@markhammer643]

Compression is probably one of the least understood devices in the guitarist's arsenal. We tend to forget that compression and limiting IS the sound of rock. It would be used in the recording studio to avoid saturating the tape, while still maintaining a good S/N ratio. Then it would be applied to be able to squeeze the most music onto a side of vinyl (dynamics requiring more room for the stylus to wiggle). Then it would be applied again in the AM broadcast studio, to keep the transmitter from overloading. The fat sound we associate with rock, from its earliest moments in the 50s to present day, is a partial result of compression and limiting. We don't notice it, specifically. We just notice when things sound "right" or "not quite right". I have a large (100 modules, and counting) modular system, that includes several splitter/mixer modules for running things in parallel, in addition to a variety of classic compressors. You've inspired me to want to experiment with using a clean preamp in parallel with a compressor. Thanks!! And for those who don't have a similar setup that makes such things possible, *buy Brian's pedal* DAMMIT!

[@wampler_pedals]

Thanks my friend! 100 modules?!?! 😲 I’m jealous! I’m still trying to build up more and more hardware studio gear

[@markhammer643]

@@wampler_pedals Well they're cheap and easy to make, buddy. Most cost me less than $10. I use 2.5" x 4" faceplates, with 1/8" in/out jacks and DPDT toggles for bypass (no need for a status LED; the handle position shows the status). Leaves a lot of room on the faceplate for knobs and toggles, when you don't have to leave space to avoid crushing things with your foot. I machine some aluminum brackets to attach the modules to, and pack a dozen to a cabinet. All modules use Molex connectors to plug into a shared power bus. Working on cabinet 10 these days. The nice thing about a dirt cheap modular system is that I don't mind making "utility" modules. I have a few splitter/mixer modules, a variable 2-pole highpass/lowpass module for conditioning the signal, standalone short delays for "time-staggering" one effect, relative to another, and a bunch of non-dedicated remotely-actuated switches. Once I decided it was for *ME* and not something with resale considerations/constraints, I was free to do what was convenient and cost-effective for me. Nice to have that sort of freedom. Think of it like a much much bigger Zoia in the analog domain. 🙂

[@wampler_pedals]

This is the way…. I must go down this rabbit hole! 😂🤓

[@JEUXolim]

Love this Bryan, need to get myself one soon for sure. The squash of a CS-3 sustainer loves my strats and teles and it’s always been fantastic but it’s a one trick pony. This pedal solves everything else for me!

[@ToneChaseBasement]

just when you might think every pedal you have is great, Brian comes out with something new....aaaand crushes your previous thoughts... xD

[@shanedingz]

Awesome innovation. I love experimenting with compressors and think I’ll have to buy one of these.

[@scottakam]

Looks cool. One thing I miss with compressor pedals is the ability to see when the compressor kicks in and how much it's compressing. Like you get when using a DAW/Console. I know I should just go by the sound but I guess I'm just lazy!

[@mickenilsson]

I tend to use compressors before the od to not make the compressor raise the noise level from the od and I tend to like the direct attack I feel when compressor first. Am I wrong? What was the intention from day one. ❤️🌹 Cheers from Sweden

[@Mark-db1ok]

Great demo... Is this pedal aimed mainly at guitar? I'm looking at bass compressors and my guitarist recommended looking into this. What would it do for a 4 string fender jazz bass in a rock/pop/blues band? Thanks!

[@riverfox6569]

Looks sick! Wonder how it would work for vocals lol

[@peterhall4852]

That is going to be perfect for my slide guitar.

[@soulsideout3732]

I would be curious to see how it compares to drybells unit67

[@dingusfuzzklonnkt2755]

I agree, that is definitely a pedal that once dialed in you never want to play without it on. It is indeed an everything is just better box. Expensive but worth it as an investment. I'm definitely interested in Brian's new design.

[@darwinsaye]

It’s a bit frustrating that different compressors have the attack controls turn the opposite direction than others. I always have to go and listen while I turn them from one extreme to the other to figure out what’s up. And the descriptions just add to the confusion for me because of what attack means - when someone says this direction is a “faster attack”, I’m always wondering whether “faster attack” means the compressor clamps down faster (thus actually *slowing* the attack of your signal when you hit a note) or whether it takes longer to clamp down so that hear your immediate (fast) pick attack before the comp clamps down.

[@ogmakefirefiregood]

I love my Wampler Pantheon Delux dual overdrive pedal. Definitely gotta watch Wampler.

[@Markleford]

Nice sound and layout!

[@PByt1512]

I got this pedal a few weeks ago, love it... great compressor. One little down side according to me : I find the ON/Off switch very stiff, would a been nice having a soft one.

[@2500BC]

Do they offer a stacked option? I find 2 to work well and an considering the origin or two airchilds

[@BillonBass]

Could you do a vid for bass players and which pedals you make in your opinion work well on bass? I think bassists would appreciate it and probably buy a few pedals. I personally found this very helpful when JHS did this and I ended up buying a Morning Glory which I love. I suspect you have some bass gems as well!

[@Dobroz99]

Thanks for the video and explanation. How does it work with bass?

[@4vinylsound]

Brian, it looks like you're running the overdrive into the compressor do you recommend running it that way with the compressor at the end of your board or at the beginning of your chain?

[@tommc49]

How does it different sonically from your Wong pedal?

[@erpringle]

I would like to know how noisy it is because most compressors introduce a lot of noise and that is the only thing that turns me off about compressors but I still use it mostly always on. Anyone know how noisy it is?

[@VladimirGolev]

Is it good with bass guitar?

[@Bloor005]

Just ordered one (along with that new Airchild from somebody else). That'll cover me in both my dream compressor sounds.

[@TimOttinger]

It's usually hard to hear compression on KZbin and it can be a tad subtle anyway. I have watched other videos where I could not tell any difference at all; not this one. Some of it is just having a volume boost in general when the pedal is engaged, but "bigness" comes through. It almost makes me want to use it nearly-always on and save "no compression" to use as a special effect. :-)

[@PaulMatthewMusic1]

This pedal should considered be a modern classic. The nicest comp pedal I have owned.

[@25dbz-ot9br]

Can’t wait to try it. And I hate hearing squashy compression. But parallel comp fixes it. Add the 1176 juice and I’m in.

[@heythere6983]

Are there pedals that can change the initial onset of the strum of a guitar ? For example I noticed Mesa boogies Sometimes have this initial swell and sustain carried when I play with distortion that my Bogner or marshall etc don’t have . Where’s my amps tend to just die out and fade or if they have less distortion that I’d prefer they just sound dead , but with mesas they just have great singing sustain and just strumming a chord sounds so nice and epic. I don’t think a compressor pedal would work for this as all Iv noticed is they just amplify what’s coming out of the amp already, so would the amps need to get modified to have this effect? Or some sorta boost pedal?

[@scottbower9851]

God, yes! I love my ego, but I’ve been wanting an 1176! Wampler pedals just always seem to scratch my itch!

[@frankphvrvon3153]

Wanna see a comparaison between this and some Calli

[@daviddorrian5349]

I'd be very curious on how this compares to the Origin Effects Cali76

[@josed2828]

Will there be other colors in the future..?

[@sawdustcrypto3987]

Haha. When I buy a pedal I don't factor in looks at all... but I did notice that this is not the most aesthetically inspiring pedal lol

[@MikeUIibarri]

I'm really digging a lot about this pedal; as far as 1176 thinking goes.

[@takeawaybenji]

To capture that studio guitar tone on a live rig, wouldn't you want to place the compressor after your tone shaping or in the amp FX loop? I have found this to be a very effective way to get more sustain and loudness without having to over saturate / smash the distortion circuits.

[@rhoydotp]

i have that same Les Paul Studio from early 2000! ❤

[@sbigglesby]

@wampler_pedals Hey Brian, could you fill us in on a few construction details of the Ego 76? Is the board smd or through-hole, and are the jacks and footswitch mounted directly to the board?

[@wampler_pedals]

Yes, surface mount and pcb mounted

[@sbigglesby]

@@wampler_pedals Thanks much. Appreciate the info and all the work you've put into this.

[@richardgoldsmith8592]

Want to try this with bass guitar.

[@tubo777]

Can this type of compressor replace a dbx 160 rack compressor for those 80s clean trichorus sounds or is it very different?

[@wampler_pedals]

It’s different than the dbx

[@allanflippin2453]

Bryan, I see the "Ego" pedal still exists and it's selling for the same price as the "Ego 76". Can you highlight the differences between them? Thanks! I'm looking for a replacement for my Dynacomp. I'd prefer any replacement be able to nail the Dynacomp sound while adding more features. Which Ego should I be looking at?

[@wampler_pedals]

If you’re looking for a dynacomp style then you want the blue standard ego, which is based around that type of circuit

[@Guitarman007]

I recently got one of these for my son's board, and will be keeping it, as it does sound very good. However, I did do a bunch of A/B against my Cali 76 stacked, and especially on my Strat was looking to reproduce the best tone from my neck pickup through the Cali 76 stacked on the Ego 76. I was able to get close, but never really the cigar. The Cali 76 stacked always just sounded and felt more pleasing in terms of the attack and bloom on the note. However, a more fair comparison would probably be against the basic Cali 76 rather than the stacked which is two compressors in one, which might be working some additional magic the Ego 76 can't compete with.

[@kyledriscollmusic]

this seems great, everything I'd ever want from a compressor pedal without it being too much

[@MainOffenderMike]

Wouldn't putting the compressor in the effects loop have a similar effect as putting it as the last pedal in your pedal board chain?

[@wampler_pedals]

It certainly can, yes, but not the exact same since that is before the amplifiers preamp

[@bartvschuylenburg]

Very interesting pedal, and much more affordable than the Cali76 Wondering if this one is also nice for a bass guitar.

[@sons7429]

So would you run this at the end of your chain?

[@wampler_pedals]

You can do either, but I personally prefer it later in the chain

[@rstknives2423]

Sweety one!

[@michaelperez-cisneros8114]

Stereo version for end of pedal chain for use with stereo fx and no amp fx loop? It seems to make more sense at far to the end of the chain you can get?

[@slash196]

You wouldn't normally put an 1176 after FX like delay and reverb, you'd get the guitar tone, compress it, and then put it on sends to reverb and FX afterwards. Compression does weird things to your reverb decay and delay feedback so you'd have to re-dial in all your settings to make it sound right.

[@wampler_pedals]

Exactly! @slash196

[@michaelperez-cisneros8114]

I sort of disagree. If we were to go back to the inspiration for having an 1176 being used in a similar fashion to a studio, it would be normal (and still is really common today) to compress an amp, with reverb and perhaps an echoplex during mix down, often in parallel like Bryan described. So, the reverb, delay and all other effects would be compressed as well as the dry signal. Vintage records from the 60's, 70's, demonstrate this. How many countless recordings have spring reverb from a fender amp on it, followed by an 1176 on the control room console. Edge from U2 for the most part does all his delays, and most other fx from the amps while tracking, to be compressed at the mix stage additionally. The demo shows Bryan using the compression in the fx loop as a favorite way of using it, which is sort of a similar idea. There's many ways to get awesome sounds. Compression doing "weird things to you reverb decay and delay feedback" can also be viewed as doing AWESOME things to those types of sounds. This is proven by listening to any older (and many new albums). On an album compression is after time based fx everywhere, there's always compression on mix busses and used in mastering as well@@slash196

[@wampler_pedals]

Good points as well Michael

[@joybuzzer]

I'd like a new compressor but at this point I feel overwhelmed by so many 1176-style options. TPS just made a video with studio-style compressor pedals but it seems like they left out the Ego 76.

[@wampler_pedals]

Yes they did. Not sure how they pick and choose what to include but for whatever reason they decided to leave it out.

[@tnopsaudio]

is this also good for bass guitar?

[@wampler_pedals]

Oh yeah! Works great for bass!

[@adamcoe]

The Ego comp pedal has been a not so secret weapon for acoustic guitar for many years as well. I have not played a gig in 8+ years without one on all the time.

[@hoboroadie4623]

Back in the day, the compressor seemed too much like cheating, and subsequently I have always eschewed using them as if I would learn to do it with the fingers. Lately I have been thinking of using one or two 1176s on a couple of the signal paths, nice to see a practical solution for you actual musicians. 👍

[@unionagenda]

Would this be a good compressor for a bass?

[@wampler_pedals]

Yeah! It’s great for bass!

[@ernestfoss]

Transparent highs YEAAAAAAH !!

[@michaelfreer9183]

I could hear the difference more on the Les Paul than on the Tele. But the difference was noticed on both.

[@ebeep]

Is the "clean" signal in the blend control the actual bypass signal or is it tied to the preamp/Level control like most blend controls?

[@wampler_pedals]

It’s a buffered signal as you need more volume in internally to match the compression level, but the level control does indeed come at the end of the circuit, so it controls overall volume of everything

[@ebeep]

Thank you. If it were a blend of the bypass signal and the compression signal, the level control would then only affect the compressed signal and level matching, if desired, could be achieved through use of the level control, correct?

[@wampler_pedals]

Sort of, yes. You would have to buffer the clean signal still, so you can’t do it with bypassed signal, but it could have been created with separate clean and compression controls, but data shows that isn’t as desired as much among those who buy guitar pedal compressors.

[@AlerttheCats]

Would you still get a similar sparkle/result if it’s placed first in the effects loop before the stereo effects? Or would you need it after all the effects in the effects loop? Thanks!

[@wampler_pedals]

I would definitely put it before any delay or reverb

[@AlerttheCats]

Thanks a bunch!

[@DMSProduktions]

Bill invented reverb as well!

[@johnplaystheguitar123]

Hi Brian. Can you tell me why so few guitar pedal compressors offer side chaining? I think there is The Pill (specifically made compressor for the side chain compression effect), one of the Empress ones, and maybe a Raynger FX. It is a popular effect to have sidechain compression and get the ducking sound and wondered if it is just a difficult thing to put into a pedal. It'd be great to get the ducking effect without needing a laptop etc on stage.

[@robfoster5500]

I wonder if you can use this with a reamp box instead of an 1176 as an analog plugin just like you'd use a 1176 in a rack?

[@deboramedina6106]

My next pedal

[@eduardwilliams1245]

Great fidelity.

[@neal_laugman]

You da man, Brian!