The Perfect Guitar Companion....Compressor

Alright,i know a lot of you young players out there are saying....what!But to me,a compressor pedal or rack unit is a must in any playing situation.It is not a dial it in and the earth shakes type effect!What it does do is balance out the shortcomings the guitar has in as far as playing chords or solos.On guitar when you play a chord,particular notes will ring out above others,and when soloing the same may occur when playing certain areas of the neck.And in a low volume environment it gives you the sustain needed,that would normally require louder volumes to achieve or the use of an attenuator.I can play at an extremely low volume but get that sound and feel of playing a tube amp at a loud/pushed volume!And nothing is worse than struggling to get that feel while playing,clean or dirty.Also the sustain of notes can be increased,requiring a lot less effort on your playing to get it,or...working the note or chord through vibrato.Don't get me wrong,do not use it as a per-se crutch.This can happen when using effects to cover or mask inefficiencies in you playing technique!I always practice clean and at a low volume,this is the real deal,no cover ups,but then adding effects later is 'icing on the cake".Humm......seems i got a little off track here,but it is a good thing...Do Not Use Effects To Cover Up Your Poor Technique..I personally use rack effects,but for pedals i prefer the Boss pedals,and their compressor pedal is the CS 3,it also has a tone control added.Compressing with pedals sometimes cuts the highs or adds bass.All the Boss guitar pedals are top notch in my book,if you are going with pedals.But really,i have tried few guitar compressor pedals that were NOT USABLE.It is such a simple circuit to create i guess,just about all will do the job....even out notes and sustain them.But one important thing to remember is NOT to squash your sound,the usage is subtle.This is common amongst beginners,let the sound breath!
...Boss Guitar Effects...http://www.rolandus.com/products/subcategories.aspx?ParentId=13
...Boss CS 3 compressor pedal...http://www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.aspx?ObjectId=148&ParentId=95