Aphex Punch Factory

[Phaedrus]

Hi,

I've been planning to get one of these for a while, but only got around to trying one today.

I'd read plenty about it being quite subtle and not really having the capacity to really squash the sound, but I initially wondered if the one I was trying was faulty, so subtle was its effect on the sound. With a little tweaking, I did notice significant difference over the unprocessed tone.

My primary requirement for a compressor is to even out my average playing ( 95% fingerstyle) - I'm not really looking for a compressor as an effect, per se, so the Punch Factory could work, but I can't help feeling I may sometime want more than it can achieve.

One of the strongest sell points for the PF for me is its DI out - I plan to run one clean signal and one effected signal to the PA (as I've posted elsewhere (sorry ), I'd be running bass -> tuner -> Punch Factory XLR DI -> PA mixer [i]AND[/i] PF 1/4" jack -> other FX -> Hartke VXL DI -> PA mixer [i]AND[/i] VXL 1/4" jack -> amp), and the PF could achieve this.

Do you guys know of any other compressor pedal that could achieve what I'm talking about? I guess it'd need an XLR DI out as well as a 1/4" out . . .


Mark

[Mog]

I think the carl martin comp has both??

[BassBod]

I had one for a while - its was a very good compressor. I used it to "control" things on louder gigs, and it does that well, and it doesn't mess up your sound. But I thought the build qulity was well below standard. The jacks weren't connected to the case at all, which makes them (and their cicuit board mounting) very vulnerable to damage and the footswitch was crap.

If I'd done a lot of loud gigs I would've had it re-built in another case - I couldn't see it surviving long as it comes.

[Phaedrus]

Yeah, I heard the jacks & footswitch don't hold up too well to repeat action.

The way I plan to use compression would mean it'd be connected into my set-up just once and switched on just once (and left permanently on), so that may not be an issue for me.

The Carl Martin Compressor is €222 - almost double the PF price. I can't find a description or picture anywhere online that confirms it has an XLR out, but I don't want to spend that much money on a comp - there are plenty around €100 - €150 out there.

I do plan to use a Bass Xciter too (really like what my guitarist's is doing for me now), which also has an XLR DI out, so I wonder if I could go bass -> tuner -> comp -> Bass Exciter -> DI to PA [i]AND[/i] 1/4" jack to FX chain? Would it be ok to place the BE there? It's effectively an EQ, isn't it?

That'd open up a few options for me.


Mark

[Doddy]

I used a Punch Factory for a while-it's a good pedal and really transparent. I've recently
replaced it with an Emma Electronic TransMORGrifier,which while it doesn't have a DI out,
is a better compressor.It can go from very subtle to extreme squashy-ness.

[JPJ]

I used the punch factory for exactly the same reason, evening out my fingerstyle playing to protect the front end of my amp. I did have concerns over the build quality for the issues noted above, but in truth, mine never gave me any hassle. If I hadn't bought the SWR with the built-in compressor, I'd probably still be using the PF.