Electro-Harmonix Nano Soul Preacher Compressor / Sustainer Guitar Effects Pedal

Comments about Electro-Harmonix Nano Soul Preacher Compressor / Sustainer Guitar Effects Pedal:

This is great for enhancing your clean tones. It cleans up your sound, evens out your dynamics, and makes picking more articulate. I love it with the in-between settings on a Strat. The three-position attack switch gives you control over the onset of compression (early, mid, late). Each setting is good for different styles.
I bought one of these without trying it out first, and when I first played through it, I hated it. I just couldn't get a good sound out of it. Also, the volume control boosted the signal way too much, Unity gain was with the knob at about 8:00. So, I googled it to see what other people thought of it, and discovered references to the internal trim pot. Open the pedal up, and there's a small trim pot for input sensitivity. Tweak this thing, and the change is amazing. What I suggest is setting both knobs at noon, and then adjusting the trim pot to make that setting unity gain. Turn the trim pot clockwise to reduce the sensitivity, counterclockwise to increase it. Tiny adjustments make a huge difference. This made a world of difference on mine, and now I love the thing.
Seems very well built, and takes up very little space on your board. There's a little popping to the switch, but that's not uncommon. There's also a bit of hiss (more pronounced the higher you set the knobs), but that's not uncommon with compressors, either. Also, it will make downstream pedals somewhat noisier. Use carefully.
Good pedal, not a lot of money.

Comments about Electro-Harmonix Nano Soul Preacher Compressor / Sustainer Guitar Effects Pedal:

I use it first in the chain, fantastic pedal. Really smooths out the sound! Also it does have some noise, but with a standard noise gate its silenced. simple enough!

Comments about Electro-Harmonix Nano Soul Preacher Compressor / Sustainer Guitar Effects Pedal:

I've played on all sorts of compressors, and this is my pedal of choice without going on to the expensive boutique pedals. I have not experienced any sort of hiss or hum that others have complained about, just pure compressor bliss. Overall... a compressor is a compressor, but the extra $40 dollars more is a noticeable improvement from the dynacomp and boss compressors I have used

Comments about Electro-Harmonix Nano Soul Preacher Compressor / Sustainer Guitar Effects Pedal:

I just bought this about a week ago. So far, I am very impressed. I thought my strat sounded good before, but I don't think I'll ever play live again w/out this pedal. The tone it provides is amazing. Now I love the bite and thin attack you get from a distorted strat, but I really like the getting that thicker, smoother tone, and that is exactly what you get from the soul preacher. I run this with a TS-9, and the combination sounds great. You get this best sound with the sustain all the way up and the volume about half way. The only complaint I have is the hissy feedback that comes from the volume turned up. I also can't tell the difference from the slow, med, or fast attack, but I'm still experimenting with it. Overall, this a great compact little pedal that is well worth the buy if you've got the green to pay for it.

Comments about Electro-Harmonix Nano Soul Preacher Compressor / Sustainer Guitar Effects Pedal:

If you understand what a compressor is supposed to do, and you own a guitar -- buy this! It is not really an "effects" pedal -- it just makes your guitar respond better to your pick. Your tone will be richer and hotter. Various tones are available by using the switches and knobs. I bought this to replace a Dyna Comp (the other "best" compressor) and now I prefer this one. It does bring a tiny little bit of "dirt" (which is mentioned in the manual) but that can be a good thing. That little bit of dirt makes my clean channel sound amazing. Try it plugged-in before your wah to super-charge the results! AWESOME! Not recommended for acoustic guitars...

Comments about Electro-Harmonix Nano Soul Preacher Compressor / Sustainer Guitar Effects Pedal:

First of all this is an awsome pedal. It is simple, solid, and it def satisfies. For fender guitars this thing does wonders, it gives my 52 tele that added thinkness and tone and for lack of words gives it balls. It adds amazing sustain to both my tele and lp. The one thing i have noticed though is with my les paul (57 classic and classic plus) it adds this like punch on the neck pickup when i strike the strings. This is with chords and everything but it only shows on clean. I have tried all types of attack and sustain and it is impossible to not have it if you want any sustain at all. But it does wonders with my overdrive. I hate it does this but i wont count it against them its just a side note i wanted to add. But over all this pedal is definatly worth them money. Very solid and road worthy, and uses the same power supply as boss pedals. This pedal is about as close you can get to a keeley compressor!

Comments about Electro-Harmonix Nano Soul Preacher Compressor / Sustainer Guitar Effects Pedal:

I've seen some of the reviews where people are complaining about the noise this pedal adds when it is engaged. Sorry guys, but that's the nature of the compression effect. There's no way of getting around it even with the most highly prized boutique unit. Take a little time to understand what it actually does and then try to tweak to your liking. If you're still not satisfied, you're probably just not a fan of compression pedals.

As for the Soul Preacher pedal, I really like it. It does everything it is supposed to do well and the price is unbeatable! Not to mention that the build quality of mine is excellent. When you factor in the sound quality, small footprint, the build quality and the price, the Soul Preacher is a can't miss. I highly recommend it.

Comments about Electro-Harmonix Nano Soul Preacher Compressor / Sustainer Guitar Effects Pedal:

It was recommended to me a while ago that if you have to get one piece for your guitar setup... get a compressor pedal. I didn't know how much of a difference it would make until I got this pedal. First off this thing is tiny, and doesn't take up any space, but got this thing, and it blew me away. It makes your guitar sound like it should on a heavily produced CD. The only problem I have with this pedal is that on cheap PA, systems it has a hiss sound that is no good. But if you get to play on good systems all the time, then thats not really a problem. But if you are looking to make your sound improve ten fold, get this little guy.

Comments about Electro-Harmonix Nano Soul Preacher Compressor / Sustainer Guitar Effects Pedal:

Great compressor pedal, different from the dyna comp, but also very "guitar-flavored". I run it in front of a 15w tube amp, clean, and it is absolutely beautiful. Be aware -- this pedal can add some drive/gain/OD if you choose (or if your amp is already a little dirty, it will be more noticeable). It is a great pedal just for the compressor, but also sounds amazing for the overdrive effect (which is nicer than many I have tested). This pedal has a wide range of great, usable sounds, and I'm leaving it on pretty much all the time now. Get one if you want a HOT compressor.

Comments about Electro-Harmonix Nano Soul Preacher Compressor / Sustainer Guitar Effects Pedal:

The only thing I can't figure out is whether I don't like this compressor, or if I don't like compressors period. Since this is the only compressor I've had experience with, it's hard to tell. I have a bass guitar limiter pedal that I like a lot, but that's bass.One thing everyone should know about this compressor is that there is one trim pot inside of the metal housing. Before you hate this, you must play with this pot. It gives you a chance to intercept the gain of the volume knob and reduce it to an appropriate level. Sometimes as little as 1/8 turn can make the difference. People who say this pedal is more of a naked booster have not used this pot.The bad news is that after playing with the pot, I still don't like the sound of this compressor. I don't know what it is. I think maybe I'm just not a compressor guy. I just don't get it. I wanted it to reign in some of my spanky attack sounds, but if anything, it makes them worse. Also, I am not on board with any sweet sustain, and I barely detect any levelling of the dynamics.Maybe this thing would be better used in a live or studio situation, where tight dynamics are important to achieve a balanced sound with a group. With just me an my rig, it is a no go. I am thinking of getting a Knock Out Attack Equalizer to smooth out my sharp attack sounds. I'll keep the Soul Preacher around though, in case he's needed.

Comments about Electro-Harmonix Nano Soul Preacher Compressor / Sustainer Guitar Effects Pedal:

I am a professional bassist and was looking for a nice compression pedal to substitute for my dbx 266xl in case I'm ever either unable or too lazy to bring my entire rack along to a show. This was not the answer. Even powered by a Furman SPB-8 pedal board, this thing added a ton of awful hiss to my signal, even with EMG pickups, which are dead silent no matter what. Oh yeah, the compression sucked, too. No dynamic quality whatsoever. Keep looking. A total waste of money.

Comments about Electro-Harmonix Nano Soul Preacher Compressor / Sustainer Guitar Effects Pedal:

I have been an E/H fan for years, but this little pedal completely let me down. I used every guitar in my arsenal from a stat to a PRS 513 infront of a Vox AC30, could not shake the unbelievable amount of hiss and feedback from this pedal. Do not recommend from my experience at all. I took it back the next day. For my money the Boss sustainer is heads and tails above.

Comments about Electro-Harmonix Nano Soul Preacher Compressor / Sustainer Guitar Effects Pedal:

My standard of reference for compressors is either the Maxon or the MXR Custom Comp. There are more versions of Dyna Comp's than anyone wants to keep straight in their mind, with half of them not being true bypass, a la 1970's when this effect began to be widely used. One reviewer likened the output of this pedal to a clean boost with a little bit of dirt or "stain," and I think that is right on the money. I rarely turn mine up past 9 O'clock because of excessive hiss, and I am running this pedal first in line directly into an AC15VR, which has no effects loop. It will certainly boost the lowest lows, and clip the highest highs, and will also provide additional sustain, which I like especially when using tremolo effect. The speed with which the compressor attacks your signal is controlled by a minature 3-way toggle switch, and it is sufficient control for this parameter IMO. It sounds great in front of a vintage, germanium fuzz or something like the RAT. If you're into chicken pickin' and are after as much individual note clarity as possible without any coloration, look at the Maxon or the Custom Comp. If your needs are for a more general benefit of evening out pitch volumes, and a bit of a clean boost and added sustain, you will like the Soul Preacher!

Comments about Electro-Harmonix Nano Soul Preacher Compressor / Sustainer Guitar Effects Pedal:

I wanted a comp pedal. I like electro-harmonix so I gave this one a spin.
I was unhappy with the amount of noise it added to my rig. Save your money for something better

Comments about Electro-Harmonix Nano Soul Preacher Compressor / Sustainer Guitar Effects Pedal:

After reading mainly negative reviews on this for bass, I decided I'd try it out anyways, and I'm glad I did. I was looking for a simple compressor to replace an MXR Dyna-Comp (terrible with bass) and this thing does a great job. Does a nice job leveling out your notes and fattening up higher ones. I use a bass with a very hot output and was worried this comp would over squash it even at low sensitivity settings but it doesn't. There's is some hiss/noise when active, but I expect that out of most stomp-box compressors, and it's not enough to hear while you're actually playing. Ultimately this won't sound like an expensive rack-mount compressor, but it's a nice little box.

Comments about Electro-Harmonix Nano Soul Preacher Compressor / Sustainer Guitar Effects Pedal:

This is great for vocals on home recordings. Gives a wee distored kick. I used it in a studio space (i.e. with the volume at 11) in line with a ehx chorus and an ehx small stone and it did some strange things ( I think because the battery was low) that sounded like someone was shooting a lazer through my cable (which could be cool). If you've got some urge to spend money on a ehx toy, this is one, if you don't have all the other toys already.

Comments about Electro-Harmonix Nano Soul Preacher Compressor / Sustainer Guitar Effects Pedal:

Its about time that some company made a pedal that offered all the compression that you could ever want, and with absolutely no NOISE, I spent hours trying out various compressor pedals, it came down to the MXR Dyna Comp and the EH Soul Preacher, both are very good pedals but only one made it home with me that day, the MXR was good but it was wayy to noisy especially with the output turned up, but the Soul Preacher offers in my opinion way smoother compression and no noise, if your looking for a compressor/sustainer that offers sustain for hours and silky compression than look no further and put the Soul Preacher in you line up today!