# Delegate - Boneyard Edition



## Gordo (Mar 14, 2021)

Well, if this comp is rated for subtlety, with 0 being subtle, and 10 being a DynaComp this thing is about a -2.  What's really nice about it is that while most comps (especially non-optical) sound great at bedroom levels they get thin and squashed at live volumes.  This thing sounds really nice on my live rig at playing levels, is very quiet, and is capable of a fair bit of added clean gain.  I troubleshot it till I was blue in the face till I realized that I was missing the point.


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## Barry (Mar 14, 2021)

Good looking build, in and out


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## Chuck D. Bones (Mar 14, 2021)

Nice work, Man.  

Like most EQD designs, the controls on The Warden have a huge range and not all combinations will be to your liking.  Or even work.  This pedal can be dialed-down to behave like Fat General, but a Fat General can never hit the extremes that this baby can.  I like sustain, lots of it, at any volume.  This pedal delivers it.  I also have a Boss CS-3, and it's a pretty studly compressor as well.

BTW, where did you get your LDR?  Just curious.  Getting the right one is critical to compressor performance.


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## zgrav (Mar 14, 2021)

I agree it is a stealth compressor.  Nice clean build and a great job on the design!


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## Gordo (Mar 16, 2021)

For the LDR I used the closest I could get with Smallbear.  I'll dig up a part number but tested for specs and it seemed close.  This is interesting, my bench guitar is an $89 GFS kit build (go to gordomusic.com to see it...nothing to sell on the site so no worries about getting hounded) that I added graphtech saddles to, and more importantly, GFS active pickups (which are really good btw).  This compressor seems to HATE active pickups.  Not that it doesn't sound good but I think it trips it up and won't work as noticeably.  Can't really explain the sound difference except I'm used to a bit of "pumping" with most compressors (even opticals) and this one doesn't pump.  I used the LED's so you don't get the usual "puck" at the beginning of the attack (I know that's a poor description, but if you've ever played a Dynacomp you'll hear a "puck" at the beginning of the note).  I've been using the Bajaman LA2A limiter (Madbean etch project) on my live board for a long time now and is the smoothest I've ever used.  But then again its a Limiter and not a Compressor.  This one might take a shot at bumping it.  It's insanely quiet, which the front of house guy loves...he can turn off or back off my gate at the board. I'm using it on the front end of a Peavey 6505mh and was pretty much an always on for clean/crunch sounds and on a Flying V with buckers in coil tap mode it was a superb clean sound with a bit of hair.  In bucker mode it squishes a bit more (duh).

I'm not getting a crazy wide bunch of settings on this but in listening to the Mike Hermans demo of the Warden I was having a difficult time telling that it was doing anything except adding a bit of gain and high end to his sound.  Regardless, this has been a great add to the arsenal and when PPCB gets the LDRs back in stock will be easier.

Highly recommended build if you're a compressor junkie (like me) or don't like any of the compressors out there because they strangle your signal.

Final answer.


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## jojoChambana (Mar 19, 2021)

Gordo said:


> Well, if this comp is rated for subtlety, with 0 being subtle, and 10 being a DynaComp this thing is about a -2.  What's really nice about it is that while most comps (especially non-optical) sound great at bedroom levels they get thin and squashed at live volumes.  This thing sounds really nice on my live rig at playing levels, is very quiet, and is capable of a fair bit of added clean gain.  I troubleshot it till I was blue in the face till I realized that I was missing the point.
> 
> View attachment 10366
> 
> View attachment 10367


That looks like a super clean build. Would you happen to have a build of materials you wouldn't mind sharing? I have two of these boards arriving today but I've struggled to source parts from Mouser since this is my first time.


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## JetFixxxer (Mar 19, 2021)

I used these https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RLGFIEY/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_K07RRR0F3PYB8YQY6T40?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1


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## EGRENIER (Mar 19, 2021)

JetFixxxer said:


> I used these https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RLGFIEY/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_K07RRR0F3PYB8YQY6T40?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1


They seems to be 800K dark, I wonder if they compress your signal more !  Mr. Bone could answer that...


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## JetFixxxer (Mar 19, 2021)

EGRENIER said:


> They seems to be 800K dark, I wonder if they compress your signal more !  Mr. Bone could answer that...


Maybe, but it sounds good to me.


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## Gordo (Mar 19, 2021)

jojoChambana said:


> That looks like a super clean build. Would you happen to have a build of materials you wouldn't mind sharing? I have two of these boards arriving today but I've struggled to source parts from Mouser since this is my first time.


Sorry, I don't. I had the bulk of the parts on hand so I lucked out. Mouser is about the same price as Smallbear and SB is much easier to find the right parts.  My usual approach is to forget one or two parts and have to put in a second order :-/


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## cooder (Mar 19, 2021)

Great stuff super clean build there, Gordo! Also wondering what LED you used with the LDR, is it a 5mm white standing upright as it seems?
Did you get the enclosure UV printed at Tayda? It looks fab and pro for sure.


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## Chuck D. Bones (Mar 20, 2021)

Gordo said:


> This compressor seems to HATE active pickups.


I think a lot of high-gain pedals will have trouble with active pickups.  Active pickups have much higher output and you're probably overwhelming the compressor's ability to throttle the gain.  You'll have to dime the RATIO control just to keep the pickups from overdriving the gain stage.

The faster the LDR, the less pumping you get. The SUSTAIN, ATTACK, RELEASE & RATIO controls all influence pumping (I call it breathing, same thing). 

It takes some fiddling to find the control settings that suit your tastes.  A good starting point is:
SUSTAIN - noon
RELEASE - 9:00
RATIO - 5:00
ATTACK - 9:00

SUSTAIN sets the upper limit for gain, RATIO sets the lower limit.


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