Friday, September 10, 2010

Jammin' and Jammin' Along





Dyna-ssoR
compressor/sustainer


Tech/Specs
  • Level: Controls overall output
  • Sustain: Sets compression/sustain amount
  • Powered by 9V battery or 9V (-) adapter
  • Uses only 6mA of power when on
  • Dimension: 111 x 30 x 32 mm
  • Custom paint jobs/version available
  • Bass Dyna-ssoR also available
  • Limited lifetime warranty

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You're only ever going to come across the words "lifetime" and "warranty" when dealing with an exceptionally high quality product. This is exactly the quickest way to describe the Jam Pedals company. These pedals are handmade in Greece with the highest of high parts and components, and with the best possible designs. Earlier this year in our Top Finds of 2009 posts, we had a chance to look closely at the Jam Pedals Fuzz Phrase vintage voiced fuzz box. Once again we will be looking into another one of this talented company's creations, and once again we were impressed beyond belief. With today's stompbox market being as flooded as it is many players strive to hunt down not just top quality great sounding stompboxes, but also stompboxes with some style and originality. After all, who wants to look down on their pedalboard only to find the exact same lay out as the next guy? Not me. Jam Pedals has perfected the art of combining classy builds with hip looking finishes. Another way to describe Jam Pedals would be " Avant garde crafted artwork mixed with vintage voiced designs". The Dyna-ssoR which we will be looking at here came from blending the famous Dyna Comp and Ross Compressor of days ago. Take these two timeless designs and throw in a cool finish and you have one of the raddest compressors to ever see light. I've know many players that have found themselves torn between choosing a Dyna or Ross compressor. With the Dyna-ssoR you get the best of both worlds, equaling on awesome sounding compressor/sustainer.


It has been a while since we featured a compressor, and with this one next in line I couldn't be more proud or excited. The Dyna-ssoR is a compressor that can do things for tone that you've only dreamed of! This pedal's level and sustain controls were more than enough to hand me a world of fluffy compressed signals, spanky squased rhythms, and forever ringing notes. If you're like me I'm sure you've tried time and time again to get all of the great sounds that a comp is supposed to be capable of providing. You've tried compressor after compressor only to end up confused and with weak results. The Dyna-ssoR is your answer! I ran this baby through every type of pickup imaginable, lots of differently voiced amp (both modern and vintage), and up against clean, dirty, and stompbox tones. I started this adventure through a bone stock Twin Reverb and a custom built Stratocaster. I set the amp up to a signature blackface clean tone, first dry with no verb, bright switch, or vibe. The sound came out big'n'clean, and sparkling'n'mean. I introduced the Dyna-ssoR with a mild comp setting and level at unity. The pedal created a sweet light but present compression that added just enough compression to my signal to bring it further into life. Just behind the strum of each note I could hear and feel the pedal's bell-like, warm, and snappy sound. I added a little more of the sustain control and the compression signal became stronger but without eating away my amp's characteristics. This setting worked great with the clean tone, with a little grit, and with a lot of grit. The notes hung onto the air creating a fluffy, natural compression effect. Running licks up and down the neck and several speeds never sounded so good. Each note bloomed with life and definition. I've played studio quality compressors that didn't sound as good as this pedal. My Strat was the perfect companion for this pedal, accenting the single coil pickups in a way that made them even more appealing. Here I started messing around with a bit of overdrive. I plugged in a TS-808 style pedal and used it to push the Twin Reverb into nice'n'healthy light crunch. The sound was wide open and floated beautifully. With the pedal I was able to tighten up everything, making the harmonic content much richer and flavorful. With the Dyna-ssoR set a bit stronger I was able to give the tone even more overdrive and still retain the bit of semi-clean feel that I had. It wasn't hard dialing in and finding the sweet spots for each tone that I worked with. Jam Pedals designed this pedal to work so well and be so user friendly that you can work into pretty much any type of sound you can imagine. Both controls on the pedal are so responsive that you can almost see what each turn does to the sound. It's literally that on point. The Strat wasn't the only guitar that worked beautifully with this pedal, no no. I also plugged in a Tele and did the whole country twang thing. I will just only this... You chicken picking freaks and clean tone blues monsters will absolutely fall head over heels for this compressor. I myself have always been into country rock and country blues playing. One thing that makes this style of music sound so good is a great sounding compression on top of a great sounding root tone. It did not end there though. I also broke out the humbuckers and P90's. With humbuckers the Dyna-ssoR was able to add an enormous amount of size and body. My clean tones became thicker and clearer, my overdrive tones beefier and tighter. Digging into a nice run and holding the last note sounded like heaven. The pedal made the notes burst with mojo and stretched them far beyond their natural capabilities. The thing with compressors always lies in how you use them, how you set them, and how you play them. The key is to dial in the compressor just enough to let it do it's magic. Or if you're going for a big dramatic sustain sound you must make sure the quality of the compressor is top-notch. Because if it isn't you're just ruining your root tone. The problem with many comps out there today is they're only capable of doing maybe one thing really well. I will tell you right now, many of the comps out there right now that are supposed "the best of the best", when you stack them up against something simple or ordinary like a Boss CS-3, they're not much different. You must do your homework and play as much stuff as you can get your hands on. Only then will you see what can do what, and what the big dogs really are. This pedal here can do and did all I expected a great compressor to do. I run it side by side with a bunch of boutique and mass produced comps. In the end the Dyna-ssoR stood way out in front. Jam Pedals really did their homework here and created an entirely new monster. One with the characteristics of some of your old time favorites, but with the abilities like no other. Above is pictured only the stock version of the Dyna-ssoR's artistic layout. You should see what Jam Pedal's is capable of doing with their art before you order one of these, it's amazing! Make sure to visit the Jam Pedals website custom gallery to check some of their killer designs. Also make sure to stay tuned for more from this brilliant company, we are not done yet.

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For more info on JAM Pedals go to www.jampedals.com or click the direct link in our sidebar. JAM Pedals North American Distributor can be found at www.toneconcepts.com They offer a handful of stunning effect pedals that will leave you with your jaw on the floor. Stay tuned for more from this awesome pedal company. More to come soon!

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