Wampler Ego 76 Compressor

This Ego 76 was a potential replacement for a Keeley Compressor Plus. The Keeley tends to shelf off the bass frequencies, as well as adding some high mids that cannot be removed with the tone control.

In contrast, the Ego 76 delivers a much fuller bass and barely colours the original tone at all, although I did get a sense sometimes that the trebles could sound a bit thin. Overall, the Ego 76 sounds more sophisticated than the Keeley Comp +, which is unsurprising as it is modelled on the 1176 studio compressor.

BUT .... after longs hours of trying really hard to make the Ego 76 the winner, I just found the Keeley more suitable on a guitar pedal board. Less complicated to operate and that slight high-mid boost helps the guitar to cut through, where the uncoloured highs from the Ego 76 can sound a bit weak in comparison.

On its own, the Ego sounds full and breathy ... definitely sounds brilliant, but I am having trouble loving it enough to replace the Keeley Comp+. If only that damn Keeley did not suck away the bass!