Reviewed by:
unregistered, on april 12, 2008
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Found In Garage
Ease of Use: It is decently easy to get a good sound out of this compressor, with two knobs and three buttons. Simply turn the threshold knob anticlockwise to the desired level then turn the output knob to equalise the volume when the compression is on and when it is off. It did not have a manual when I found it in my garage, but it would be nice to know what tube it takes should it ever need replacing. The only problem is that the buttons are very small, and impossible to change mid-song. This is especially important when you want compression on only part of a song; you would have to turn the thresh knob to max with your foot to do this, which won't always work or might kick one of the patch cords out. // 9
Sound: I use this compressor after a Nano Small Stone to equalise the volume coming out of the strong phase setting with a Fender Cyclone or Stratocaster and a variety of solid state amplifiers. Surprisingly, it is never noisy like compressors usually are. The Levelar does not offer as much compression as, say, a Boss CS-3 but the Levelar does it much cleaner than the CS-3 without destroying your playing dynamics. I can get a pretty good funk sound out of this as well. // 10
Reliability & Durability: As it is a tube pedal, the tube can break during a gig which is no fun, so I would have a backup solid-state compressor at all times. It hasn't broken down on me yet though, and it still worked when I found it in the garage after a number of years. It can't get a ten, though, due to the nature of tubes. // 9
Impression: I play anything from acoustic folk to power metal, and this is a great unit to play funk riffs through or to equalise the volume of strong phasing effects. If it were stolen, I might buy one, depends on how much I could get a second-hand one for. ART doesn't make new ones anymore. If it were easier to bypass during Live play, I'd give it a ten. // 9
/ my profile 
Was this review helpful to you? 