# Compressor modding



## TheYanChamp (Mar 6, 2009)

I bought a cheap Kokko compressor because it was only like 25 bucks shipped, but Im wanting to get more gain out of it as its not really enough to use as a booster. Is this possible? Is it a matter of tweaking some resistor values or something?


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

Paging @mhammer


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

Maybe but unlikely. Chances are it's not worth it (trade offs like increased noise, and/or the increased gain will be minimal). Also it's probably all SMD stuff; not much room to add things and a pain to deal with, and risky without some specialised tools..

Much easier to just build a simple boost pedal to use after it, e.g.: 










2 caps, 1 chip, and a pot. There are other simple boost circuits out there using discrete transistors, but they use a few more parts (not that much necessarily; but this thing is dead simple).


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

It looks like it's probably a clone/derivative of the Dynacomp. Were it not a mini-pedal, I might have some modding advice. But it's likely using surface-mount components, which complicates mods substantially. First, you need a fine tip iron. Second, one risks sweating components out of place with too much heat. Third, boards using surface-mount to cram everything into mini enclosures often use double-sided boards. This often makes it very difficult to identify paths and key components. Fourth, if you can actually ready the values of the resistors, even with a magnifying glass, you're a better man than I. 

While not a cakewalk, having a schematic and a component-layout diagram would make things much easier and feasible. But I wouldn't touch it if I were you. Make or buy a clean booster instead. I think things will work out better for you that way.

And, as an aside, some compressor designs provide more output level when compression is turned _up_, while others provide more potential output when compression is turned _down_. Play around with yours and see which of those it is.


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## TheYanChamp (Mar 6, 2009)

It has more drive when turned up but it's kinda a cheesy sounding Comp compared to the diamond I had before.

Sent from my SGH-M919V using Tapatalk


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## Nadasecria (Oct 19, 2018)

Hi,

This is my testing video from Kokko Compressor 






English Subititles added 


Enviado do meu iPhone usando Tapatalk


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

It sounds perfectly normal to me. Many compressors lose a bit of high-end as a normal part of how they work. This is why more and more compressors are including a Blend/Mix control, to bring in some of the uncompressed signal that still has all the high end.


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