Hi, I’m trying to decide between the Polyend Press and the Cosmotronic Messor pedal for my setup.
I use a Eurorack modular system mixed through an Allen & Heath ZED-14, making techno with strong kicks, deep bass, drones and textured sounds With modular fx… I need a compressor for my final mix bus.
My priorities are:
good glue and punch for techno
ability to handle hot modular signals
enough cleanliness and not noise for recording a final mix
but also some analog character when pushed
In this context, which would you recommend between the Polyend Press and the Messor pedal, and why?
Interesting – I hadn’t realized Cosmotronic had come out with a pedal version of their Messor!
The Polyend website doesn’t explicitly mention modular level signals in the specs for the Polyend Press, so it’s probably worth asking them directly.
I was going to suggest you check out the thread on Modwiggler, but I see almost exactly the same question there so I’m guessing you already posed it on that forum as well!
Good luck and let us know what you find out / go with!
Given how recently the Messor pedal was released, and the fact that the Polyend Press is also relatively recent, I’m guessing the intersection set of people who have used both pedals, and can say something insightful about their relative merits, is miniscule.
But who knows – there may be some compressor pedal obsessives out there who have already compared them!
Why is the Messor as a modul not an option for you?
Cant say anything about both, but i will be the guy who tells a third option: Clean from Chase Bliss.
As a end of chain comp its great and small, even got EQ on it which comes in handy live.
And for recording there are stunning options like the „physics“ knob or the modulated EQ which can work wonders on hihats or a drumbus or so.
All in all it seems that you cant go wrong with any of those. The Messor got a good reputation, as well as the Press and Clean. Nice options these days.
If you like to have a bus compressor on the output of the mixer it doesn’t need to handle hot eurorack levels because that’s job is handled within the mixer when routing eurorack to individual channels. It’s the line level of the mixer that outboard gear should be able to handle.
So if you don’t run into problems without something on the mix bus, you won’t with any line level compressor either.
What could be an issue for live use: the Polyend has trs stereo inputs, and outputs. so if your mixer has no masterbus insert, the balanced outputs can’t be used as a balanced connection if the compressor has to be connected between master out and the PA system. Something to take note of for a live setting.
I had messor module, but sold It because i need space on the rack, It was nice, but i need another external compressor With sidechain input and sidechain filter.
I had problems With levels too and i wont buy more modules to convert eurorack to line or reverse, now i have more vcas and i could send Well all the voices and Drums to the Zed 14 and looking for a compressor.
I have a messor pedal. I use it for end of chain processing. I didn’t even consider the polyend. I owned a few of the polyend products and am not sold on them, just my opinion.
The messor is unique, it’s meant for electronic music, reacts very well to drum machines and can also be used feed forward, which is pretty awesome. Has balanced , trs outs and takes unbalanced in. Needs 12volts.
Thanks, It seems really nice, i need to use It With the final bus, With Drums voices …all, It has valve Drive simulation right? Its powerfull or subtle? Because my voices already have distortion and analog sound and colour, how It reacts to the Kick for sidechain?
Yes it does. It’s quite nice since the pedal is entirely analog. You can keep the signal clean so that’s no worry. It has a lot of headroom. I haven’t used it as a side chain yet, but this is the first compressor I have owned that is specifically meant for electronic music besides the OTO Boum. Compared to the Boum the messor is a lot cleaner and more versatile. It can get dirty but only if that’s what you want it to do. Whereas the Boum would get dirty no matter what I did.
It sounds great, thanks. I need to send the kick to the sidechain so the mix has more air and space. I make a lot of drones and long modulated basslines, and I’d like the kick to create space subtly. It would be great if you could try it and let me know how it works for you.
Hey I use the polyend and Im super happy. In my setup it works as a glue pedal and limiter, sometimes i also sidechain with it. I use it for my dawless live set, to controll the signals of all my snyths and have it all glued together. The tilt eq button really also gives a lot option to shape the sound and make it more punchy or clear! For me personally it was a gamechanger, it sounds so much better in i a live context then before.
I use the following setup:
-xone92 as a Performance mixer
-digitakt
-digitone
-octatrack
-moog minitaur
-korg monologue
-hx stomp as a fx pedal via aux1
And the polyend as the end of the chain straight into the PA / Amps
I just got the Messor pedal version today and have it ran from the sub-mix out and back into my zoom L6max to cover my octatrack, S-4, and digitone keys and wow it really makes things pump if I want them to! Getting that side compression pump sounds so nice on this thing and it does wonders with it’s analog compression making things chewy or tight. I feel like I almost got a new synth today, this is one of my favorite tools now. I have a polyend mess treating my octatrack and it has really helped to give the effects more definition. It’s just something everyone should try, I’m pretty sure my search for compression is done and feel pretty satisfied with this purchase, thanks for everyone that brought up the good word for the Messor.