First of all, this compressor doesn't color the sound much, at least to my ears! On my clean parts its always on, because they sound louder and, actually, better with it. Thus, it quickly became a necessary part of my pedalboard. On the gainy parts, I use it sporadically, because my sound is usually already compressed. What makes it very, very adaptable is the Blend knob. It helps me retain the attack and the dynamics of my playing while using it! The tone knob works great bringing back some of the lost highs. I really like my Ego 😉