Derrick wrote: After posting this, I have found out that people are quick to throw out their opinions about how some compressors are great or aweful in certain applications, but don't care to give feedback on their comments. I don't have acess to many different compressors so the using the ear thing and practice using different comps thing are not my option.

hey man, you're getting a little whiney here....but the thing i think you're missing is that people ARE giving you their feedback. the only reason people who honestly believe compressors sound good for one application as compared to the next is because of their experience and experimentation. nothing is cut in dry. i think the distressors are great for kick and snare. i also like them when recording aggressive vocals and guitars. for bass i'm pretty into the 1176. i've used this LA-2A on vocals and really dig it. i've recently heard the allen smart C2 on kick and snare and didn't like it, heard it on ambient mics and thought it sounded great. but i bet there are people in this thread that would disagree with me. it's all preference.