And while rainclouds gathered outside my window, I was cosy and warm, busy compressing things. Presumably, these footpedals are intended for use on any instrument but, associated as I am with the more macho end of the spectrum, this review is mainly concerned with their effect on bass guitar. So let's talk physical attributes.

The DOD (made in USA, £53) and the Ross (from Taiwan, £35) are wider than the Japanese Boss (£82) and Ibanez (£49) pedals, but all of them are quite small and compact, sporting tough cases of all-metal construction. The Ross is perhaps the most basic in appearance — the footswitch is the robust press-button type and there is no LED to denote on/off. Common to all is the inclusion of an external power supply socket, and automatic switch-on when jacks are inserted.

DOD and Ross have each opted for two knobs which are big enough to be controllable by foot, given some practice. The first dictates overall output, the second is for the level of compression desired. Ibanez and Boss have "split" the compression facility by adding a third knob, thereby allowing control for attack and sustain. The knobs themselves are smaller, however, so that midperformance footwork isn't possible.

Of all the four pedals, the foot-pad on the DOD was liked best. While the others required varying amounts of real pressure the DOD has the action of a microswitch — a featherlight tap is all it takes, and switching takes place positively every time without fail. The rocker on the Boss works efficiently enough, as does the tried and tested universal button on the Ross. The Ibanez, though, didn't seem quite so sure of itself, and because of the pad's stiffish action and restricted area of leverage, the LED didn't always light up on cue. This might be annoying sometimes.

Speaking of LEDs, those on the DOD and Ibanez are hardly visible unless you are looking virtually straight down over the pedals. The LED on the Boss is smaller, but appreciably brighter and much easier to see from a distance.

With regard to actual switch noise, the Boss doesn't make any at all (well done). Ibanez and DOD produce a very mild, high click which shouldn't trouble anyone, and Ross's slightly louder mechanical-sounding clunk is nearly always present in the sort of universal switch they've chosen to incorporate. It's acceptable, but if click can be eliminated altogether...

Hiss and swish is audible on all the models inspected, some of it terrifying. But, as with most things in life (selves included), each pedal seems to have an optimum level of performance beyond which degradation sets in. Thus when each was adjusted, to give what to my ears was its best sound and effect range, the hiss levels weren't too bad.

Battery access is by quick removal of a plastic panel on all but the Ross, which requires a screwdriver to remove four rubber feet from the baseplate. The others have rubber mats to prevent slippage.

My next task (task: a word which conjures up heroes and Proper Men) is to describe what happens. Of course, adding compression to an instrument doesn't (shouldn't) alter the tone itself, but will variably throttle the attack of the note played. At the same time, the level of decay in that note is contoured and modified, giving an illusion of controlled feedback. Altogether, the dynamics of the note are "flattened-down", an effect which many people find interesting and useful. In recording, certain styles of drumming, piano, and picked guitar, for instance, often respond well to compression, and so can bass. The compressor will soon iron out those nasty-sounding "peaks" which are usually heard whenever people play electric and electronic instruments.

Well, as might be expected, the DOD and Ross pedals are the most straightforward to operate. The output available from the Ross is pretty high, with the DOD maintaining slightly better definition as compression is increased. The Ibanez and Boss require more thought, especially as interaction between the three controls expands the range and type of compression applied. This interaction is very smooth on the Boss pedal and the circuitry has a "coherence" in its sound.

Initially, I thought the lower-output Ibanez sounded awful, and while it does seem almost to lose control of the signal more easily than the Boss — in other words, extreme settings are a no-no, unless you like distortion — there were several settings that I grew to like very much after I'd fiddled for a while.

By way of experiment, I fed a Drumatix programmed with a bass drum, snare and hi-hat pattern through each footpedal in turn, taking care to equalise the levels of treated and untreated output. The compressors were turned full-on each time.

The DOD and Boss pedals were the most pleasing and "hi-fi" sounding, both giving the longer "sustain" on the snare drum, and in this respect the Ibanez was close behind, although it also contributed a prominent mid-range "clack" to the overall kit. The Ross produced the least snare "sustain" and also dulled the hi-hat and snare noticeably when compared to the untreated signal. Bass drum compression occurred from all models, slightly less on the Ross.

In my opinion the designs from Boss and DOD gave the "truest" sound, with Boss having an edge over the DOD in flexibility. Ibanez have the pedal with the wildest (some might say more "manly") character, while the Ross, though relatively boring and lifeless, still has at least one setting which creates an impression in its favour.