Compressor pedals (1 Viewer)

therealjohnny

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I see almost every country player uses a compressor pedal and I'm starting to think I need one. I saw Boz Boorer (Polecats, Morrissey) playing and the only pedal he used was a compressor* exhibit A, which surprised me.
I play mostly clean with a bit of echo and reverb. From what I understand a compressor pedal will enhance arpeggio picking and pedal steel type licks. What else should I know about them and what is good cheap-ish one?

*A
boz_pedal.jpg
 
This guy has answered a lot of my questions but I'd be interested to hear any thoughts and suggestions you might have on this.
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I bought an MXR Script Dyna Comp, tried it out a few times but it's been sitting in a box since. That guy kinda nails why I don't like it. I like attack and I play with a lot of overdrive, so reducing my dynamic range didn't suit me. It seemed to get quieter when playing heavy so I was done at that point. Also as he mentions when you turn it down to a soft compression you're not sure it's doing anything so what's the point in carry around another pedal.

They can sound great in the right setting, I do love the sound on clean guitar tones, particularly single coils into a fender type amp.

Maybe I'll give it another go. I'm currently trying out using two amps, might try a single coil guitar with a compressor and see how that goes.
 
I like the MXR but missed the attack so myself and Philip came up with a solution that solves that problem. He explains and demos it in this video. That all said I've never kept one for myself as I wouldn't use enough. Some day I will though.

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I know nothing about the design of that pedal but he needs to stop saying that a compressor is for squishing attack. A compressor is an envelope and most of them have adjustable attack. If the threshold is set high it won't touch attack. Can see how the Nashville style players would benefit but for wide range playing I'm not sure it's a great buy.
 
I know nothing about the design of that pedal but he needs to stop saying that a compressor is for squishing attack. A compressor is an envelope and most of them have adjustable attack. If the threshold is set high it won't touch attack. Can see how the Nashville style players would benefit but for wide range playing I'm not sure it's a great buy.

A studio compressor as you describe it has very little to do with the Dynacomp style compressor he describes in the video. Similar principles and sounds but also very different. Optical compressor pedals would be much closer to to what you're talking about.
 
A studio compressor as you describe it has very little to do with the Dynacomp style compressor he describes in the video. Similar principles and sounds but also very different. Optical compressor pedals would be much closer to to what you're talking about.
The manual for the dynacomp says it's got a fixed attack and release~ that would imply that what's being adjusted would be threshold or ratio, or is one of those fixed or is it sorta combination control going on? At work I tend to use the simplest one I can find. If I was buying one I'd want at very least attack/threshold/release/ratio just to get the most out of having it.
 
The control is called sensitivity and it controls how squished your signal attack is. :D I know you don't like the word but that's how guitarists have described it for years.

Or in MXR's words it tightens (squishes) your signal: "The Dyna Comp Compressor can tighten up your signal, add rich sustain, or create the percussive and clicky sound heard on numerous hit records."

Also from the manual: "SENSITIVITY knob sets compression ratio"

https://www.jimdunlop.com/text/content/pdp/manuals/M102.pdf

For me it's about the sustain. Like the Dylan Carson uses one in Earth.
 
This guy has answered a lot of my questions but I'd be interested to hear any thoughts and suggestions you might have on this.
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His videos are great, this is the best explanation of compressors I have seen.

He nails my problems with them from 14:15, especially this line
Just Nick said:
either it's annoying me, or I can't tell it's working
And I feel like a total putz for not being able to appreciate them. The Dynacomp sits in the forgotten pile.
 
In one of my recent demos a lead guitar sounded really nice and popped in a way that it doesn't usually. I was scratching my head for ages wondering why. Turns out I recorded it on a track that was meant for vocals which I'd preset with buckets of compression. What this guy says checks out. Thumbs up.
 
The control is called sensitivity and it controls how squished your signal attack is. :D I know you don't like the word but that's how guitarists have described it for years.

Or in MXR's words it tightens (squishes) your signal: "The Dyna Comp Compressor can tighten up your signal, add rich sustain, or create the percussive and clicky sound heard on numerous hit records."
Also from the manual: "SENSITIVITY knob sets compression ratio"

I've no issue with the term squashing - its accurate in terms of 90% of what you'll do in a compressor. I've certainly used that word in teaching people compression techniques. (also sandpaper, nail file.... etc etc) -The issue is that he's relating the squashing to the attack when it is squashing what you let it see - this might not be the attack, so that's why it made my ears bleed and i turned it off. I was and am correcting the guy because its a bad description of what is happening in any type of compressor.
 
I'm a fan of compression on guitar and bass. Have been for years. I've used a number of compressors down the years:

Demeter Compulator
EHX BlackFinger
Boss CS3
MXR Super Comp
MXR Dyna Comp
Pigtronix Philosophers Tone
Bearfoot Pale Green Compressor
Rothwell Love Squeeze

It kinda depends what you want the compressor to do, but I like it to even the notes out and drive the front of the amp a bit on either guitar or bass. On guitar I like it when it receates the sound of a small valve amp "pumping". I like my basic sound to be not quite clean. Of the ones I've used the Black Finger probably sounded the best, but it's huge, noisey and needed its own special power supply. The MXR Super Comp just wasn't very good. The Dyna Comp I found completely useless for my needs. On guitar or bass. It's a real single note compressor. The Pigtronix sounds really great, has tons of compression and sustain on tap and you can add grit, but it's noisey. Of the above the Demeter was probably the best all-rounder. Sounded lovely, and I only sold it because I had to. The CS3 is brilliant on guitar and can be had for fuck all. Kinda strangles the low end on bass though. Ones modded for bass are supposed to fantastic, but again, quite noisey. Current favourite on bass is the Rothwell Love Squeeze. Maintains the lows, rolls off some of the highs. Tons of level. The Bearfoot Pale Green Compressor is also really fantastic on guitar, but it's not cheap.

I'm always meaning to pick up a Marshall ED-1. They pop up for nothing all the time and are supposed to be deadly.
 
The Dyna Comp I found completely useless for my needs. On guitar or bass. It's a real single note compressor.
That's interesting. I was happy to bin the whole idea after this pedal did nothing for me, but maybe it's just not designed for me.

I think I will look into the boss after this post.
 
Must build myself one of those Rothwells, looks like really interesting circuit.
 

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