How/why do you all use your compressor?

Hey All:

I've been reading lots of the posts on compressors that have cropped up in the last year, and never really found myself feeling like I wanted one. But then, one day I found myself listening to some of my old Phish cd's (yes, I know, either love them or hate them...but they are the only band I was ever passionately in love with, and that love dies hard), and I was amazed by Trey's sustain. I want that sustain (and, yes, i understand that much of it has to do with his guitar/pickups/etc.). And there are other things, too, that started to prick my fancy: the jangle, the chiken picken thing.

So what and how do you all use yours?

I've tried to love the compressor but just feel that the good things it does are negated by the way it sucks the feeling out of my playing. Just a personal thing. Try one and see how it suits you. It can be fun but like many pedals, a gain in one area means a loss in others.

It really depends on how many controls you have on the compressor. If you've got an MXR-style unit with only sustain and level controls, you're pretty limited. But if you have attack, release, sustain, etc., you can do a lot. I'd never been happy with compressors until I built a BYOC 5-knob compressor. It's basically an old Ross compressor with an added blend control. I mainly use it with the attack set low, sustain almost at 50%, and blend at 50%. It just adds a bit of sparkle and punch.

Oh yeah, with those settings I tend to leave it on most of the time. Or if I turn the level control up, then I'll leave it off and kick it on for a solo boost.

Oh yeah, with those settings I tend to leave it on most of the time. Or if I turn the level control up, then I'll leave it off and kick it on for a solo boost.

Yeah, the BYOC 5 knob is actually the one I have my eye on...

I know Trey uses Ross compressors which are rare. A keeley compressor is a Ross copy so you may want to try that. The one hing that trey did that was different was put his compressor at the end if his pedal chain after his distortion. Almost everybody else puts it first it there chain.

See where my head is at. I was going to say I use my compressor with my nail guns. But just for building the jigs. Not on the guitars themselves!

Mostly to inflate tires and run the impact wrench....

Oh, that compressor. Mostly for sustain without distortion. Use either the Keeley or the one built into my amp.

Personally,
Compression is my favorite effect, don't ask me why, and I do not like that endless sustain like the Ross that Trey uses, I like a compressor that pinches my signal to enhance my country playing, I have an Edan Analog Nashville Hot Boost, that provides some nice OD and also comprssion(it has a TI4558 in it) Love this pedal. My Wampler Compressor is sweet, but you might want to start with something cheaper to see if you like it. The wampler could give you the Trey sound because it is a ross variant. The BYOC 5 Knob should work for you because it is a Ross circuit too.
On the other hand, I have a Dan Armstrong, different animal, It gives a lot of compression, but not alot of sustain, Theo Hartman is using a new circuit in his compressor, he is giving mine a free upgrade, I can't wait to hear what he did to it.
J

not sure about the electronics in the HBE..
only has two knobs..sustain and output I believe..
I keep the sustain at about 50 % and the output at about 40 % and leave it on all the time...it is also the first pedal in the chain and I rarely use more than 2 effects at a time ...in general I use the compressor and slight delay with amp reverb at about 3...and then turn on OD or other effect as needed.
iggy

I'm with J, those Ross type compressors and many other types give compressors a bad name people either love them or hate them. Usually if you hate those you never bother to try one again.
You guys should really try an Orange Squeezer. Better a clone with normal 1/4" female jacks the stock ones don't fit recessed jacks like tele's or strats. They are transparent as all get out and once you try one you'll know what people are talking about using a compressor on guitar. :wink:

i like using a compressor as a clean boost. fatten up the sound and add some punch.

I've had one on my board for two years and I'm just now learning its tricks.

Yes, I use one for country tele pickin' and for steel sounds. That's the easy one.

But, we also do a number of pop and soul tunes where I am chinking with the snare drum. The compressor is cheating, but I get a consistent volume on every chink. I can relax and just hit the strings while the compressor does the work.

In the same vein, several songs require single-note picking up and down the neck for the second guitar part. Those songs benefit greatly from the compressor as it evens out my attacks across the strings.

I use a plain old red MXR current production version. I'm sure others do more, but this evens the sound, and that is what a compressor should do.

i like using a compressor as a clean boost. fatten up the sound and add some punch.

Same here. I use a Visual Sound Route 66 which excels at doing just that.

http://www.guitareffectspedals.com/rt66.jpg

I have two MXR Dynacomps. I had an MXR script logo Dynacomp, but traded it to a fellow TDRPI'er for an block logo Dynacomp, a Dunlop Wah, and a MXR phase 90.

I used two compressors. I don't use them that much, but with my LP when I want super compressed tone for long, long sustain, I use one in front of a Bad Monkey, and one after.
Both are on low sensitivity levels. Both of them together give me a high gain sustained signal with lower noise than if I just used one turned up high.

I don't use them.

I use the old boss cs-2 three knobber all the time...the key is moderation...like everything else in life for that matter...wow thats deep. seriously I like the way it drives a clean amp. my settings are what i call the redd volkaert settings : level at the 2 or 3 oclock, attack up full (to me its seems to help with cutting through the mix something i can't say about the dynacomp slow stock attack settings) sustain at 9:30 or 10 oclock for heavy country....never past noon for sure


these settings give me equal volume, some squish and fatness all without sounding stupidly squished if i played a chuck berry rythem....etc

I have one on my board but don't use it a lot. I play more open type sounds at the moment.

I like the added pop and twang.

I like the added sustain.

I have a Dynacomp, BBE Orange Crush, Boss CE-3, DOD Milk Box and a Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer.

I like a Compressor, Trem, Overdrive and Delay....the rest is fluff. I have a bunch of fluff pedals but I mainly use the 4 that I mentioned.

I like this sound....
the tone at about 1:50 is nice for me. I don't think it's tone sucking....

QLF-XAHV_gA


John

I use two-Carl Martin and a Tone Press.
I use the CM for compression mainly to take the edge of highs and lows.
I use the TP for boost in cleans.

I know Trey uses Ross compressors which are rare. A keeley compressor is a Ross copy so you may want to try that. The one hing that trey did that was different was put his compressor at the end if his pedal chain after his distortion. Almost everybody else puts it first it there chain.

The BYOC 5-knob compressor is also a Ross compressor copy, with addition of a blend knob. I've played the Keeley ones and I can get the same range of sounds with my BYOC 5-knob compressor, I just have the ability to also do some things the Keeley can't.

On the other hand, I have a Dan Armstrong, different animal, It gives a lot of compression, but not alot of sustain, Theo Hartman is using a new circuit in his compressor, he is giving mine a free upgrade, I can't wait to hear what he did to it.
J

...Interesting. I have a great Ross type compressor that I love for general compressing. I'm not sure it's the best compressor for country playing, though. The release time on it is 1.2 seconds, which to me makes some country playing that involve rolls to be a little muddy - the notes tend to run into each other.

Do the Orange Squeezer types (or others) have a quicker release time? Anyone know the actual release times on those?

i have a 2 knob keeley comp for 3 years now and i leave it on all the time.
the sensitivity potis about 9 `clock and the level between 12 and 1.
i ajusted the internal attack pot , that it has a very little attack time, so that i still get this snappy twang from the strings. i use it for ajusting the level of the G,B and e string.

I've had one on my board for two years and I'm just now learning its tricks.

Yes, I use one for country tele pickin' and for steel sounds. That's the easy one.

But, we also do a number of pop and soul tunes where I am chinking with the snare drum. The compressor is cheating, but I get a consistent volume on every chink. I can relax and just hit the strings while the compressor does the work.

In the same vein, several songs require single-note picking up and down the neck for the second guitar part. Those songs benefit greatly from the compressor as it evens out my attacks across the strings.

I use a plain old red MXR current production version. I'm sure others do more, but this evens the sound, and that is what a compressor should do.

Me too...I tried a bunch and came back to the current production Dyna Comp...nuttin' fancy...just does what a compressor should. Colors the tone a bit but it's a color I missed when I didn't have it.

I use a Janglebox. Mainly use it on the Ric 330-12 to get that dead on McGuinn sound.
sometimes I use it on the Strat or Tele but mainly on the 12 string.