Compressor- Before or after od

Can anyone tell me the difference or point me to a thread that talks about this? Right now the order on my board ( just od's comp and boost pedal) is modified ba od, ts9, custom comp, line boost.

i don´t hink there is a common rule, for a lot of people have the comp after the od, but i was adviced from the keeley corp. to place my comp before the the od.....
it sounds good for me !

Depends on the sound you are going for....

Before is most common if you are using it for subtlety.

After works when you are using the compressor as an effect, ala Vince Gill or Trey Anastasio. This is when you want things to get rubbery.

Experiment and try both out. After all it is your ears that says what works for you.

I like it as close to the begining of the chain as possible. Only my tuner and wah are in front of it.

I like mine last-----shape the overall tones,then just smooth them out (level-wise) with the comp.

I do before.

Tuner>Comp>OD>(other stuff)

Personally, I don't use a compressor. When I did, I liked it after my dirt.

It's very much up to taste. With a couple TS style pedals I would run the compressor before, but nobody can tell you how to hear.

Before is 'usually' best.

Comp -> Dirt = More Dirt
Dirt -> Comp = More Clean

OD is a Comp stage of sorts. Flavor to taste IMHO.

If you compress into OD you get smooth, long lasting overdrive. OTOH, I put my OD first so it clips only most dynamics parts of my playing. The comp afterwards smooths out the rest of my clean sustain.

I tend to keep all settings in moderation for both OD and comp. Others might squash and dirt-up to suit their mood.

Comp first for me

Wah, tuner, compressor, distortion, flanger, tremolo, chorus, delay and lastly into a volume pedal..........JH in Va.

I like comp before where I also have the level up as a boost.

Definitely before. The comp should be nearly the first thing in the chain.

Before, no choice. That is the way it is on the Route 66. :lol:

Nail your clean tone before you add dirt.

I just tried again because of this thread and another regrading my FDII. Doesn't work for me.

Maybe it's just my gear (or my ear), but if I put anything between the FDII and the guitar I lose a step of fatness. The comp is an MXR Dyna Comp. I don't see why it would suck tone placed first up (even when off) but it seems to ... or perhaps a better way to say it ... putting the FDII first up just sounds fatter than doing anything else.

I think this is a case where my mileage varies from the standard data. It happens.

VS Comp first for me. It "fattens" my tone.

I just tried again because of this thread and another regrading my FDII. Doesn't work for me.

Maybe it's just my gear (or my ear), but if I put anything between the FDII and the guitar I lose a step of fatness. The comp is an MXR Dyna Comp. I don't see why it would suck tone placed first up (even when off) but it seems to ... or perhaps a better way to say it ... putting the FDII first up just sounds fatter than doing anything else.

I think this is a case where my mileage varies from the standard data. It happens.


A less expensive compressor will suck your tone most of the time. If you play with OD on all the time, for example, then maybe your option is the option for you.

The other question is how do you set your Dyna Comp? I have one on the shelf, but I remember when I did use it, it was set VERY low.

I use my compressor after my dirt. I've found that when I'm trying to nail the recording for Brad Paisley (which is why I own a compressor to begin with) that it simulates the compression of his Z's at really high volume. Always sounded closer to the albums putting it after the dirt.

FDII is ON all the time, set for very low gain, clipping off just the sharp attack of single notes, and giving chords some growl. Boost is also set for minimal OD.

Dyna Comp is set at minimum sensitivity (unity gain). Placed after the FDII, I feel like it adds clarity and it is always ON. Earlier today, in front of the FDII, it just seemed to weaken the signal, lose bass, get small sounding. Unexpectedly so!

I guess the comp is "seeing" a different signal post-FDII than pre-FDII ... and vice versa, too. Details matter.

The other question is how do you set your Dyna Comp? I have one on the shelf, but I remember when I did use it, it was set VERY low.

FWIW, the knob on a DynaComp is the Output Level, not Sensitivity. Setting it 'very low' sounds like it may be below unity which doesn't give the OD much to work with.

I tried all eight of my OD's pre and post with my comps last weekend after reading this post too. (Dyna, AnalogMan Juicer, CS-3). I like the comp after the OD. Overdrive being less drive than Distortion, you benefit with your playing dynamics before compressing. When you comp first, the OD cannot respond to the dynamics in the same way and it definately sounds and feels different.

It only depends on your settings, how you play, and what you want in the end.

Wah, tuner, compressor, distortion, flanger, tremolo, chorus, delay and lastly into a volume pedal..........JH in Va.

Mine is pretty much like yours, except I put the volume pedal BEFORE the delay. That way when I do swells, they are delayed without being chopped off. It just sounds more natural to me.

As far as compressor goes, I've always used it before dirt, but never really tried it any other way.

FWIW, the knob on a DynaComp is the Output Level, not Sensitivity. Setting it 'very low' sounds like it may be below unity which doesn't give the OD much to work with.

I tried all eight of my OD's pre and post with my comps last weekend after reading this post too. (Dyna, AnalogMan Juicer, CS-3). I like the comp after the OD. Overdrive being less drive than Distortion, you benefit with your playing dynamics before compressing. When you comp first, the OD cannot respond to the dynamics in the same way and it definately sounds and feels different.

It only depends on your settings, how you play, and what you want in the end.

Uhhh, my dyna comp has two knobs... and I set them like this
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m59/atinder/dynacomp.jpg

I'm with you on the OD responding to the dynamics differently. I like my DC and overdrive pedals (usually a boss OD-3 and/or a tubescreamer) in either order. Comp before, and I can drive the pedal harder, getting more clipping and overtones out of the OD, comp after, and there is more interactivity between guitar and OD w.r.t. picking intensity, etc., SO I think there is no secret tone answer to this one, and it's up to your ears.

D'oh! I was looking at my Juicer - good catch. 2 knobs, gotcha.

Comp after OD will increase the noise level.

I have my Am bi-comp after my tuner but before anything else.
I found if I put it after my wah, it squashed the big frequency sweep when the wah was in use.
The bi-comp is there for the overall tone and one or the other is on all the time. If I want more compression,or, just a smoother, I'll use one after the mic'

Compression first will even out the signal going into the dirt pedal, so the level of drive will be more consistent that way.

Drive first will mean that the drive will get a bit cleaner if you play softer and dirtier when you play harder, but the comp will keep the output level more even, so the sound will change character with your dynamics, but sit well in the mix too.


Both are cool, it's just a matter of seeing which one you like better.

FWIW, the knob on a DynaComp is the Output Level, not Sensitivity. Setting it 'very low' sounds like it may be below unity which doesn't give the OD much to work with.

I tried all eight of my OD's pre and post with my comps last weekend after reading this post too. (Dyna, AnalogMan Juicer, CS-3). I like the comp after the OD. Overdrive being less drive than Distortion, you benefit with your playing dynamics before compressing. When you comp first, the OD cannot respond to the dynamics in the same way and it definately sounds and feels different.

It only depends on your settings, how you play, and what you want in the end.

This is what I was talking about. Output is always unity, if not a slight boost. So the 3:00, 9:00 scenario is what I meant. Sorry. Sensitivity set low, not overtly squishy - sometimes, when recording tracks, overtly squishy can be a good thing if used in context.

I'm using very similar Dyna Comp settings, Sensitivity set low and Output set around unity with bypass, or maybe just a little above. With my OD also set for low gain, I do not have any noise issues.

I'm currently considering an OCD to put third in line: FDII -> DynaComp -> OCD. With the the OCD after both the OD and comp, I'm hoping for smooth distortion with lots of sustain. We'll see...

And since we're already talking pedal order, one day I decided to play around with the FDII's CompCut mode. If you don't know, this is a clean boost mode with lots of volume. But I wasn't getting anything like the tone I expected, or the clean gain I expected. :roll: Well, the poor DynaComp was surely working it's hardest to squash all that gain back down! LOL

Lesson learned: The best pedal order is the one that works best! :lol:

Mine is after my OD. I use a Hartman Compressor, and have tried it both ways. It sounds better and is much quiter after my Wilson Effets Ultimate Overdrive. Might be different for some people and pedals, but mine is day and night difference.