So I'm playing my Tele with a Compressor - is this normal?

[noname_dragon]

Always on, set low

 

[Skyhook]

there's nothing that says you still can't play accurately with the comp on

True, dat! I'm just saying it takes less effort with the comp on to sound like you're playing accurately.
You've probably tried running along a flat escalator as a kid just like everybody else, I assume... well.. you know
that feeling when you reach the end and continue to run on the now non-moving floor? Pretty jarring stuff.
That's what it felt like for me to turn the compressor off. Then I stopped using it.

 

[Gary in Boston]

I guess a goal of sorts might be to be able to play a Tele w/o a compressor yet sound like you are using one.............?

 

[Gary in Boston]

I personally feel the Tele compressor combo is a great overall sound.

 

[SpaceAceman]

A few things about me:

#1 Played in band in the 80's playing the Police etc. So very Comp familiar (MXR Dyna then...)

#2 Usually play hard rock distorted so no need for a compressor

#3 My other compressor is a Monte Allums modded CS-3 that I usually use for acoustic


But wow I just love what this cheap little comp does with my Tele tones!

 

[HandOfIke]

A compressor isn't like stabilisers for a bike it provides sonic options I've never used it to fill an inadequacy or have I met anyone who has....

It's like when people claim distortion is cheating, it's a sound option, like pick or flesh, palm muting or not, trem bar or finger vibrato.

Hope some people aren't leaning to the guitar, lead, amp and everything else is 'cheating' notion.

I think that most people buying a compressor do so at a point in their playing where they are pretty accomplished. It's not a particularly glamorous or exciting addition on the surface and it's nuance takes ear development. I would suggest very few are using it as a crutch at all.

It's just an option to produce sound, use it don't use it that's fine, but looking at it with prejudice/scorn is silly.... I know that most here don't see it that way; my words are for the 0.2% who do.

 

[kneedtospeed]

Mine is Noisy, but does what it’s supposed to.

 

[naveed211]

When I play my Tele, I have my DOD 280 comp always on. I just love a Tele with a compressor. Strats, too.

Not so much with humbuckers.

 

[Fenderdad1950]

What saleake said, or put on for us to hear. Now I want to get one and use it on a low setting.

 

[teletail]

Read you loud and clear!
I stopped using compressors because it felt like I was cheating.
Sloppy fretting and iffy picking turned into beautiful commanding tones by a pedal... nope.. felt dishonest.

I could see myself using it to achieve exactly that compressed sound if I'm going for that effect for a certain part of a song,
but for general usage... it's a real slippery slope there!

I practice clean, use some effects live. Cheating? This aint the SATs.

 

[Fretting out]

Nope…

Bizarre! No one does this…

 

[scottser]

i like when others use compressors. i make them suck though.

 

[JustABluesGuy]

I acquired one when I bought a Boss BCB pedal board at a pawn shop. It came with 5 pedals inside, and one was a Boss compressor.

I tried it out some at the time, but haven’t used it too much since then, being something of a minimalist.

I think of compression as “sort of” and overdrive for cleans because of the compression without the “distortion” of the signal.

 

[horseman308]

I'm new to Tele's, so please let me know if this is a thing.

Signal Chain: Tele > Modtone Lemon Comp > Marshall VS100R Clean channel
- Reasonable amount of reverb

Anyway - the sound is just OMG! I'm loving it!!!

I have never played anything (mostly dual HB LP styles) where I just wanted to play clean with some squash going on. But on this thing (Tele) it just sounds right!

Is a Tele + a Compressor a thing???

That VS100r is a bit of a sleeper for cleans. I had one for several years and always liked how the cleans performed, especially for the price. And I also keep an Xotic SP as an always-on pedal, set for the "humbucker" setting from the manual. Even with SC's it gives just enough even-ness and shimmer to keep in the sweet spot at any volume.

 

[Joe M]

OK, help me out here guys, what's the difference between a compressor and a boost pedal? Most demos that I've heard seem to produce pretty much the same result??

 

[KelvinS1965]

A boost doesn't change the amplitude 'envelope' of the signal, it just increases the level, sometimes with some extra mid/hi mid or even bass.

A compressor reduces the difference between the louder parts and quieter parts, but often (not always) is set to allow the intial 'peak' of the sound through. As you hit a note this makes the initial peak stand out more, you could say it's a bit more 'twangy' sounding, but I'm sure others will have their own take on that. The remainder of the note tends to sustain longer as the compressor boosts the note as it starts to fade away.

 

[KC]

Love my Cali76 compact, use it at 18v with fairly light compression & a fair amount of boost. I mostly use guitars that have a treble bleed so I can dial back the guitar volume for a more dynamic sound or roll it up for more sustain, while keeping clarity all the time. Works for me!

 

[Jay Jernigan]

In the '80s I used a Dyna-Comp for a "lead" switch. Amp was a BF Bassman through an attenuator into a 2-12 Bassman cab with D-120 JBLs. Man, that thing roared!

 

[Willie Johnson]

i like when others use compressors. i make them suck though.

I tried one once and immediately hated it and wanted the opposite--expansion, dynamics. Maybe I should give it another try.

 

[Sparky2]

For a short while, I was an 'always on' compressor guy.

After a few months though, I came to realize that there were many songs and many parts of songs where clicking the compressor off (and/or some other effect on) suited that passage better.

These days it clicks on maybe 30% of the time.