About the role of a compressor

PatrickWD said:
I like using compressors for the fattening effect and sustain it gives to clean tones, but I don’t like loosing my dynamics. So I usually end up using compressors with a low mix. I like using the mix knob in the compressor block between 30 - 50%. This way I keep most of the dynamics, but still get some of the punch that compressors give.
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This is very similar for me. I like 60%...

In my case, the results are very subtle.
 
RLD said:
I use a compressor, always on, in every preset after my wah block which is 1st in my chain.
Evens things out and adds sustain to clean, crunch and lead tones.
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I used to have mine right after the Input block but I've started putting it after Drive blocks after seeing Andy Timmons do that on TPS. I really like the way that placement works.
 
skolacki said:
I see some presets with the comp post amp/cab. What’s up with that as opposed to running it pre amp block?
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It's more like what you'd do in the studio i.e. running a mic into a compressor, or compressing in post with a plugin. Whereas running a compressor up front can dramatically shape the sound of the dry transient and decay of the note which in turn will affect how the rest of your gain staging responds. There's no easy way to explain it, you have to mess with compressors up front and in post to understand/feel/hear what they do.
 
I love compressors for clean tones. I've always loved what a great compressor does for a clean sound. The bigness and sustain it can add is fantastic, and for some types of playing, like country, the unique snap and pump you can get when you crank the settings and hit the strings is a cool effect you can't really get any other way.

Why make the sound of your songs, your own experience of playing, and the experience of the listener, worse because of some misplaced sense of "tonal integrity?" If all that natural compression you get when you play high gain tones isn't cheating, then neither is using a compressor for cleans. Besides, do you turn up your amp so you don't have to play loud enough for people to hear the guitar acoustically? Cheating! Do you set your guitar's action low enough to play comfortably? Cheating! Did you buy a guitar that was built by another company instead of fashioning your own out of scrap wood and twine from the woods? Cheating! etc.

When people hear your playing, not a single one of them, other musicians included, are ever going to think about how you may or may not have "cheated" to get that sound. All they're going to hear is what's coming out of the speakers.


Admin M@ said:
Life is too short to struggle with self imposed rules. Try it both ways and see what you like.
Like, er... MC Hammer said (sort of):
Do what you wanna do, say what you wanna say
Live how you wanna live, play how you wanna play
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I need to rewatch Adams Family.
 
When the Axe FX is missing something, it is the compression that comes when you play a loud tube amp, and sometimes the mysterious tube compression. I didn´t like to play a long time with compressor. It felt like cheating somehow for me too. But after playing a while withe the Pete Thorn-Presets ( https://www.fractalaudio.com/artist-preset-series/ ) I discovered what I was missing. Now I have nearly always a compressor in front, even with my lead tone (normally a tube driver in front of the CAE clean.) Normally I like the Pedal 2 compressor with compression at 10 or 11 o `clock ( thanks to Pete Thorn) and the mix at 16 or 17 o`clock. It´s VERY important which compressor type you use.
And I can´t play a classic Mesa-Boogie-Sound at living-room level or with headphone without a compressor. I know this, because I have a Mesa Mark IV. Sometimes it´s too much: Nobody needs IMHO to play a compressor with the lead channel of a Marshall JVM. But often the compressor is the last 10-5% to the sound that make good tube amps so expensive.
These are only my 5 cent.
And: It´s another story to play humbucker or single coils! I am a single-coil strat player. And I´m more in the ballpark of Joe Bonamassas lead-tone in relation to the gain. No heavy.
 
Hamsworld said:
When the Axe FX is missing something, it is the compression that comes when you play a loud tube amp, and sometimes the mysterious tube compression. I didn´t like to play a long time with compressor. It felt like cheating somehow for me too. But after playing a while withe the Pete Thorn-Presets ( https://www.fractalaudio.com/artist-preset-series/ ) I discovered what I was missing. Now I have nearly always a compressor in front, even with my lead tone (normally a tube driver in front of the CAE clean.) Normally I like the Pedal 2 compressor with compression at 10 or 11 o `clock ( thanks to Pete Thorn) and the mix at 16 or 17 o`clock. It´s VERY important which compressor type you use.
And I can´t play a classic Mesa-Boogie-Sound at living-room level or with headphone without a compressor. I know this, because I have a Mesa Mark IV. Sometimes it´s too much: Nobody needs IMHO to play a compressor with the lead channel of a Marshall JVM. But often the compressor is the last 10-5% to the sound that make good tube amps so expensive.
These are only my 5 cent.
And: It´s another story to play humbucker or single coils! I am a single-coil strat player. And I´m more in the ballpark of Joe Bonamassas lead-tone in relation to the gain. No heavy.
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That loud amp compression is probably either the speakers, which the Axe Fx models with Speaker Compression/Drive/Compliance.

Or if really loud, it's your ears compressing which can only be replicated by playing really loud :)
 
unix-guy said:
That loud amp compression is probably either the speakers, which the Axe Fx models with Speaker Compression/Drive/Compliance.

Or if really loud, it's your ears compressing which can only be replicated by playing really loud :)
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I have never been a really loud player (my main amp is a koch studiotone - 20 watt). For me it´s more the interaction between the strings and the amp. And I have often wondered why this amp in clean und lead sounds has this magical tube compression even at very low bedroom-level (its the same thing with my MK IV even at the clean channel).
 
Just curious. I don't really use compression. But, i have three main guitars for my band. Two have identical pickups. The guys say that of those two, one is incredibly louder than the other. Will a compressor help with that? I don't have them on me right now to compare wave data
 
ToneRanger said:
Just curious. I don't really use compression. But, i have three main guitars for my band. Two have identical pickups. The guys say that of those two, one is incredibly louder than the other. Will a compressor help with that? I don't have them on me right now to compare wave data
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I use Global Input Gain to handle that type of problem.
 
ToneRanger said:
Just curious. I don't really use compression. But, i have three main guitars for my band. Two have identical pickups. The guys say that of those two, one is incredibly louder than the other. Will a compressor help with that? I don't have them on me right now to compare wave data
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Try adjusting the pickups first. Might also want to measure the pots as there is likely to be variance in them too but that's maybe going a bit far.
 
I can understand (and in some small way admire) the concept of “compressor as crutch” — esp. when used to compensate for sloppy technique like mine — but I tend to approach it as simply another color on the palette. Coming from an engineering POV, I use dynamics control in so many different ways — parallel compression, series limiting/compression (using an 1176 in front of a VCA/dbx compressor to keep the tippy-top peaks from making the comp gag all over itself), compressed delays. The list goes on and on and on…

“Hi. My name is Bruce and I’m a compression addict.”
 
FractalAudio said:
Only on clean tones for me. To soften the attack dial in a little lookahead.
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^ ^ This. I personally only use them on clean tones, and / or on low gain. Medium to heavy gain, never for me. I like the natural compression and dynamics the amp gives for the ‘heavier’ tones. To me the compressor dulls the overall tone with moderate to high gain. But, I get the need if you play a lot of legato, OR if you use a multi band compressor for down tuned heavy chugging.
 
I love some subtle compression on clean tones.
It Makes the sound more alive.

But I’m still trying to find a use for lead tone, like said above, I really miss something with modelers, I don’t know exactly, the attack response maybe.
I’m a legato player and on amps I never had to put as much gain as i have to on digital modelers. It just does not respond the same. And it’s a lot harder for phrasing.

I first switched to digital two years ago with a kemper, it was a f***** nightmare, sold it before I I would throw it outside the window.

The feel is waaaayyyyy better with fractal, I was really amazed by the feel.
But I still miss something and I don’t know how it can be solved.

Maybe a compressor would help.

Anyone feel the same and use a compressor?

Any tricks from the captains here?
 
It's art, there are no rules. Rules are for sports. Guitar players who see playing as sport are the worst in my book...
 
This thread way exceeded my expectations! Thanks a lot for anyone who's contributed. These messages have been very insightful and helpful!

I'm going to start experimenting with a compressor a lot so I can hear it more easily - you know, in the coming weeks, turn it on and off a few hundred times while listening for changes, and experiment with different setting. The more familiar I am with it, the better I'll be able to use it in different contexts.
 
Compressors are such a flexible and useful tool, it's really worth exploring the many useful functions they perform. Analog compressors, particularly pedals tend to to be limited in the specific scope of things they can do, but if you start with the FAS Studio, you have access to all the parameters.

One example: You can go either way with the attack: set fast to crush the attack transient, or slow to exaggerate it.

Another: Using a compressor as a limiter can actually increase the perceived sense of dynamic range. By attenuating only the peaks going over a set upper threshold, thus allowing for wider dynamic excursions in the middle of the range. Particularly useful with clean tones or acoustic guitar in balancing arpeggiated notes with aggressive strumming.

Release time can be set long for sustain or short for a snappy drop off. Morph your guitar tone toward the banjo for a giggle.

Use a compressor to finesse texture: smooth stuff out, or get more articulate, go fatter, thicker, etc. Explore the FAS models for their unique characteristics.

Compression before the amp will have the greatest effect on the character of the guitar, Compression after the amp is generally used as a refinement.

I have a compression block set up (before the amp) with each of the four (ABCD) banks set up to address a particular circumstance: A Transparent peak limiting, B Subtle optical smoothing, C Sustaining, D 1176ish crunchify. Most of the time I don't use any compression, but as the block is just napping patiently there in bypass , I can roust it at any time to see if maybe compression is of benefit (and if so, what kind). It's easy enough to mix an appropriate dollop in parallel: and quickly ascertain if compression is the way to go. Then it's straightforward to pursue the appropriate adjustments.

With proper training: a compressor is not a one trick pony.

Admin M@ said:
No, parallel compression is not the same thing as low ratio compression. This video contains visuals that can help you to understand the difference

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Indeed: the Fab Filter videos are excellent instruction on what is going on with the various processes.
 
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