Keeley Compressor Inside the Axe-Fx

About a year ago...in 1BF (1 year before Fractal)....I went on a compressor pedal search.....at 1 time I think I had 8 different compression pedals on the floor.....every pedal anyone ever mentions including old Dyna Comp.....was hunting for use as sustain ....not country squash......after messing withese for 3 or 4 months the pedal I like best was a Wampler Ego.....just nice compression and great sustain......still trying to dial that in on Axe....
 
I went on a compressor search a few years ago as well. Tried the Keeley (my 2nd favorite), Wampler, Xotic, Comprossor, Carl Martin, etc. My favorite ended up being the Barber Tone Press, a pedal I still have today. Barber also makes my favorite overdrive pedal ever, the Small Fry, which I also still have. Agree about not being able to replicate in the Axe.
 
On the EQ issue, I often find with any pedal you are trying to emulate, try adding a PEQ block after it and add 0.7-1.0 db in the mids...often that does the trick to nail the pedal tone.
 
I just bought a Keeley 2 knob compressor. First time trying it out tonight. It works and sounds very good in front of the Axe FXII. You can set the attack and trim pots inside the unit. So depending on how fast or slow you set them, your Keeley compressor will sound different. It appears that both are set fully counterclockwise from the factory. That would be the fastest attack and loudest volume. I left it that way and I just compared it to the different compressors in the Axe FX. My favorite compressor in the Axe FX has been the studio compressor, but going back and forth between the Keeley and the available Axe FX compressors, I thought the pedal comp 2 sounded the closest to the Keeley. I was surprised how close it sounded. The Keeley does seem to be a little thicker though. It seems to be adding some eq. Sounds great with a Stratocaster. I think you could match it using the pedal comp 2 and a parametric eq block.
 
I've never been able to get the black box to sound like the squish of a Dyna comp or Keeley. I would love to solve this. It's been a while since this thread was updated. Has there been any more progress?
 
@iaresee has a fairly convincing Ross type compressor tone in a preset somewhere. Try to search for his name and Ross, and you should find it.

I agree, I can't quite replicate my Analogman CompROSSor
 
RickTN said:
About a year ago...in 1BF (1 year before Fractal)....I went on a compressor pedal search.....at 1 time I think I had 8 different compression pedals on the floor.....every pedal anyone ever mentions including old Dyna Comp.....was hunting for use as sustain ....not country squash......after messing withese for 3 or 4 months the pedal I like best was a Wampler Ego.....just nice compression and great sustain......still trying to dial that in on Axe....
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The Wampler Ego is a great pedal, I have had a Xotic SP, a vintage Dynacomp, a Diamond JR, a Keeley 4 knobs and the Ego stand still in my pedalboard. My least favourite of all of them was the Keeley.
 
From what I can see from Freestompboxes.org, the Keeley compressors are essentially Ross/Dyna compressors with a few component values changed. Not that those changes aren't significant, but there doesn't appear to be any special filters or tone exciters in the circuit. It's just a compressor.

Someone noted that the circuit does have a pre-compression treble boost, and then a post compression treble filter. That would seem to me to compress the treble frequencies more than the rest of the spectrum. So maybe a multi-band compressor might help get the sound.
 
StickMan said:
From what I can see from Freestompboxes.org, the Keeley compressors are essentially Ross/Dyna compressors with a few component values changed. Not that those changes aren't significant, but there doesn't appear to be any special filters or tone exciters in the circuit. It's just a compressor.

Someone noted that the circuit does have a pre-compression treble boost, and then a post compression treble filter. That would seem to me to compress the treble frequencies more than the rest of the spectrum. So maybe a multi-band compressor might help get the sound.
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This is the emphasis parameter used in the pedal compressor types.
 
MKeditor said:
I've never been able to get the black box to sound like the squish of a Dyna comp or Keeley. I would love to solve this. It's been a while since this thread was updated. Has there been any more progress?
Click to expand...

Smittefar said:
@iaresee has a fairly convincing Ross type compressor tone in a preset somewhere. Try to search for his name and Ross, and you should find it.

I agree, I can't quite replicate my Analogman CompROSSor
Click to expand...

You can find it here: http://axechange.fractalaudio.com/detail.php?preset=4465
 
Smittefar said:
@iaresee has a fairly convincing Ross type compressor tone in a preset somewhere. Try to search for his name and Ross, and you should find it.

I agree, I can't quite replicate my Analogman CompROSSor
Click to expand...

The compressors in the Fractal are really good, IMO, but don't necessarily have the coloration of some of the classics that are widely used and sought after.

You never know, the wah's and drives were recently revisited, maybe the compressors are next?

Dream list: Fairchild 670, DBX 160, Teletronix LA2A, Urei 1176 Rev E, SSL-G Buss Compressor, Manely Variable-Mu, Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor, MXR Dynacomp (why not? lol)
 
Some of the studio classics would be as complex to model as our tube amps featuring both clipping, saturation, compression and an EQ signature. I don't think the Axe will ever model all of that. Guitar pedal compressors are simpler, but a full emulation of the squish and saturation well take lots of CPU.
 
Smittefar said:
Some of the studio classics would be as complex to model as our tube amps featuring both clipping, saturation, compression and an EQ signature. I don't think the Axe will ever model all of that. Guitar pedal compressors are simpler, but a full emulation of the squish and saturation well take lots of CPU.
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I agree. For live playing, the compressors in the Axe-Fx do the job. In the studio, I'd rather use plugins or the actual hardware. The Waves CLA compressors are pretty good.
 
Smittefar said:
Some of the studio classics would be as complex to model as our tube amps featuring both clipping, saturation, compression and an EQ signature. I don't think the Axe will ever model all of that. Guitar pedal compressors are simpler, but a full emulation of the squish and saturation well take lots of CPU.
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The fast RMS mode of the Studio compressor we already have is a great model.

The tape delays have drive, the cab block has its preamp sims with saturation, etc. , so it's not out of the question to model some of the more colorful compressors.
 
Smittefar said:
Some of the studio classics would be as complex to model as our tube amps featuring both clipping, saturation, compression and an EQ signature. I don't think the Axe will ever model all of that. Guitar pedal compressors are simpler, but a full emulation of the squish and saturation well take lots of CPU.
Click to expand...
Nowhere near as complex. The Amp block models the nonlinearities of output transformers, phase inverters, power tubes affected by complex speaker impedance curves, multiple preamp stages...the nonlinearities of even the fanciest compressors are way simpler.
 
Lionheart said:
IMHO, not my kind of compressor for guitar. I'd take an optical compressor, like LA2A, if we're choosing studio grade comps. And in my experience, broadband compression doesn't work well for distorted guitars. Clean guitars, yes.

But, I'd rather have a pedal compressor modeled. Something with character; like the Keeley.
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i've gotten a great sound running the Axe Fx II to my interface w/ a UA 6176 in an insert point. really kicks ass!
 
Rex said:
Nowhere near as complex. The Amp block models the nonlinearities of output transformers, phase inverters, power tubes affected by complex speaker impedance curves, multiple preamp stages...the nonlinearities of even the fanciest compressors are way simpler.
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Well the most sought after old school compressors have tubes and transformers as well as detection circuits. Many of the components are the same. There are no power tubes and most compressors look into more ideal loads, but those are the main differences. Most other things are there. The Fairchild 670 contains 20 tubes! More than any Mesa Monster.
 
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