Optical compressor in actual use

greiswig

greiswig

Power User
So I like the sound and feel of the new optical compressor, especially #1. I thought I'd try it per Cliff's recommendation; set on "line level" input, and placed after the speaker block.

I still like it, but...I gravitate toward setting the Comp knob very low. Often around .20 to .40. Anything above that and things start to get way too squished, especially if you are using the Motor Drive at all.

Just kind of curious: now that we have all these different kinds of compression going on, how are folks dialing in?
 
greiswig said:
So I like the sound and feel of the new optical compressor, especially #1. I thought I'd try it per Cliff's recommendation; set on "line level" input, and placed after the speaker block.

I still like it, but...I gravitate toward setting the Comp knob very low. Often around .20 to .40. Anything above that and things start to get way too squished, especially if you are using the Motor Drive at all.

Just kind of curious: now that we have all these different kinds of compression going on, how are folks dialing in?
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I have my compression right after a graphic EQ block at the beginning of the chain. Is it better to have it there or after the cab block? This always confuses me, as I see every factory preset has it at the beginning.
 
I'm liking the new optical comp 1 between the amp & cab block (10ms attack, 100ms release, 3-4 comp, .500 look ahead, line), but I feel I'm losing the top end, compared to the pedal comp 1 in front of the amp with a slow attack (20-40ms), 100ms release, 3-4 comp, and .500 look ahead.

Of course, I ought to try a slower attack on the optical compressor to really get a good comparison.

I guess I like my compressors "always on," so as to attain the best version possible of my amp's sound.

Knowing that the Fractal world requires you to think about your signal chain as a sound tech would, is there something I'm missing about the optical compressor in settings, placement, etc, or does the emperor have no clothes? I can hear it compressing and I can hear the top end getting shaved off a smidget, but I'm not hearing anything magical. I'm telling myself that my settings are off, but I've heard a vintage analog compressor bring frequencies together in a very cohesive and musical way, and I'm not hearing it.

Signal chain: ESP EC-1000 w/ 89XR (always in single-coil mode) and 81X pickups, into AX8, 2x XLRs into Behringer XR18, out to Beyer DT770 cans. No processing at all.
 
I would think for the studio sound you would mic your amp and play into the console...where you could hit it coming in or during the mix down with the compressor. But the cool thing is you can do whatever sounds good in this fractal world. I must have missed it, but I'm not seeing an explanation anywhere on exactly what each of the adjustments for the optical compressors does. What exactly does the auto configure do on opto 1 and 2...and the others? If I missed it I'm sorry. I'm in the bad habit of downloading the user manual after a release and the new axe version versus manual version does not track or appear to get updated religiously...or do we need to wait for this "Yek" superhuman? ;)
 
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Philip34 said:
I can hear it compressing and I can hear the top end getting shaved off a smidget, but I'm not hearing anything magical.
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That's what compressors do: they compress. :)

If you're losing a little top end, then your tone is top-end-heavy, and those stronger frequencies are the first to compress.


Philip34 said:
...I've heard a vintage analog compressor bring frequencies together in a very cohesive and musical way, and I'm not hearing it.
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Help me understand what you mean. I don't know what "bringing frequencies together" means.
 
It was a turn-of-phrase. I was just trying to say I've heard analogue compression on a recorded before.
 
What I tried to say was that the optical comp 1 doesn't seem colorful or vintage. I know many want "transparent" or "neutral" in their OD, but for compression, I have that already in the studio comp.
 
By all means, go with what works best for you. If that's the Studio comp, that's great.

If you want to color your tone by taming the frequencies that are loudest, careful attention to threshold/compression amount will get you there.
 
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Philip34 said:
What I tried to say was that the optical comp 1 doesn't seem colorful or vintage. I know many want "transparent" or "neutral" in their OD, but for compression, I have that already in the studio comp.
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Well that's a whole long conversation...but in short compressors do this...
Compress the dynamic range...obviously
Let you change the envelope of the sound via attack and release properties...short attack softens the initial transient. shorter release makes the tail pop upup. Long release with cranked make up extends sustain etc...
And lastly add color by adding non linearities I.E. added harmonics meaning distortion.

Now all this is awesome for vocals, bass, drums etc...
But for distorted guitar especially single tracks to me it borders on silly since your signal is already compressed and riddled with complex harmonics.
 
Ed DeGenaro said:
Now all this is awesome for vocals, bass, drums etc...
But for distorted guitar especially single tracks to me it borders on silly since your signal is already compressed and riddled with complex harmonics.
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Same thought here.. I like using a compressor at times for the effect and sound it imparts (doing heavy compressed slide al la Little Feat), but using a compressor with an overdriven (or gained up) amp doesn't make sense to me.
 
Ed DeGenaro said:
But for distorted guitar especially single tracks to me it borders on silly since your signal is already compressed and riddled with complex harmonics.
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For me, there's a continuum. I think mildly-distorted tones can still benefit from a little compression on the back end. The more gain, the less compression. It can work in front of a distorted amp, too, for some of the same reasons that a drive pedal works there—sort of a less-radical form of overdrive.
 
My compression decisions are largely determined by how much distortion is present in the amp. For clean to semi-distortion tones, I'll often place a compressor before the amp block and perhaps after as well. Depends on the tone I'm looking for. I always use the Studio type. I have yet to try the Optical. I prefer zero attack time (using lookahead) and the fastest release possible without distorting the lowest frequencies.

If the transients suffer, then I know I am overusing the compressor. I have never found a good tone using anything other than instantaneous attack. Slow attack times just don't work for me. If I have a seemingly insurmountable conflict with instantaneous attack, I use parallel compression.
 
FWIW - I've been using the "mix" feature a lot lately with the new O-comps (65-75%). I want my transients/pick attacks so I often use a 22-27 ms attack. BTW - the Studio version still works great, I just wanted to play with the new toys ... however I find that "mix" is super helpful for me. I may use a lot of compression then dial it out with mix to let the signal path get to the amp with both characteristics.

I find the O-comps super helpful with Custom Ron Ellis SC PUps (just a killer note "bloom"), not as much with PRS 57/08 HBs. YMMV.
 
Fwiw, I tried the optical comps and they are nice, but I stuck with the studio comp for the most part. It's always been fantastic.

Tommy Tempest said:
I have my compression right after a graphic EQ block at the beginning of the chain. Is it better to have it there or after the cab block? This always confuses me, as I see every factory preset has it at the beginning.
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This is not really a better or worse question, it depends what result you are after.

What if you want to use drives, EQs or a null filter for gain boost (footswitched as needed), and you don't want those extra levels to be squashed back down by compression at the end of the chain? I generally go with a comp at the beginning for this reason.. it smooths out and adds sustain to your raw guitar signal before it hits everything else. Other FX can do their thing naturally further down the signal path without getting squashed. Sometimes I add just a hint of 'output comp' setting from the amp block, just to make the amp sing a bit more. Usually no comp at the end of the chain.
 
I have only played briefly with the Opto comps because I was busy migrating my stuff from the Axe Fx II to my new XL+...

I typically use the Studio compressor, but at the very front of the chain and with pretty mild settings... I have a pretty fast attack and release with threshold about -40 and ratio of 3:1.

I found the Opto 1 to similar to the Studio, but I did like it a bit better. I still need more play time but I suspect it will replace Studio.

I also tried sticking a second Opto post Cab block and enjoyed that. Probably not for live playing unless I was going for a specific vibe.

Most of my playing is edge of breakup or mild OD...
 
My playing is all over the place. Acoustic to heavy. I have always used studio compression in some sort of way. It is always in front, right after an EQ block. I compress cleans and acoustics a little more aggressive, and high gain presets less, because they are naturally compressed.
Today I played with the Optical Compressors. I noticed better and worse differences between them and studio comp. Using factory settings, they squash too much and take life out of the guitar. However, when set around 3 with attack at 7 to 12, release around 200 and makeup gain on 2 to 3, they seem to clear up the distortion, tighten the tone, and improve the sustain. You actually hear each string better with tighter gain. I'm still playing around with them. And as anyone knows who uses compression, you can destroy a tone with one wrong setting. So I sample them at various settings. I always use in ears when sampling compression so I can really hear what's going on. Then I run through the amp and speaker and FOH.
 
Philip34 said:
What I tried to say was that the optical comp 1 doesn't seem colorful or vintage. I know many want "transparent" or "neutral" in their OD, but for compression, I have that already in the studio comp.
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In truth, I haven't messed with the compressor blocks in the past but curiosity had me trying out these new optical compressors. What I have noticed, right off the bat, is that these compressors give you an old school, early rock, vintage sound on cleanish amp settings. And remember that just about anything really vintage is pretty clean compared to what we're used to hearing in more modern sounds.

In the bit of time I spent messing with the new compressors I have the sense that you can pretty much completely nail a killer surf rock sound, or a Scotty Moore or Duane Eddy sound. And it feels like element that puts it over the edge is the optical compressor.

Can you do the same with the other compressor models? Honestly, I don't know, but if I was to put together a roots rock patch I'd just leave the optical compressor on full time - cause it just gets you there.
 
I like the Opto after the Cab block with about 5db of gain reduction for clean tones. Sometimes I'll run a multi-band compressor block after that just to even out the low end.
 
The Axe has so many tonal options from subtle to extreme, so looking for a bit of extra flavour from a "vintage sounding compressor" seems like a lot of effort for minimal gain. I can understand the different nuances for vocals and drums in a studio environment but as others have pointed out, the guitar at times does not need compression at all. Having said that, I love what the opto does to the feel of some cleaner patches that I have created. Motor Drive is always on as is speaker drive. For me, compression is to compress the signal, so if playing legato then definitely use it, but if playing subtle but dynamic west coast style, then maybe the compressor either gets bypassed or used in small increments for its intended use.
 
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