" Real Compressor Pedal " ..... best place to run it ...... in front ? -or- in Loop

ben ifin

Experienced
Hi all

Ive got my [real] Diamond Yellow Comp stomp out of my old pedal board.

Ive been reading some posts and some have been saying that the Axe 2 takes [real stomp] pedals better via the Loop as oppossed to " in front " (?)

With my real rig, I [not surprisingly] always ran my Comp stomp as my first pedal ie:- ..... guitar -> comp -> everything else ...... worked gorgeously :)

So, with an Axe 2 ..... and a real comp stomp pedal ..........
is it best to go:-

( a ) => guitar -> comp pedal -> Axe 2 Front Input (?)

or

( b ) => guitar -> Axe 2 Front Input -> real-comp-in-efx-loop -> set FX Loop as Block 1 (?)


Thanks,
Ben
 
Probably same as real amps, they can work in either, but I think most people prefer compressors in the front, even before a drive pedal.
 
Putting the pedal in the FX loop gives you more flexibility with regards to where you insert in the virtual chain. But you will probably have to watch the output level of the FX loop. The compressor expects 'guitar' level, the FX loop might send line level, which is likely to completely overload the compressor.

If you would always set the comp to block one anyway, you might as well just put it out front, but then of course, you have to turn it on/off manually, and if the pedal has true bypass, you may want to add a buffer to your setup to keep consistent tone.

I think, I would prefer the FX loop option, but there are advantages to both
 
Thanks.

I know some people are going to think this is weird / bizarre and is a big "no no" ...... but the Diamond Yellow Comp is so subtle and transparent -and- effective, that when I was using my "real" rig, it was on all the time across all sounds .... clean / crunch / diryt / overdrive / solo's etc

Its compression is very even, very transparet and subtle-but-there .... and very impotantly, sonically, it doesnt "color" or "mush up" the low strings ..... and thats a big thing for my tonal prefernce ............ it really is *that* good.

Ive tried ......and I mean TRIED ...... to get this type of comp from the Axe [ and my Kemper ] but the comps on both these units are quite dissappointing .... and i.m.o the " comp quality " on each unit is actually their greatest weakness ........ I honestly think most players dont know / realize how good and important "good compression" is for studio -and- live work ....... it was a revelation to me when I was put on to it too :) ........ its basically the " LA2A " of guitar comps ...... no other [ guitar stomp box ] compressor I have ever used [ and I reckon I bought and sold them all :) .......... comes close for guitar.

I think I'll try it in both and see how it goes ..... my guess is that it will probably "go best" in the front as that is the usual guitar input and the FX Loop may introduce more noise and be geared much more for " rack-level i/o " gear.

Ben

PS: I have nothing to do with the company that makes the DYC :)
 
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I've used the same pedal into the front of the Axe FX a time or two. I tend to use the comp block now, when I do use compression. I found it more versatile to use the model vs. the pedal.
 
Putting the pedal in the FX loop gives you more flexibility with regards to where you insert in the virtual chain. But you will probably have to watch the output level of the FX loop. The compressor expects 'guitar' level, the FX loop might send line level, which is likely to completely overload the compressor.

If you would always set the comp to block one anyway, you might as well just put it out front, but then of course, you have to turn it on/off manually, and if the pedal has true bypass, you may want to add a buffer to your setup to keep consistent tone.

I think, I would prefer the FX loop option, but there are advantages to both

By turning the output 2 knob all the way up, you will get unity gain out of the loop (same as setting up 4 cable method with a real amp).
You may get a little more hiss running the compressor in the loop, it probably would be minimal.
 
I'm a compression fiend. I used to like my Keeley or Analogman compressors between guitar and Axe-Fx. But I am now far happier with the sounds I get from the Fractal Audio compressors.
 
I'm a compression fiend. I used to like my Keeley or Analogman compressors between guitar and Axe-Fx. But I am now far happier with the sounds I get from the Fractal Audio compressors.

I've used the same pedal into the front of the Axe FX a time or two. I tend to use the comp block now, when I do use compression. I found it more versatile to use the model vs. the pedal.

Same here.

Thanks Admin M@ & javajunkie & Hotplate :)

I reckon I'm pretty good at setting compression in my [real] stomps and [real] rack-gear ....... but no matter what I try ..... I just cant get anything close to what the Diamond stomp can do in terms of even, tranparent compression that doesnt "color" or "mush up" the low strings ...... hence why Im looking to re-use it ....... if I can avoid using it though, that would be much preferred :)

If you have some presets / settings that you use
it would be FANTASTIC if you could post them :)

Thanks again,
Ben
 
Ah, I used to own that yellow pedal as well. That thing was very pristine and subtle, just like you said. Dang it! Now you're making me wish that I still had it. If you come up with any settings for the Axe-Fx, please let us know.
 
Ah, I used to own that yellow pedal as well. That thing was very pristine and subtle, just like you said. Dang it! Now you're making me wish that I still had it. If you come up with any settings for the Axe-Fx, please let us know.

Will do :)

I got put on to the "magic yellow box" some time ago when I was bitching about every other guitar stomp-comp in a studio session...... I'd never even heard of it ..... since then, I reckon I've probably put at least another 10 or more colleagues on to it ..... and every single one of them has had the same reaction ..... either .... " why didnt someone tell me about this pedal before " ........... and/or " this is the only stomp comp I've ever used that works perfectly on guitar because it feels like it isnt even on ".

This isnt in any way a " knock " agaisnt the Axe [or Kemper] ...... if I didnt know what/how a great guitar comp should sound on guitar, Im sure the Axe / KPA comps would be ok ...... but the comps in the Axe [and KPA] are to me just not in the ballpark.

You dont often get genuine " wow " or " ah-ha " moments with gear these days .... Ive only ever had it with the Axe 2 ... the Kemper .... every Kinman pickup I use ...... my Matchless DC-30 [clone] head ..... Mad Professor Sweet Honey Overdrive ......and this little "magic yellow box" ..... go figure :)

Ben
 
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I have been a big fan of the Carl Martin Compressor/Limiter for many years. It sounds like it is like the Diamond comp, very subtle and transparent. Recently I good hooked on the Analogman CompROSSor, which is anything but transparent.

I would love to see some blocks that could replicate those two. I can get pretty close to the CM with the studio comp, I have tried to get the CompROSSor with pedal comp 1, but so far, I have not been able to match its character or even attack/release.
 
I'm a compression fiend. I used to like my Keeley or Analogman compressors between guitar and Axe-Fx. But I am now far happier with the sounds I get from the Fractal Audio compressors.

Can you share some of your Axe fx (Keeley) compressor settings? Like the OP I am still not able to get the sound that I want from the Axe fx compressor after all those years. Therefor I still use my Analogman Bi-comprossor between guitar and Axe fx. Would be great if I could leave that one at home but so far I prefer it over the Axe fx compressor.
 
I think you just need to learn the right way to tweak the AFX compressors. Best thing I did was use some the the comp blocks from the various presets that come with the AFX; there are loads of different options there so you just have to look. Once you find something that is close to what you want, you just need to look at the parameters to get a feel for how it is setup and then you tweak it from there.
 
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