Compression...Why?

[tigerfan22001]

I have some questions of what a compression pedal is there for. What does it really do? I mean I hear a bit of difference on the internet, but I can't easily try one out around here. Somebody needs to tell me why I need it, other than me just wanting it.

[jon1]

If you want more sustain and volume in some cases. Listen to Gilmour's solo in Another Brick in the Wall Pt. II. Those bends wouldn't sound nearly as full without the compression. Compression basically just evens out the volume of the guitar.

[Shithead]

I have a old Boss Compression/Sustain pedal around here somewhere and for the life of me i can't freakin' find it!!

[meka]

Someone here explained it like this: "it's like having someone increase master volume when you're playing quiet, and decreasing it when you're playing loud". I haven't heard better explanation, yet.

[alligatorbling]

i like to use compression when i play bass

[huw]

Here's the answer I gave last time this question came up:

Originally Posted by huw

Ok - a)what it does: a compressor is like having someone with their hand on the volume control: when you play louder, they turn you down, when you play quieter they turn you up. The result is that your playing sounds more even in volume. Over done this can sound really odd, but judged right it sounds like you are a great player with amazing control over your picking.

A second benefit is that because the quiet bits are now louder, the guitar sustains longer: think about it, when a note is dying off it's getting quieter. And what does a compressor do to the quieter notes? It turns them back up.

These two things will happen to your guitar signal naturally when your amp is distorting, a compressor lets you take advantage of the effects using a cleaner sound.

b) when you should use it: short answer - any time you want a clean sound to be more even. Have trouble picking clean arpeggio patterns & having them come out all the same volume? The compressor is your friend. want to play some hot country style lead (which by definition means a clean sound)? Compressor again (actually pretty much every blazing country lick you've ever heard has been played through a compressor) (disclaimer: ok, not "every" lick, but you get the picture?) Want to switch from arpeggios to heavy strumming, but not leap up in volume by too much? Compressor again. See the pattern?

It's not all about clean sounds though - by cranking the level control you can use a compressor to add sustain to distorted sounds. Sometimes you don't really want to add any more gain when you go into the solo, but you want the notes to hang on. Compressor? Bingo.

The down side of compressors is that if you like to use your guitar's volume control a lot, the compressor can get in the way & a level of compression that is just right with your volume on 6 can make your guitar seem to disappear into the band when the volume is on 10 (because it's compressing more, so you haven't gone up in volume as much as you'd like). So it's best IMHO to set them up for a given level of guitar volume, and stick with that - if you're a "leave it on 10" guy anyway, then no worries...

[opalburn]

i personally don't like using compressors because they kinda eliminate any dynamic picking that you may do...

[StrangerNY]

Originally Posted by tigerfan22001

I have some questions of what a compression pedal is there for. What does it really do? I mean I hear a bit of difference on the internet, but I can't easily try one out around here. Somebody needs to tell me why I need it, other than me just wanting it.

The reason you don't hear much difference on the internet is that all audio on the web is compressed to one degree or another depending upon the software.

+1 on the explanations here on what compression does. The Gilmour example was a good one, and I'll add Andy Summers' work with The Police as another good example of what a good compressed signal sounds like. It 'evens off' your signal and increases your sustain.

Bling brought up a good point - I always use a fair amount of compression on bass track when recording. It makes the bass track more solid and easier to control in the mix.

- D

[Liam]

Just a small thing to add to the excellent replies so far.

The fictional bloke turning down the volume control when you play loud can't quite track what you're playing fast enough. Which means the pick attack still gets through to a big extent, as he knocks the master volume down after you've hit the note. So if you listen to the heavily compressed rhythm parts on Another Brick inthe Wall (Part 2) you can hear Gilmour exploiting the pick attack to get some real clarity of the percussive element of his playing, especially on the chord run down from D minor in the bridge section. This is preset on most 2 knob compressors (I'm guessing Gilmour used a Dyna Comp as it nails the sound well), but you can vary the attack time on 4 knob and rackmount compressors to get a really big boost in picking noise and note attack.

If you then send the compressed signal with the big pick attack into a distortion or overdrive pedal (or a well overdriven amp) you get this weird thing where the initial portion of a note is super saturated compared to the sustained signal, but not really any louder. And of course the note goes on forever with almost constant volume. Gilmour used this a lot, it's a really distinctive sound, very much like tube amp "sag".

They're awesome for pulling out the overtones in pinched hamonics too.

You do need one!

Liam

[xsouldriverx]

Originally Posted by alligatorbling

i like to use compression when i play bass

compression kind of eliminated the dynamics of playing and makes the volume of everything you play the same. some mp3s have the option of safe volume so that loud recordings dont blast your ears right after you tuned up the volume on a quiet recording. same thing pretty much.

i like it for bass so the lower bass strings dont get too boomey and overtake everything.

[whateverlikesgadge]

When you want extra sustain without distortion and the ability to get spacific tones.

Allan Holdsworth uses compression as does Billy Gibbons.

[Hamtone]

It also "evens" out string distance in sounds. There is no professional album (today) that hasnt had everything squished every so slightly in the mix down. I personally always have my compressor on, and it is set where the volume is passive to the amp or just slightly above, and the "sustain" (speaking of dyna comp) is just nudged off from 0. So if you were looking at my dyna comp you would see volume at 3 o clock, and my sustain at about 7-8 oclock, very slight just to give more dynamics and evenness.

Its just like art of mixing down tracks you are trying to get the tone even as possible, no spiking, or dropping out. Compression helps this in a live environment a lot. Especially in situations where you are playing a clean passage

[Adwex]

I like it on my clean sound, with some chorus, or leslie type effect. It softens the attack and lets the notes bloom. It's great for strumming.

[Jackyrhode]

I like it in the studio. I don't like it live.

[R8R6Ben]

I use it with my tele to make notes "pop" out of the speaker and it helps with evening out the volume while chickin pickin.

[st.bede]

it has some really good uses...I like to think of it as another effect...in regrads to guitar playing...yes it can be a sonic tool but, I tend to think more that way when recording.....when playing I will use it to get a certian type of sound....

[Frails]

I couldn't live without it. For distortion/fuzz tones I turn it off but that's mainly because I use a Big Muff and I personally think Muff's sound best when loud and wild. The Dynacomp is an excellent compressor. If you buy one new, you'll want to upgrade the components with a mod such as Monte Allums or something similar because it does make a nice difference. Only problem though is these things are very tight inside. I have since gone to a Pharoah Amps Monument compressor and I like it even more than the Dynacomp because it is very transparent yet effective.

[R8R6Ben]

Hey Tigerfan I just saw you live in Muscle Shoals.... I just moved from Florence to over here about 6 months ago lol.... WDE!!!!!!!

oh you play in any bands in around town, if so I may have run into you on occasion lol

[tigerfan22001]

No man I'm not playin in any bands right now, but I know a few guys in some bands. It's very possible we have run into each other. And WAR DAMN EAGLE to you too.

[R8R6Ben]

The last group I was in had Jim Steele on Drums and Zach Gooch on bass.... well Zach was our most recent bass player lol. I bet we have run into each other since pretty much the only people I know are musicians.

[LPguitarman]

I use it for boost & sustain on leads. It does however take a little bit away from my pick attack, especially when I'm using the edge of the pick for a little squeal.

[thedonal]

I used to use a lot of compression on my Strat to beef it up as I felt it sounded too weedy- it's a Gilmour fan thing! Valve amps naturally compress as they're being driven- if you turn a valve amp up to a certain level you get that sharper attack thing and a smoother sound.

If you are moderate with compression, you can still get dynamics in your playing- they're just more even.

I need to get a bass compressor- I use a Marshall guitar pedal for practice (Ed-The Compressor- good, but not for bass as it doesn't let all the bottom frequencies throguh. OK for a quiet semi acoustic practice session). I do a lot of open mic nights with the band and end up going direct into the desk.

I'm looking at either the Ashdown dual band bass compressor (mixed reviews, but I love Ashdown amps), or the EBS multicomp- great reviews but about double the price of the Ashdown. It is smaller though, so easier to transport (I bike it to gigs at the moment- won't have a car again until next year)- so it needs to fit in a gig bag...

[alligatorbling]

its great for chicken pickin too

[Willy]

I don't like the sound of the compressor with my LP. I use it continuously when I play my Tele. It is great at knocking down some of the spiking trebles and even's the tones out. Also is great at squashing some of the pick attack on the Tele. Makes it sound the way a Tele should.

[H.E.L.Shane]

I recently ran into a snafu wiht my compressor module in my G-Major....

I like to use a compressor on my solos (what little i do) and had the compressor modual on in my lead preset and had been monkeyinig with it last week

During soundcheck before the show on saturday, the volume was lower on that channel and couldn't figure out what was going on...

Sooooo.. I start turning muduels off and hitting notes..

Now... I'm standing on stage in front of a full marshall stack powered my a stereo 100 watt amp.. One hundred to each cabinet...

When i turned that compressor off.. I dam near lost my fillings!!!!!!!! The people at the bar had a similar reaction!!

note to self.... READ THE MANUAL.... setting up a compressor in a piece of rack gear is NOT the same as turning the knobs on a pedal!!!!!!!!!

The end result was that I left he module OFF and adjusted the pre-set level to be just higher than the rythem presets until i got home, read the manual, and set the compressor like i used to have my pedal!!!!!!

[weirdotis]

Originally Posted by Hamtone

It also "evens" out string distance in sounds. There is no professional album (today) that hasnt had everything squished every so slightly in the mix down. I personally always have my compressor on, and it is set where the volume is passive to the amp or just slightly above, and the "sustain" (speaking of dyna comp) is just nudged off from 0. So if you were looking at my dyna comp you would see volume at 3 o clock, and my sustain at about 7-8 oclock, very slight just to give more dynamics and evenness.

Its just like art of mixing down tracks you are trying to get the tone even as possible, no spiking, or dropping out. Compression helps this in a live environment a lot. Especially in situations where you are playing a clean passage

Most compression on albums is generally added post-recording, and the whole track gets compressed. But you're right however, almost all tracks have compression on them.

I have a Boss CS3 that I use for sparkly jangly rhythm playing, but I've been meaning to get a Rothwell Love Squeeze if I ever get any more money.

[Goldtop75]

Here's a great response on the use of compressors I got from another forum:

1. If you want all your notes to sound the same volume but you can't control them well. -> Compressor.
   
2. If you want to have a certain country twang for chicken picking. -> Compressor.
   
3. If you want to play a note and instead of letting it die off normally, you want some effect to seemingly increase the volume as the note dies off (in a sense increasing sustain). -> Compressor.
   
4. If you want to smooth out any sudden problematic loud sounds. -> Compressor.
   
5. If you want to control the volume of your playing precisely. -> No compressor.
   
6. All depends on how you set the controls on the compressor too.

[leftyguitarman]

This thread makes me want to do a demo with my Luvpump. It's a compressor that my cousin built in very small quantities. He's only built 150 of them and I own #150. It is by far the greatest compressor on the planet.

[gilmourjunkie]

Listen to Shine On You Crazy Diamond and you'll know....