Tell me (all) about compressors please

[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

As my forum-name suggests I‘m more of a Fuzz guy.
Please tell me where I would profit from a compression?
What do YOU use it for?
And what are some good ones to start with?

[marqueemoon]

If you like what fuzz does for your guitar dirty you may like what compression does for your clean sound.

I think it works best with an amp with lots of clean headroom. That is not me at all. I use lower powered tube amps and crank them up. I get plenty of compression from the amp, and adding more just brings out unflattering things.

It’s an essential and always on effect on bass for me though. I use a Barber Tone Press which is a parallel compressor, meaning you can control the blend of compressed and unaffected signal. I set it at exactly 50/50 so I don’t lose too much of the initial note attack.

What I like about it on bass is I can get the energy of really digging in without my volume being all over the map, and can switch from fingers to pick depending on the song.

IMO if you’re not sure what benefit a compressor would have for you it’s probably not something you need.

[OffYourFace]

I use the Seymour Duncan Vice Grip. Like the Barber, it has a blend knob but it also has a switch to accentuate different tones. There's a high setting that's good with 12 strings for that Byrd's jangle, a mid setting that I suppose might be good for fingerstyle or leads but I never use it, and there's a full frequency setting which I've used for pop/funk style guitar chording.

IMO, a guitar pedal compressor is useless without a blend control. Most guitarists prefer to have some dynamic feel no matter what they're playing and the blend control gives you the best of both worlds; an even tonal response and dynamics. I leave it on all the time.

Before the Vice Grip I used to use the old Boss CS-2. It works more like a limiter with lower sustain settings and cranked gain but I found it to sound too midrange heavy. Sometimes you want that but not all the time. I also had the Analogman one, a '74 script logo MXR Dyna Comp and an old Ross Gray Compressor. I prefer the Vice Grip.

[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

If you like what fuzz does for your guitar dirty you may like what compression does for your clean sound.

I think it works best with an amp with lots of clean headroom.

It’s an essential and always on effect on bass for me though.
IMO if you’re not sure what benefit a compressor would have for you it’s probably not something you need.

I use the Seymour Duncan Vice Grip. Like the Barber, it has a blend knob but it also has a switch to accentuate different tones.

A Blend knob would be a key feature for me too.

If it is a always on kind of effect: How well does a Fuzz work into a Compressor and where in the chain would you put a compressor?

I never really thought about getting one until my (now sadly former) Bassist suggested to use one.
And I‘m noticing volume differences in clean songs or especially in intros with picking figures in comparison to my overall sound.

From time to time I‘m thinking about starting a purely Surf based project where Fuzz would only play a minor role. I already bought a Surfy Industries „Blossom Point“ that should bring amps to „bloom“ at any volume (but that’s more of an attenuator with added „presence“ control)

Amp wise: Fender Supersonic (in Bassman mode), Dripedge Bandmaster and a Bassman 6G6B clone (that doesn‘t take my effects equally well as the others but an interesting beast for sure!) - so 40-60 Watts non master volume amps, all of them far from cranked.
Interesting point with the Bass, I finally got one again last week.

[GreenKnee]

The volume differences you are hearing could definitely be sorted out with a compressor - it could even out the quiet parts to be same/similar volumes to your louder parts.

I have been seriously impressed with the Keeley Compressor Mini. It's perfect for guitar as it never gets too squashed, it adjusts the clean blend automatically so your sound always has some life to it. I use mine always on just to balance out the level coming from my guitar in to my effects. Using it in this way means that I have to use a volume pedal after the compressor in order to drop my level for cleaning up OD/fuzz/distortions. My volume control does still have some effect on this as the compressor is also acting as a slight boost, but I find the volume pedal easier now I'm used to it.

Compressor demos are pretty much useless. Compressors make everything 'feel' different because your rig is reacting differently to what you are used to and demos can't get this across. To try one out perhaps grab a cheap Nux Sculpture - seems to be the cheapest one available that has the blend control. If it does what you're hoping for then you can always upgrade to a 'better' unit further down the line.

[GreenKnee]

I play through a big, loud Twin Reverb so our usage cases are quite similar I imagine.

[UlricvonCatalyst]

Personally I've found that a one-knob compressor before a fairly cleaned-up fuzz yielded amazing results. Though the sounds you're chasing are probably not what I stumbled upon, simple compressors can act as a boost (or cut), and placed before fuzz can add interesting slightly different flavours.


Edit: for the record, the compressor I was using is a cheap'n'cheerful Mosky Dyna-comp.

[OffYourFace]

I always put a compressor first. You will hear a difference with dirt pedals but nothing too severe tonally. You'll need to experiment with settings and different circuits will react differently.

With fuzz, depends on the fuzz. It will change the sound with most vintage fuzzes, sometimes for the best and sometimes for the worst.

example, in front of a fuzz face, it'll tighten up the low end and it will feel and sound more like a marshall, sort of. That's what I used to do with my Fulltone 69 many years ago to get a big british amp sound thru a 1x12 combo. It can be noisy if you use too much sustain so you need to experiment with your gain staging.

[MrShake]

Grain of salt, I'm one of those "almost never" people, but maybe that perspective can offer something.

1) To boost piddly pickups. Sometimes I swap my JM for a 2003 CIJ '69 Mustang with some weak-ass pickups. But if it's a moment of inspiration or live or something, since I know where I generally like my effects set, a little volume boost and a low setting on the compression just gives it a little more body and fullness.

2) On bass. See above. A little higher on the sustain, just for a bigger, fuller bass sound with more sustain on the notes. I play cheapo basses.

3) Clean live. Right before COVID, I played a few solo bar gigs for a promoter friend of mine. I did the singer/songwriter thing in my 20s and early 30s, and was kinda bored of it. So I was going heavy on delay/reverb, but still just me and a clean JM. After the first gig I swore I'd never do it without a compressor again. The engineer was fine, I probably could have redialed my rig onstage, but too many spiky treble strings, uneven sound, etc. Maybe it's my crappy technique or I don't know how to dial in, but a compressor fixed all that at the click of a switch

4) 12-string electric. Squash the hell out of it. Instant Byrds.

I'm an unrepentent primitive. I use an off-the-shelf DynaComp, a Boss CS-3, and a $15 "Flatsons" brand 3-knob I got online.

Your mileage may vary.

[cestlamort]

I tend to have one always on for Jaguars and Rickenbackers- it just makes them seem more there, even if only compressing a bit. It feels strange to not have that presence and sparkle when it’s off. As others have said, cranking one with a 12 string will make you sound like the Byrds (and some compression makes a 12 string sound like a 12 string).

I liked the Ibanez ones (CP9, CP10, CPL) and the diamond comp the best. (Dynacomp not so much, CS2 was as said more of a limiter). A Mooer yellow comp is supposedly close to the diamond comp (cubic zirconium?). The small danelectro one was kind of okay too.

But depending on your guitar, it may not be necessary. I find that I like it best when it’s at a level that I only notice it when it’s off.

[Professor Bill]

I've tried a few: Henretta Engineering Orange Whip (was looking for a small footprint set-and-forget for 12 string, but I couldn't get along with the internal switches – nice effect, though). Also an Xotic SP (the blend knob was a nice feature), and most recently a Keeley Mini. But I think the Henretta and Xotic are variations on a Ross, right? I keep coming back to a recent Boss CS-3 that a friend modded with the Monte Allums mods (but I honestly don't know which set). I like it because it's pretty quiet (with the mods) and I actually like the squishy effect with clean/almost breakup sometimes.

[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

Lots of interesting uses and useful recommendations here!
Thank you all!

At my next order from Thomann I'll sneak one into my cart and will see how I like it!

[Dave]

I have a JHS one I got in a roundabout trade about a year ago, It’s the plain white one.

I’m not sure what kind of compressor it is, or how it stacks up against others. I don’t understand compression that much. My old danelectro diner mini pedal one was noisier than all blazes and this seemed better.

I find it makes the strings feel awesome for certain very “expressive” playing, if you’re fucking around with something between finger style and flat picking, it has a way of making your “ accent “ note just ring through, seemingly whatever note you want to sing, it’ll sing.

I use mine before the “Topanga” Fender outboard reverb pedal which feeds into my BYOC blues breaker set to just a pinch of fat. I hamfistedly imitate that long haired chap from Kruangbhin and it works for that type of tone, it just somehow makes the notes you want to hear be right in front of you.

[jthomas]

I built an orange squeezer compressor kit from General Guitar Gadgets, based on the Dan Armstrong Orange Squeeze, a couple of years ago. It provides a little boost up to the limit of the limiter. A couple of guitarists (guys who are better than me) have played around with it and wanted me to build one for them. Just a little punch/boost to the guitar that still is controlled. This would not help loud, pushed to to the limit music, but at living room levels, it provides a desirable push.

I use it when I am playing an acoustic into an amp, to even out the volume level. It keeps the louder string twanging closer to the mean volume (i.e., controlled).

Hope that this helps.

[øøøøøøø]

I don’t think of a compressor as a tool to manage volume so much as I think of it as a transient envelope shaper; a tool to modify the ADSR characteristics of the signal (to repurpose terminology from synthesis)

On a (clean) guitar signal, most of the energy happens at the very front of the note. A compressor will, depending on attack/release time constants, alter the relationship between that initial burst of energy and the steady-state tone (I like to think of it as the “consonant” and the “vowel”)

The effect of this transient modification can seem subtle at first, and is something you have to learn to listen for. Too much fast-attack compression can have a dulling effect due to the snap of the transients being removed. It can make a guitar sound like its tongue is stuck to the roof of its mouth; it can make a snare drum sound like it’s full of socks.

This isn’t the same as the dulling that comes from turning treble down, and that’s an important thing to understand—it’s a fairly common mistake to set attack time too fast and then over-brighten in an attempt to compensate (Imagine recording a singer, then turning every consonant down and every vowel up. Adding treble wouldn’t go very far toward restoring intelligibility!)

On the other hand, a slow attack can actually accentuate transients, and do the literal opposite. If the compressor is made slow to react, the transient will sneak through before gain reduction sets in, and the steady-state tone (“vowel”) can be attenuated instead! And everywhere in between.

But used well, compression can also facilitate a “good version” of any of the above behaviors (and more). It can be used to make a guitar signal less spiky/harsh and more sustain-y; it can be used to make a snare drum firmer, longer/fatter, more rigid and consistent. It can bring up details at the ends of notes by allowing the whole thing to be made louder.

i find them primarily useful with clean guitar signals (distorted signal has very little transient anyway).

I virtually never use compressor pedals; I’m most likely to employ one after the entire signal chain (including mic and speaker, if applicable). But pedal compressors before the amp, etc are valid too—just a different result