gorch Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Haven't we had a thread on compressors recently? I can't find it. It seems that next to the treble booster my Mooer compressor has been shed too. It is noisy as hell. I can't remember it had been as noisy as it is now. Therefore, I'm looking out for a new one. So, what's the Hamer of compressors? All analog please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloozguy Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I used a Barber Tone Press for quite a while but switched over to an Xotic SP Compressor. I think they can all sound like crap if you over-do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murkat Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 ^ great comp. I have had a few, well, (most) all of them (pedal comps.) Diamond Comp = winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killerteddybear Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 This is the Hamer of compressor websites: http://www.ovnilab.com/ Stompboxes, rackmount, all are reviewed! Bear in mind this site is focused on bass applications of compressors, but if it works for bass, then it will handle a guitar signal easily... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lockbody Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 8 minutes ago, Bloozguy said: I think they can all sound like crap if you over-do it. I always use any compressor according to the studio rule - apply it until you can just hear it working then it back off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubs_42 Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 17 minutes ago, murkat said: ^ great comp. I have had a few, well, (most) all of them (pedal comps.) Diamond Comp = winner. Murkat turned me on to the Diamond Comp, it is the one. I've had it for little over a year that says a lot. I used it to push my single ended amp, I also use it to line level my Tele so I can run it with my JR. You don't even know its there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
velorush Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Honestly can't figure out the purpose of a compressor on a guitar signal (other than increasing noise). I regularly use compression on most channels of the digital mixer, but for guitar, it all escapes me. Every time I think I understand why I would use one I've plugged in to, I realize a clean boost would have done the same thing... I am... an idiot. That I've owned more than one guitar compressor and still can't figure it out is proof positive (as if no other proof were readily available). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devnor Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Carl Martin Timmons but it will cost you $275. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwhitcomb3 Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I had a tc electronic triple-C rack compressor for years, and was really pleased to see their HyperGravity compact pedal offers three band compression in a compact package. I wouldn't recommend this pedal to a compressor novice. It is at least as easy to make a guitar sound worse with compression as it is to improve the sound, and t.c. electronic gives you plenty enough rope to hang yourself. But they also provide a ridiculous amount of control to roll your own compressor pedal exactly the way you like it. Assuming you know how you like it. So if a single band compressor seems daunting, a three band compressor may seem terrifying. But it actually addresses lots of complaints many guitarists have with compressors. The computer based TonePrint editor lets you design your own custom compressor pedal. That means you can decide what features you want, and decide how the knobs control which parameters. Being able to assign up to three functions per knob is great, where you can set up the range/steepness of each function independently. Several functions work nicely with these combinations. For example, I like pairing the attack and blend in one knob, where the attack time gets shorter as more uncompressed signal is blended in. Cross fading the midrange level against the high/low levels can turn the level knob into a tone contour control, with a mid scoop at 7:00, flat at noon, and a mid boost at 5:00. Another great application is to set the low and high bands to be uncompressed, only compressing the mid range. Then assign parallel hi/low crossover frequencies to a knob, and then boost or cut the midrange. Parametric compressor! Lots of people complain about compressors being noisy. If you are one of them, this is your ticket. Most guitar pedal compressors have automatic makeup gain to push the volume up as the note tails off. That pushes all of the signal, including the noise. Eventually, the noise becomes audible, particularly when you stop playing. To avoid this, just turn off the Auto Makeup Gain, set your threshold, ratio, and levels as needed, and you'll get plenty of compression before the noise becomes audible. I am so pleased to finally have a single band compressor to give me those fat, funky tones without boosting the noise to where it becomes an audible problem. Another common complaint is that compressors make your tone dark. Multi-band compressors let you fix that. With a single band compressor, when the signal hits the threshold level, the compressor reduces the volume of the entire signal across all frequency bands. Since most of the signal power is in the low frequencies, reducing the volume across all bands noticeably reduces the highs. With a multi-band compressor, if the low band pushes its threshold, the low band volume is reduced without affecting the high band. So multi-band compression doesn't sound dark (unless you want it to). I'm getting great, full, warm tones out of this, by itself and before/after pedals. My only complaint (and it is big), is that user presets cannot be shared, or even transferred between editor host devices. For example, I set up a great preset on the Mac TonePrint editor, but cannot move it to my iPhone or iPad TonePrint apps. What good is the wireless iPhone TonePrint transfer if I can't use it on my own presets? This gripe aside, the HyperGravity is otherwise a, great, great compressor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gorch Posted March 27, 2017 Author Share Posted March 27, 2017 1 hour ago, murkat said: ^ great comp. I have had a few, well, (most) all of them (pedal comps.) Diamond Comp = winner. In the search I had seen the Diamond mentioned quite often. Definitely, seems to be great though. Anyone had the Junior? Smart little gadget, although, not really cheaper than the original. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victor (Fret Friend) Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I only ever used one for more sustain but my Maxon OD808 is used as a clean boost for that so the compressor pedal is now redundant. It's only a Boss CS-3 btw but that said, it's the only compressor I've not sold within a week or 2 of having it! I've kept it because 1: I got it cheap and 2: I'm going to mod it to try and make it more than decent... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt L Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Big fan of the Keeley Compressor Pro. Hard to get a bad sound out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louhamer Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I like the Kelley 4 knob. Not expensive and does the job well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teleman Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Being a tele player I've been through a bunch of them. The one that I have keep on my pedalboard is the compact Barber Tone Press. It just works for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff R Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Barber Tone Press on my board too. I'll admit, however, I'm not a compressor fiend or stickler by any stretch. I use my flanger more than I use my compressor if that sheds light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HamerDave Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 I'll toss in votes for the Xotic SP. I have one and love it. I've also had excellent results with the Wampler Ego. What I like about both of these is that they have a blend control that allows you to mix in your raw signal to the compressed sound. It lets you really balance it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobB Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 7 hours ago, HamerDave said: I'll toss in votes for the Xotic SP. I have one and love it. I've also had excellent results with the Wampler Ego. What I like about both of these is that they have a blend control that allows you to mix in your raw signal to the compressed sound. It lets you really balance it out. My vote goes to the SP, as well. It's small, easy to use (2 knobs, 3-way toggle) and won't mess with your guitar tone. The key is to tweak the two internal dip-switches (mine are set to "flat"...) and then work the knobs. Second tier goes to the Janglebox. Not as refined as the Barber, Diamond, Keeley, etc, as it can get noisy at higher settings. However, if you want that Beatles/Byrds/Big Star squeezed, studio sausage trebly-squish, then step right up. Pure heaven with a 12-string and great for acoustics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disturber Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 I use the Boss CS3, which can be had dirt cheap. Really the Hamer of compressors. Does really benefit from a mod. I have the Monte Allums CS3 Opto plus mod in mine. Makes it pretty neat and great sounding compressor, for not so much money. http://www.monteallums.com/pedal_mods.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KH Guitar Freak Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 14 hours ago, velorush said: Honestly can't figure out the purpose of a compressor on a guitar signal (other than increasing noise). I regularly use compression on most channels of the digital mixer, but for guitar, it all escapes me. Every time I think I understand why I would use one I've plugged in to, I realize a clean boost would have done the same thing... I am... an idiot. That I've owned more than one guitar compressor and still can't figure it out is proof positive (as if no other proof were readily available). I might be a compressor idiot as well, but I use a compressor to even out the volume and attack of each string. On a guitar, some strings do sound a tad louder and react differently to picking. But then again, could be my shitty technique. For example, if you use any of those Electroharmonix pedals that have the simulated organ sounds, IME, it was best done with a compressor in front to even out the attack before sending the signal to the EH pedals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
velorush Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 ^^ I can see that. ^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veatch Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 15 hours ago, velorush said: Honestly can't figure out the purpose of a compressor on a guitar signal (other than increasing noise). Think The Fixx... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixesandsevens Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 One use for a compressor on guitar is to even out inconsistencies in your picking hand attack. If you have a tone that's not too high gain with lots of clarity it can be brutally "honest" about the evenness of your picking hand attack. The expressiveness can be really handy in a lot of situations, but a compressor is sometimes just the right way to cut yourself a touch of slack while you're working on your attack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JES1680 Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 I like the Keeley. The 2 knob can be had pretty cheap used and it has the same controls as the 4 knob but two of the pots are inside. I liked the SP but it has a swtich for setting the compression and I found the max was too much and the next setting too little. Did like the blend knob though. I have an old late 70s? MXR compressor that noisy but very fun to play. A Tele, compressor, and clean amp = fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disturber Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 17 hours ago, velorush said: Honestly can't figure out the purpose of a compressor on a guitar signal (other than increasing noise). Tell that to a country player, lol! Seriously, as the other have said, apply less than you think is necessary. I use mine, sometimes, with some more hollowbodied guitars, when I want them to sound more like a solid body, through a cranked amp. Also, a compressor can be good when you gig and want an open back to sound more like a closed back cab. It can create an illusion of a more direct angled sound. Good if you want to cut through the mix. Also, as someone wrote, if you want to get that Big Star type of single coil awesomeness. No1 Record has some of the finest guitar tones ever recorded, period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamerhead Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 I have the regular size Tone Press that's used for a little extra sustain. Tried the mini version and didn't like it as much. Also tried the Xotic SP and a Dynacomp. The blend knob is what makes the Tone Press good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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