Another use is in extending sustain. As you strike the note, it's loud so the compressor brings the volume down. As the guitar's signal dies away, the compressor releases, so the note reaching your amp carries on. Aside from its use as a guitar effect, and its use on other individual tracks, compression is used extensively in mixing and mastering. One of the many possible effects is the "surging" effect in lots of pop and dance, where everything swells to fill the space in between drum beats.
Some radio stations even apply compression to their entire output. Maybe a little counter-intuitively, a compressor can be used to increase the attack; to make something sound more dynamic and staccato:.
So it accentuates the attack of plucking the string. Alternatively, with a really short attack parameter, you could dampen the pluck. Affordable compression units have side effects on the timbre of the sound. Really high end studio equipment minimises this -- but it doesn't matter to the guitarist, because the side effects are rarely unmusical; indeed they are often pleasant.
Some units are desirable precisely because of their side-effects. My explanation is more for generic compressors, but I believe it is relevant for guitars as well. A compressor is most often used to amplify quiet sounds more than loud sounds.
You could think of it as someone turning up the volume on quiet parts, and down on loud parts. This is done by a compressor much faster than a human with a volume knob could :. If there is no compression at all, the output is equal to the input. If you have dB in, you'll have the same dB out. It is represented by the black line in the graph. Further, this gain is often restricted from changing too fast. This is what attack and release times are for. The attack time prevents the gain from going up to fast, while the release time prevents it from going down too fast.
Compression is really about reducing dynamic range and ends up consisting of either one, or both of. Limiting, is a specialized form of compression which has an "infinite" amount of reduction at a particular volume threshold. Basically, the signal will never go above this point. The amount of time between a signal being over the threshold before compression is applied. The amount of signal reduction applied, usually a ratio, with the larger relating to "more".
Lower amounts of compression are typically used to "glue" sounds together, large amounts can be used for various effects.
Typically called "makeup gain". This is the amount of gain applied to the signal before compression typically before. Sometimes after, depends on the compressor.
Always read the manual! The "knee" of a compressor relates to how quickly the full compression amount is applied to the signal.
The Keeley 4 Knob Compressor C4 is one of the highest-rated guitar compressor pedals available today in terms of sound quality. The four knobs give you plenty of control over the compression.
It does come with a higher price tag, so your choice should be between whether you need the extra flexibility or quality the Keeley offers or whether a simpler pedal such as the Dyna Comp or Xotic SP would suit you better. The Sustain knob is similar to the Sensitivity knob on the Dyna Comp — it sets the overall level of compression. The second knob is a level control just like all other pedals. The third knob adjusts the attack time. Remember that attack is how long the pedal waits before it applies the compression after the volume reaches the threshold.
So this is a great way to get the initial attack of the note to punch through before it is compressed. The unique feature with this pedal is the clipping knob. The simple way to think about this is that it mimics what happens with a tube amp — as a tube amp is driven harder and harder, it clips and breaks up. The clipping knob can be used in a similar way. You can use it to achieve a more dirty tone or dial it back to achieve a crystal clear tone.
Check out the price and details of the Keeley 4 Knob Compressor here. The Wampler Ego Compressor gives you five knobs to play around with and also has a reputation for high sound quality. The five control knobs are: sustain, tone, attack, volume, and blend.
The sustain and volume knobs should be self-explanatory at this point. Like the Keeley C4, the Wampler Ego has an attack knob. The Ego also has a blend knob so it gives you the same flexibility the Xotic SP has in that regard.
The unique knob on this pedal is the tone knob. The tone knob is basically a high-end EQ boost to give your compressed tone a brighter sound. When I played around with the Ego I found I kept the tone knob all the way down but some guitarists may prefer using it. When compared to all the other pedals mentioned above, the Wampler Ego has more flexibility and features.
Keep in mind this does come at a higher cost. Check out the Wampler Ego price and details here. Some guitarists may prefer the high-end Keeley or Wampler, but for most guitarists, the Xotic will give you the best results. The feature that sold me when I first tried the SP is the blend knob.
The way I think of it is that it allows you to improve the sustain of your tone while keeping the dynamic range. If you choose any other compressor pedal, I recommend finding one with a blend knob such as the Keeley. I also loved the four internal dip switches because they are set-and-forget features. Of course, the right pedal for you may be completely different to what was the right pedal for me. So have a think about what features are important to you, then have a closer look at the above pedals to find the one that suits you best.
The placement of your compressor will also play a big part in the end result. As a simple way of thinking about it, the further down the line you place your compressor, the more of an impact it will have on the final signal.
If the compressor is placed first, all pedals that follow it have the freedom to affect the dynamics of your signal. The most popular choice is to place the compressor in the first position after your guitar or after your tuner pedal. This can be great for sustain. The reason for this is that the compressor will apply to both your clean sound and your drive sound and even both of them out. Instead of the clean tone being compressed and switching over to an uncompressed drive tone, both a compressed.
Audio processing units have long been capable of reading the amplitude of both analog electrical and digital binary audio signals. Digital signal amplitudes are often measured in dBFS.
From analog hardware units to digital software, compressors can effectively read how strong an audio signal is at the input. A compressor will have a threshold setting. This threshold refers to the input signal amplitude at which the compressor will start working. For the compressor to work, this threshold must be set below the maximum amplitude of the signal. Otherwise, the compressor would never get triggered into action.
Okay, so what happens when the input signal surpasses the set threshold? How does the compressor attenuate the signal? With typical compressors, this is where the ratio parameter comes into play. Those are the two main parameters we need to know to understand the basics of compression. Here are a few illustrations to help us visualize compression:.
Slow release times will help smooth out dynamic performances. Compressors will typically have makeup gain to bring the peak signal level of the output back up to what it was at the input. With the make-up gain set to equal out the peaks, we can really hear the compression of the signal. On guitar and bass, it typically sounds like increased sustain, a thickening of the signal, and greater perceived loudness. For individual instruments like guitar and bass, which are the instruments that typically run through pedals, the effect is cherished for a few other reasons:.
So there are plenty of reasons to add compression to our audio signals. Having a great compressor pedal or multiple pedals can make a noticeable and positive difference in the sound of our guitar or bass. A compressor pedal is a compressor unit in a stompbox format designed to compress guitar, bass and other instrument signals.
These pedals typically have most of, if not all, the controls of a typical compressor. The Origin Effects Cali76 Compact Deluxe link to check the price on Amazon , for example, is based on the legendary Universal Audio studio compressor.
It has output level, release, ratio and threshold controls along with an LED indicator to show the amount of gain reduction when the pedal is in use. Compressor pedals are by no means necessary. So no, compressor pedals are not necessary, though they are a worthy investment for many players. Compressor pedals will typically have controls to alter most, if not all, these parameters in one way or another.
The output level control sometimes referred to as make-up gain controls the output signal level of the compressor pedal. This is often used to bring the peak level of the compressed output signal back up to what it was at the input pre-compression. Loyalty Points. What are points worth? Points are worth a 1p discount for every point you redeem. How many points will I earn when I shop? We display the number of points available for a product on the product's page on our website.
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The guitar compressor is probably one of the most intimidating and misunderstood guitar effects around. To put it very simply, it reduces the dynamic range of the guitar.
So, it slightly boosts the volume of notes you pick softly and brings down the volume of notes you pick a bit harder. So, you end up with a much smoother sounding guitar tone.
It will give you more sustain and get rid of any harsh high frequencies because a compressor will put a rein on your signal. At first anyway. Or if you plugged into a fuzz, you immediately be overwhelmed by woolly distortion!
This is the level where the compression will start to happen. If you set it high, it will catch the peaks any harsh frequencies or jumps in volume.
If you set it low, it will compress just about everything that goes through it. Also known as limiting. Will set how much the signal that goes above the threshold is compressed by.
For example: With a ratio of for every 2 decibels of increased input gain it increases output by 1 decibel meaning you get nice big clean headroom. This will set how long it takes for the note to ring before it is compressed. A slow attack can make the compressor sound more natural.
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