Swindon Music

Hi guys .

First of all I wanna say thanks for advice in the past, thanks to you lot and your recommendations I have a fender hot rod deluxe tube amp that I love and I'm currently experimenting with ableton live.

This time my question is this , I have seen my types of compessor pedals on various pedal websites but I have no real idea what they would do for me or be useful for , if you guys and gals can enlighten me in anyway then it will be most welcome.

Thanks guys

Andy

Essentially what it does is reduce the difference between the high and low dynamics in your playing, which for some people is a good thing, and others not so.

Best advice I could give is to try some out in a shop and see if you like the sound of it - be sure to go through similar equipment to what you normally use though as compressors can behave a lot differently with different equipment.

You may also want to have a play in Ableton (seeing as you've just got that) using compression, so you can hear what it does.

A fairly good analogy of what compression is: Click

This guy sounds like Kermit the Frog, but worth a look: Click

More specific to guitar playing: Click
And another: Click

there good for players like me who go ape s**t at gig's

but i play bass i didnt think you needed it on the axe

You can use them to simulate sustain without having to add distortion – imagine a guitar signal tailing off – as it does so you can set a compressor to turn the level back up a bit as it dies away, making (say) a lead sound sustain more but remain clear and avoid any distortion mush.

Or you can use it to even out all the variations in level when playing (usually clean) eg it’s common in funk when all the busy, clean chordwork is going on. It’s often said (‘cos it’s often true) that it’s something you notice more when it’s suddenly not there.

If you see one used then the Aphex Punch Factory is utterly awesome as a guitar compressor (now discontinued due to the poisonous something or other in optical compressors apparently – but as long as you don’t take it apart and eat the components you should be safe enough lol )

I've got an MXR dynacomp which I love. It basically makes it sound a bit fatter and warmer (arguably just louder...), but if I bump up the sensitivity it basically gives me beautifully easy and controllable feedback.