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controlfreak
Silver Member
Ireland
337 Posts |
 Posted - 06/20/2007 : 15:14:18
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hey guys, was thinking of picking up a CS-2 or possibly a LM-2 for my board AW-2 > HF-2 > PH-1r > OD-3 > CE-2 > DD-3
i play thru a TSL100 stack and i've heard that the dist channels on it already hav a fair amount of compression on them in this particular amp so i'm wondering if i need a compressor or is it totally optional and if so in what case would someone need a compressor?
and what about limiters? can they really work magic or are they a private luxury? |
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ChristoMephisto
Platinum Member
Canada
1288 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2007 : 17:01:18
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I picked a CS-2 and it did wonders for my FT-2 & OC-2
The effect is more noticable with single coils than humbuckers
Its now a standard in my effects chain |
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Dirk
Platinum Member
Netherlands
1309 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2007 : 17:05:36
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As far as I'm concerned for guitar players it's optional, for (most) bassplayers like myself it's a must.
It can create another gain/drive stage when run in front of the amp.
It can also be usefull to tame a very dynamic clean sound, remember Nothing else Matters from Metallica? That nice clean guitar sound had an MXR dynacomp on it to control the dynamics of the guitar a little and it sounds great.
As always, experiment and good luck. |
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controlfreak
Silver Member
Ireland
337 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2007 : 17:44:55
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it's very hard to experiment with pedals that are discontinued tho!!
it's more a case of buy, then try, so just wanted to hear everyone's opinion.
anyone else have opinions on the necessity of comps in guitar rigs? |
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DarrinPA
Silver Member
USA
221 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2007 : 18:21:52
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| Compression is more important on solidstate amps and clean channels. It may help alittle but I would assume it's not a must if you're playing a tube amp especially on the distortion channel. But if you do buy a Boss compressor you can always sell it for a good price if you find it useless. |
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zestystrat
Silver Member
USA
283 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2007 : 18:26:28
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I think compression is one of the most mis-understood fx out there.
I think it's great for a number of things: tightening up dist, adding crazy sustain. For clean, it's great for funk and clean solos as well as the arpeggio stuff (ala the metallica example). The Sultans of Swing solo comes to mind (D. Armstrong�s Orange Squeezer if my memory is correct) and Steely Dan�s My Old School as �Famous� examples of solos with compression.
I would also say let your ears be the judge but remember it�s not like a chorus pedal where you�ll hear the difference right away. It can be a subtle effect.
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Edited by - zestystrat on 06/21/2007 19:52:49 |
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pawnshop_trash
Gold Member
USA
603 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2007 : 19:10:30
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I completely agree with the responses thus far, esp. those from Dirk and DarrinPA. a LM-2 at the front of my effects chain really tightened my bass setup. I rarely use compression when I play guitar thru either of my tube amps, though.
any compression/limiting would probably help you obtain a more consistent clean tones (guitar or bass) and also when using a solid state amp (to reduce the risk of blowing yr speakers -- trust me on that one). for guitar, an overdriven tube amp will probably make a compression pedal redundant, unless you want to sound like Bob Mould (Husker Du, Sugar, etc.) or the guitars on Nirvana's 'Nevermind' album (not necessarily a bad thing, of course).... |
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zestystrat
Silver Member
USA
283 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2007 : 21:36:10
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quote:
Originally posted by pawnshop_trash
I completely agree with the responses thus far, esp. those from Dirk and DarrinPA. a LM-2 at the front of my effects chain really tightened my bass setup. I rarely use compression when I play guitar thru either of my tube amps, though.
any compression/limiting would probably help you obtain a more consistent clean tones (guitar or bass) and also when using a solid state amp (to reduce the risk of blowing yr speakers -- trust me on that one). for guitar, an overdriven tube amp will probably make a compression pedal redundant, unless you want to sound like Bob Mould (Husker Du, Sugar, etc.) or the guitars on Nirvana's 'Nevermind' album (not necessarily a bad thing, of course)....
As someone who plays a 30+ year old tube amp with compression in front of it, it is not redundant - for clean or dirty.
There are hordes of players that use compression with tube amps. I just don't think it's a true statement.
Not tring to be jerky about it but I would say that there is quite a bit of confusion people have about compression. |
Edited by - zestystrat on 06/20/2007 21:54:00 |
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marqueemoon
Bronze Member
USA
121 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2007 : 00:41:57
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| I think whether or not you need a compressor also hinges on your amp situation. I have an old Fender Bassman head that is very responsive and you get crazy volume spikes when you strum hard, so the compressor helped me even out the output. However, on my Music Man amp I rarely use compression, maybe just for cleaner guitar parts or messing with other effects. I agree with what everyone else has said also, but this might be one more factor to the equation. |
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midibuddy
Silver Member
Ecuador
285 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2007 : 02:25:53
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| depends on what you play... for lots of 80's songs we play, the compressor and a chorus are a must... |
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StratoSphere
Double Platinum Member
Canada
2232 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2007 : 04:07:35
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i agree that it all depends on how its used. i like to use it sparingly. i find the more compression you use, the more even everything sounds which is good, BUT i find that this really kills dynamics and to some people this is a big sacrifice.
i know that compression is big with metal and shredders in particualr since using it allows for a little more error in that type of playing. but for something like blues where pick attack is very important and volume is ever changing i think its less common.
i think everyone should own a compressor though. a CS-3 is a great compressor even though it takes a lot of shit for being noisy. i think its one of those pedals that were made "too powerful". but if you keep the sustain knob under half, you can get some nice sounds.
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DarrinPA
Silver Member
USA
221 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2007 : 07:08:37
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Also another thing that may make a compressor useful or not is if you play places where your amp is mic'ed, the sound guy should be able to keep your sound even without any effort on your part. But it really depends on if your willing to sacrafice emotion in your sound for just a stable level and a little clearer of a singal. If your trying to keep even levels because of different pedals then I could see useing it even when it's not fully needed.
Just as a side note, I [sometimes] used a Mesa Boogie Triple Rect. on my bands latest recording and those amps are already soooo compressed sounding. I couldn't believe how even the sound was but it made me feel like I was playing an amp that I couldn't push a little harder for emphisizing certaint riffs by changing my picking dynamics. The Mesa was a let down, So I ended up back on the Blue Voodoo. |
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DarrinPA
Silver Member
USA
221 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2007 : 07:18:34
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| Sorry for the double post but if anybody is looking for a better tone by useing a compressor when it's not important to keep levels even but still looking for an increase in tone they may want to look at a Sonic Maximizer. Better tone without squashing your sound. This may help avoid becoming redundant with compression when it's already happening naturally in your amp. |
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DeFrag
Moderator
USA
3409 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2007 : 08:25:52
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quote:
Originally posted by DarrinPA
Sorry for the double post but if anybody is looking for a better tone by useing a compressor when it's not important to keep levels even but still looking for an increase in tone they may want to look at a Sonic Maximizer. Better tone without squashing your sound. This may help avoid becoming redundant with compression when it's already happening naturally in your amp.
Or a Aphex Aural Exciter 204 which operates a bit differently than the Maximizer: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/204/
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controlfreak
Silver Member
Ireland
337 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2007 : 09:38:57
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i think what i need is a limiter so as i just want all pedal outputs not to exceed my clean volume.
do you get the same dynamics thru with a limiter goin or does it still squash a bit? |
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zestystrat
Silver Member
USA
283 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2007 : 19:43:34
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I have a CS-2 but since I picked up the Bi-CompROSSor (www.analogman.com/rossmod.htm#bicomp) it's all I use. Not sure why I'm even holding on to the cs-2 anymore.
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Edited by - zestystrat on 06/21/2007 19:46:15 |
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Topic |
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Do I Need Compression?
