Members A Very Special Piccolo Posted September 25, 2015 Members Share Posted September 25, 2015 I have an alesis 3632 rack compressor which I run my guitar into before it hits the amp. I have found it difficult to get a substantial plucking sound with it, and I'm wondering whether different compressors are capable of getting that sound to different degrees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted September 25, 2015 Members Share Posted September 25, 2015 Rack compressors are for PA and recording. The inputs take line level signals which are higher then what a guitar pickup puts out. They are barely going to compress and will likely sound hissy trying to crank the signal up to usable levels. I have gotten better results running the two sides in series. Plug into the first channel, Run the output of the first channel into the second channels input, then run thye 2nd output to an amp. Its still all line level full frequency gear though. What you need is an instrument level comp made for guitar. Use it early in the chain and then you'll get what you been looking for. There are allot of flavors and price ranges. Something like a Boss really clamps down allot. MXR has allot of makeup and produves allot of Jangle. I like the Marshall myself because it isn't over the top and doesn't clamp down too much. Its kind of tube like with a tone control built in so I can adjust its tone for different instruments. I'd darken a Fenders single coil twang a little or brighten a Gibson Humbucker tone to give it a little more snap. There are tons of others. You don't have to spend a mint on one to get good results either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted September 25, 2015 Members Share Posted September 25, 2015 The answer for me is a Bogner Harlow pedal. Amazing pedal and going to knock my Demeter Compulator off my pedal board (been my fav for years). It's like adding MSG to your sound with none of the tone suck that most compressors exhibit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted September 25, 2015 Members Share Posted September 25, 2015 It's more than just compression btw. It's also a killer boost pedal with a bunch of gain available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members A Very Special Piccolo Posted September 26, 2015 Author Members Share Posted September 26, 2015 Thanks for the replies! I looked into the pedals that were mentioned, and I think I'm going to get a BOSS CS-3. I really like the sustain and attack knobs. Rack compressors are for PA and recording. The inputs take line level signals which are higher then what a guitar pickup puts out. They are barely going to compress and will likely sound hissy trying to crank the signal up to usable levels. I can turn the compressor threshold all the way down, which goes to -40 db, and I think it will completely throttle the guitar signal. I don't know if that's still not doing something or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thatsbunk Posted September 26, 2015 Members Share Posted September 26, 2015 I had a CS-3 & I found it a little to noisy for my tastes. I have one of these now & really like it; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted September 26, 2015 Members Share Posted September 26, 2015 Same here with the Boss. Good luck anyway. Embrace the hiss! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bucksstudent Posted September 27, 2015 Members Share Posted September 27, 2015 My favorite compressor was the MXR Dyna Comp. Roger McGuinn used to use two at the same time for his live sound. Now there's the Janglebox. The solution to the hiss is a noise reducer/suppressor placed before the compressor in the pedal chain. Single coils are noisy anyway, so a compressor is only going to amplify the problem. IMO, there should be a compressor with a built in noise reducer. Also, the BBE Sonic Maximizer is a good pedal that is somewhat similar to a compressor, but doesn't have the noise problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members orourke Posted September 27, 2015 Members Share Posted September 27, 2015 I had a CS-3 & I found it a little to noisy for my tastes. I have one of these now & really like it; I've been through a lot of compressor pedals and the little SP Comp is my favorite. It's incredible versatile, sounds great, has a bit of boost available and the size and price can't be beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pine Apple Slim Posted September 27, 2015 Members Share Posted September 27, 2015 All you need. Just keep the knobs on the left hand side of the dial, not maxed out as show. s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 I have an alesis 3632 rack compressor which I run my guitar into before it hits the amp. I have found it difficult to get a substantial plucking sound with it' date=' and I'm wondering whether different compressors are capable of getting that sound to different degrees.[/quote'] I think you mean the infamous 3630... which looks fantastic on paper due to its wealth of features, but in all honesty is one of the worst rack compressors ever unleashed on an unsuspecting public. Get yourself a good Orange Squeezer clone. Ever heard "Sultans Of Swing"? That's what he was using. Pluck for days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted October 1, 2015 Members Share Posted October 1, 2015 How could you not want one of these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted October 1, 2015 Members Share Posted October 1, 2015 this one is better... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted October 1, 2015 Members Share Posted October 1, 2015 Sounds plinky as compressors go. Could translate well with some crunch to color it. I like the Ma5rshall ED 1. Couldn't find a credible demo but it blows all the cheap pedal comps in clarity and range. It has a sweep that shifts the compression from the top strings to the low strings - I guess this is a multi band thing - allowing leads or comping at a twist of a knob. Does gorgeous clean and chicken pickin especially. ( I can't but it's there) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted October 1, 2015 Members Share Posted October 1, 2015 Plinky? Try real speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted October 1, 2015 Members Share Posted October 1, 2015 No really. It has that optical "won't squish your attack" sound. I find all metal cleans - Metallica, Dream Theatre, name 'em - , plinky. I seriously think it's that attack part of the spectrum worn out in their hearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted October 1, 2015 Members Share Posted October 1, 2015 It's just compression. The second video is better, but to dismiss the whole thing as "plinky" seems mean. I agree that the Metallica clean sounds abused compression and chorus. Not my cup of tea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted October 1, 2015 Members Share Posted October 1, 2015 Also, the BBE Sonic Maximizer is a good pedal that is somewhat similar to a compressor, but doesn't have the noise problem. A BBE is not a compressor, its in fact a very different animal all together. Compression involves volume automation and may color the sound a bit but that's only a side effect. You can have multiband compression that can do frequency enhancement or Desser but they both involve dynamic volume control based on signal strength A BBE has no volume automation and is closer to being an Aural Exciter then a compressor. The Manufacturer came up with its own proprietary version of this harmonic enhancer using something called Dynamic Equalization. I guess you can kind of say it has some similarities to a multiband expander (opposite of a multiband compressor) without the volume expansion. It differs because its not being triggered by signal strength, just frequency content. An expander makes small transients into really big transients and leaves small ones alone. It instead it only enhances frequency response based on where you set the knobs. The signal doesn't get larger or smaller in amplitude based on transients. Its also got additional phase manipulation to separate the two bands. It essentially works like an EQ where you'd have frequencies boosted. When there's no signal present, there's no boost, and when the signal level is high, maximum boost is applied. This has many advantages over a normal Exciter because it can emphasize transients without adding a bunch of noise when there's no signal present like you'd get using a normal EQ or harmonic generator. I use a BBE plugin recording occasionally and its not much different then using an EQ and Noise gate. The phase manipulation process is a linear phase shift across the full audio spectrum which adds a delay of about 2ms. This may feel like a compressors delayed Attack when you play through one, but its simply a delayed response, not an automated attenuation of the volume level a compressor provides. This delay is intended to prevent the high frequency detail from being distorted or masked by the low frequencies and is supposed to increases detail without boosting levels. In essence, the highs are delayed by a few milliseconds so the phase of the low frequencies are separated from the output of the highs. Or in simple terms they phase shift the two bands so you don't hear weird phase canceling effects when the boosted frequencies are mixed with the dry signals when you turn either the highs or lows up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bucksstudent Posted October 1, 2015 Members Share Posted October 1, 2015 "A BBE is not a compressor" I didn't say it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKCM Posted October 1, 2015 Members Share Posted October 1, 2015 A BBE is not a compressor, its in fact a very different animal all together. Compression involves volume automation and may color the sound a bit but that's only a side effect. You can have multiband compression that can do frequency enhancement or Desser but they both involve dynamic volume control based on signal strength A BBE has no volume automation and is closer to being an Aural Exciter then a compressor. The Manufacturer came up with its own proprietary version of this harmonic enhancer using something called Dynamic Equalization. I guess you can kind of say it has some similarities to a multiband expander (opposite of a multiband compressor) without the volume expansion. It differs because its not being triggered by signal strength, just frequency content. An expander makes small transients into really big transients and leaves small ones alone. It instead it only enhances frequency response based on where you set the knobs. The signal doesn't get larger or smaller in amplitude based on transients. Its also got additional phase manipulation to separate the two bands. It essentially works like an EQ where you'd have frequencies boosted. When there's no signal present, there's no boost, and when the signal level is high, maximum boost is applied. This has many advantages over a normal Exciter because it can emphasize transients without adding a bunch of noise when there's no signal present like you'd get using a normal EQ or harmonic generator. I use a BBE plugin recording occasionally and its not much different then using an EQ and Noise gate. The phase manipulation process is a linear phase shift across the full audio spectrum which adds a delay of about 2ms. This may feel like a compressors delayed Attack when you play through one, but its simply a delayed response, not an automated attenuation of the volume level a compressor provides. This delay is intended to prevent the high frequency detail from being distorted or masked by the low frequencies and is supposed to increases detail without boosting levels. In essence, the highs are delayed by a few milliseconds so the phase of the low frequencies are separated from the output of the highs. Or in simple terms they phase shift the two bands so you don't hear weird phase canceling effects when the boosted frequencies are mixed with the dry signals when you turn either the highs or lows up. So if we put this post through a BBE instead of being BOLLOX it would be bbOLoxx? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikesr1963 Posted October 2, 2015 Members Share Posted October 2, 2015 I had a CS-3 & I found it a little to noisy for my tastes. I have one of these now & really like it; Really? Did you have it in the right place in the signal chain or eq'd? I ask because I've had zero hiss out of mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted October 2, 2015 Members Share Posted October 2, 2015 It's just compression. The second video is better, but to dismiss the whole thing as "plinky" seems mean. I agree that the Metallica clean sounds abused compression and chorus. Not my cup of tea. Well contempt for that plinky metal clean sound for sure. It's a very percussive attack with little pitch definition followed by a thin tone. It's a spectral voicing thing more than compression - which should fatten the tone instead of just defining the rhythm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thatsbunk Posted October 2, 2015 Members Share Posted October 2, 2015 Really? Did you have it in the right place in the signal chain or eq'd? I ask because I've had zero hiss out of mine. My compressor is always the first pedal after my tuner. I just found the boss to be noisy. I even installed the Monte Allums mod to it which quieted it down a little but it was still hissy afterwards. Part of the problem may be where my band practices (lots of florescent lights, dimmers, etc.), but I have the xotic sp in the same spot in my board where the boss used to be & the difference is dramatic. I pretty much leave it on all the time now. I think part of the secret to the xotic is the blend control... I leave the settings just a little past 12 o'clock on both the blend & volume & it gives me a subtle squish without being over the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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