Compression is it a crutch?

[LaXu]

What a terrible T-shirt. Had they gone for a 0dbV scale with the meter going above it, the message would be much better.

[BryanMichael]

I agree- I don't think most guitarists are smart enough to understand compression. On that note- compression is as much a tone shaping tool as anything, really slamming a tele or strat with compression gives you a springy/twangy tone you don't really get with out it.

I'm going to quote myself again because this thread is proving my point to some degree...

[Electric Catfish]

I'm going to quote myself again because this thread is proving my point to some degree...

Yeah, you better just keep on quoting yourself, because otherwise, we're just going to wind up with all sorts of "non-BryanMichael" (read: incorrect) opinions, and we can't have that.

In fact, you might want to quote yourself again right now, just to obscure this post.

You could always put everybody besides yourself on ignore.

[easyliver]

i've found a compressor to be a hard thing to leave at home when i've got a country gig...some genre's just beg for a "tight" sound...comp pedals kill funk rhythm stuff too IMO

[bhsbhswarp]

i've found a compressor to be a hard thing to leave at home when i've got a country gig...some genre's just beg for a "tight" sound...comp pedals kill funk rhythm stuff too IMO

ah,so thats were comp works

[scud133]

what about 'natural' compression caused by overdrive and distortion?? i've seen new RAT pedals put out a near perfect table-top waveform in pro tools... i.e., no dynamic range whatsoever

 

 

 

if you like distortion then automatically you like compression

 

edit: doh, erksin pretty much said this already at the top of page 3

[easyliver]

ah,so thats were comp works

living in KY these are all i seemingly have...country gigs

anyone else feel the urge to try to play like brent mason every night??:poke:

[cubistguitar]

What a lot of these fools are saying is true, compression is one of the first things you learn in the audio production world.

Here is where the crutches come out big time. More engineers than ever break out all the compression,EQ, and reverb before they even have a mix going. The new digital boards are making this "board op" syndrome even worse. all the guys with a little training go nuts showing you how fast they can route and reroute your signal thru umpteen processors, before you get your guitar tuned up.


They can't actually mix any, but they make each track uniformly un-dynamic then liven up the snare and vocal with reverb, eq the {censored} out of everything with the convenient library of curves with names like " elec gtr" "drum overhead" etc. Very flat loud {censored} without any real vibe, but at least when the dumb asses scream in the mics like ALL newish heavy music it doesn't pop your eardrums.

[erksin]

ah,so thats were comp works

I don't play funk or country.

If you liked recorded music you like compression. If you like tube amps you like compression. If you like dirt pedals in any form, you like compression. You may not like a huge amount of it, but you are most certainly using it to some degree playing an electric guitar.

[aberrant]

I think everybody needs to just DE-compress a little here...

[hecticone]

Whatever happened to the days of recording the tracks dry?We just did some stuff and they had my guitar sound absolutely junked on the original tracks.

[kismet78]

Whatever happened to the days of recording the tracks dry?We just did some stuff and they had my guitar sound absolutely junked on the original tracks.

Completely dry is just as bad as over-processed.

[frankiej]

Was the poster refering to a comp pedal or just comp in general?

Yes theres compression with everything but i dont see the need for a comp pedal.

[Noise...]

You obviously haven't played or heard the right compressor then because none of my guitar's character or pick attack is altered or lost with the comp I use. I find it laughable that all of you guys who say you don't like compression use high gain dirt boxes. If you don't think you're using compression already, you need to pass the pipe.

I'm sure there are compressors out there that don't color your tone or ruin your guitar's character.

I just don't feel like spending $200 on a compressor that I won't use a whole lot, when I could spend that money on something I'd use every day.

Also, I don't use any dirt boxes, let alone high-gain. I play mainly clean, aside from a Big Muff that's used for wall-of-fuzz type sounds.

[hecticone]

I was refering to a comp pedal at the beginning. I don't know we did some offal nice recordings in the 80's that were recorded dry and then redone with different effects. I will try to find something to throw up.Thats kind of a bad choice of words.

[kismet78]

I was refering to a comp pedal at the beginning. I don't know we did some offal nice recordings in the 80's that were recorded dry and then redone with different effects. I will try to find something to throw up.Thats kind of a bad choice of words.

Ah, I see what you mean. I post-process too, mostly.

[Heineken]

I really have no use for them. I had a Boss CS-3 and Marshall ED-1 in the past, and thought they were just {censored}ty pedals and didn't like 'm for that reason. So i stumbled upon a Ross compressor that is supposed to be the mother of all comps, since all the boutique brands model theirs after it. Used it for a couple of months and sold it (with a MAJOR profit;)) I LIKE picking dynamics in my clean parts and when i play distorted i use tons of tube gain and a high output bridge pickup that compresses more then enough on it's own. I can understand why jazz-dudes, finger-pickers or traditional blues players like them, but i really DON'T. I will never use a compressor again.

[Phil O'Keefe]

I use compression daily, but not just pedals, and a lot of my use of compression is not just about dynamics control, but also tonal shaping in the studio. In that respect, I do not consider it as a "crutch" at all, although I do acknowledge that for some people, it may be used in that respect to compensate for less than effective control over their playing dynamics.

[IvIark]

Was the poster refering to a comp pedal or just comp in general? Yes theres compression with everything but i dont see the need for a comp pedal.

 

I took it as a compression pedal, but I may have taken it the wrong way.

[easyliver]

i figured pedal too...

[Surrealistic Brillo]

When I first started playing I used compression a lot, but I had a real heavy picking hand at that time. And could be fairly sloppy with the other.Now in the last few years compression has seemed to get in the way of my playing.Is this just me or do others feel that compression really isn't necessarry.

It's useful if you are looking to get controlled feedback at low volumes or if you're doing more experimental textures, prepared guitar work, volume swells, right hand harmonics, bowed guitar, etc.

I rarely if ever use it for the "normal" stuff.

[Alchemist]

things are only a crutch if you need them to be..... same as any effect, you can use distortion to create a raw and melodic effect, or you can use it to cover up your terrible playing and inability to fret and pick properly by compensating with a lot of gain....

I use my compressor for several situations..... keeping even tone and dynamics for backing rhythm work, giving me a boost as well as more attack for touchstyle jazz, and giving me more snap and attack for funk rhythm and country licks......

[Jules-RM]

Here is where the crutches come out big time. More engineers than ever break out all the compression,EQ, and reverb before they even have a mix going. The new digital boards are making this "board op" syndrome even worse. all the guys with a little training go nuts showing you how fast they can route and reroute your signal thru umpteen processors, before you get your guitar tuned up. They can't actually mix any, but they make each track uniformly un-dynamic then liven up the snare and vocal with reverb, eq the {censored} out of everything with the convenient library of curves with names like " elec gtr" "drum overhead" etc. Very flat loud {censored} without any real vibe, but at least when the dumb asses scream in the mics like ALL newish heavy music it doesn't pop your eardrums.

YES. Just what has been pissing me off lately. There are zero dynamics going on. Every band sounds exactly the same. Every mix is a "AM radio" mix.

When we record next, I deffinitely want it to sound like it was recorded in the 60s or 70s or even 80s, before "Recording and Mixing for Dummies" came out. Lots of air and space, noise and quiet. There are a ton of recordings I'm listening to that are over 25 years old, just for cribbing notes on production.

I know it's probably not going to be easy tho, especially if I can't get my hands on any actual tape recorders.

[hecticone]

Too bad your in cal. Randy Greens studio in Cottage Grove Wis. does wonders.

[pinkzep52]

Completely dry is just as bad as over-processed.

Not always true. Alot of Steely Dan's studio stuff is very dry and sounds great. You can really hear the clarity of all the intruments without it masked in reverb and compression.