Many of you are using compression and don't know it. A cranked tube amp ah.sweet compression. alnico speaker pushed , compression. chicken pickin? compression needed. Recording? compression is needed to keep from clipping and help you get a hotter signal to tape or CD.
there is nothing worse sounding than digital distortion when recording digital. Comps keep the peaks down depending where you set the threshold level. Compression is one of the greatest tool ever made. Radio and TV? you hear it working 24/7 used wrong? you'll get more noise and artifacts like pumping etc.
Mr. Bluesmann,
How right you are, on this one.