Compressor pedals? What are they for?

J

jeromey127

New member
Hi there, i'm a (senior year?) aged student from Australia learning about the technical production behind music..

At the moment i'm learning about delays, reverbs, gates and compressors, basic effects.

What i'm wondering is, why are compressors/compressor pedals so popular on guitars in music if they just essentially make any sounds that reach a certain threshold quieter by keeping them down at that set threshold? I mean yeah, if you're in an awkwardly set up pub with the sound bouncing off every wall, then you might want to keep it down a touch.. But otherwise, what's the deal? And why do some artists 'stack' some different compressors on top of each other when mixing?

Thanks for any help!
 
Re: Compressor pedals? What are they for?

Hi, and welcome.

That is a very large and controversial question, so hopefully I am getting in here before the Tsunami of Nonsense. :)

Compression does not only lower loud notes, it also brings up low notes. Think of it more as a leveler/evener. It can also add or remove sustain. It adds gain. And can accentuate or diminish transients. In short, compression is a fantastic tonal and expression effect that is almost entirely misunderstood by most guitar players.

I always record w a compression pedal in the chain but this is mostly for colour or to add sustain/brightness. I use it pretty sparingly.

For mixing, the gloves come off. :)
I will do whatever the song demands. Stacking compressors is a great way to get total control over the track, add unique colourations, and sculpt transients.

NY compression is a technique whereby you run a copy of a dynamic track with super compression on it in parallel to add foundation, weight, and cut in a mix without raising it's level within the mix; ie, better substance and cut without the track getting louder.
 
Re: Compressor pedals? What are they for?

I love compression with certain songs I play and almost always when recording. TwilightOdyssey put it exactly how it is (while still being easy to understand).
 
Re: Compressor pedals? What are they for?

TwilightOdyssey said:
NY compression is a technique whereby you run a copy of a dynamic track with super compression on it in parallel to add foundation, weight, and cut in a mix without raising it's level within the mix; ie, better substance and cut without the track getting louder.
Click to expand...
Twilight got it, bang on center.

"NY compression" got its' name from the popularity of the technique among New York recording studio engineers, who in turn picked up on it from their radio and TV broadcast brethren. (sisteren? :dunno: )
 
Re: Compressor pedals? What are they for?

We just finished this video of Tosin Abasi where he talks about what he uses a compressor for
 
Re: Compressor pedals? What are they for?

To add...

Different brand compressors impart a different "mojo" on tracks/instruments. In fact, some tracks are run through compressors sans compression just to pick up the compressors nuances.

Compressors can be used as "mix glue" to bring all the "ingredients" together in a pleasing "3d" manner; versus a disjointed sort of "meh" flat mix.

Compression can also cause a tune/instrument to "pump" or "breathe" depending on the amount of comp, attack and release settings; which is used for effect.

Compression can bring a track or song to life. Compression is (metaphorically speaking) the 3rd dimension for sound.

I'd say EQ and compression are the two most important "effects" of all.
 
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Re: Compressor pedals? What are they for?

LLL said:
I'd say EQ and compression are the two most important "effects" of all.
Click to expand...
I would add panning to that, but essentially a very large +1 to this. :)

As for 'gluing' tracks, typically reverbs and delays are used for this nowadays.
 
Re: Compressor pedals? What are they for?

LLL said:
Compressors can be used as "mix glue" to bring all the "ingredients" together in a pleasing "3d" manner; versus a disjointed sort of "meh" flat mix.
Click to expand...

I'd say compression in a mix is like salt in a meal. None at all and you'll notice that something's missing. Too much, and it ruins the damned thing. Often modern mixing and mastering will use compression to leave the music is like a spaghetti dinner where all the sauce with salt.
 
Re: Compressor pedals? What are they for?

TwilightOdyssey said:
Think of it more as a leveler/evener.
Click to expand...

Historically, real world audio exceeds the dynamic range capability of most analogue recording devices. It has been necessary to "squash" the dynamic range of signals in an attempt to to get them on to tape (or, for that matter, direct to disc) without unwanted overload.

With the arrival of rock 'n' roll music, intentional overloading of tape became a staple of recording studio techniques. Without it, the drum sounds of Keith Moon would be puny.

Logically, any sound processed through a compressor in order to avoid colouration due to tape saturation is, instead, coloured by whatever sonic artefacts the compression and/or limiter processors introduce. Some of these artefacts are subjectively pleasing to the human ear. This is where the artifice becomes creative.
 
Re: Compressor pedals? What are they for?

GuitarStv said:
I'd say compression in a mix is like salt in a meal. None at all and you'll notice that something's missing. Too much, and it ruins the damned thing. Often modern mixing and mastering will use compression to leave the music is like a spaghetti dinner where all the sauce with salt.
Click to expand...
Not really true; Try telling that to Andy Wallace.
 
Re: Compressor pedals? What are they for?

I'm thinking more along the lines of savory... such as Beef Stroganoff.

Or perhaps Biscuits 'n' Gravy.

Yeah... Biscuits 'n' Gravy. With salt 'n' pepper.
 
Re: Compressor pedals? What are they for?

I use a compressor in situations where I won't get to use a tube amp, or where I will not be able to drive the tube amp and use the amp as my distortion. In those situations, like where a pedal has to provide the 'amp tone', I use a compressor set to 1.5:1 ratio with a threshold around -25db such that when I play lightly for cleans and then lay into it for distortion, my level stays fairly consistent the way it does through a real tube amp.
 
Re: Compressor pedals? What are they for?

Man….so many uses as both an effect and as recording processing…..
 
Re: Compressor pedals? What are they for?

I play without a pick
the compressor helps even out my picking and brings the level closer to that of a picked note

if I leave it too high I loose some dynamics
 
Re: Compressor pedals? What are they for?

I run 2 on my board. A Wampler to give a wee bit of pop and sweeten my sound, that is always on. I also have a Walrus Deep Six that is set to be pretty squishy which gives clean playing a pop.

This is a Wampler vid but Brent does a good job showing what a compressor will do for you



These are also great videos



 
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Re: Compressor pedals? What are they for?

Thanks everyone, the feedback helped tremendously, as well as giving me some huge ideas with my music/audio engineering ventures... Thanks!! :)
 
Re: Compressor pedals? What are they for?

What about non-pedal pieces of gear where compression is present? Some pickups, distortion/OD/Fuzz pedals and gain channels are said to be 'compressed'; I'm still not 100% sure what that means or if it's good or bad.
 
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