Do you turn your compressor OFF when using dirt?

[johnthomas]

Lately it seems to me like the compressor is adding headroom back...fighting the overdrive.
So, I frequently turn it off. Just wondering about other compressor users 1st hand experience. I still find it is useful for more than "country" squish. Nice for clean arpeggiation etc...but also hating the on/off switch noise...It was easier when I wasn't as picky about overdrive sounds and just left the thing on.


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[Blille]

Do you turn your compressor OFF when using dirt?

I have a pretty subtle comp (optical) setting after OD, before muff and never turn it off.

I didn’t like how it felt before OD because I missed the dynamics in the OD. Before the muff (Hoof) I think it’s fine since I’m going for infinite sustain.

You have it before or after OD? Also if you could elaborate on specific comp, dirt and amp it may help.


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[johnthomas]

Re: Do you turn your compressor OFF when using dirt?

I have a pretty subtle comp (optical) setting after OD, before muff and never turn it off.

I didn’t like how it felt before OD because I missed the dynamics in the OD. Before the muff (Hoof) I think it’s fine since I’m going for infinite sustain.

You have it before or after OD? Also if you could elaborate on specific comp, dirt and amp it may help.


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Hi,
mine is optical with a blend knob
placed 1st in chain before wah, o.d., tremolo or other mod , preamp with separate boost, marshall in a box od, and delay ( sans amp only on with Tech 21 power engine) The Pigtronix also has a fuzz knob, so placed WITH the muff so to speak...the fuzz is killer before other ods.
hopefully the pic came through

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[johnthomas]

Re: Do you turn your compressor OFF when using dirt?

main amp is now a Fender Blues DeVille reissue...sans amp off...lol

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[beaubrummels]

Re: Do you turn your compressor OFF when using dirt?

If I use one, I keep my compressor after distortion and use a 1:1.5 ratio with a touch of make up gain to simulate the response of an actual tube amp.

 

[Blille]

Re: Do you turn your compressor OFF when using dirt?

Hi,
mine is optical with a blend knob
placed 1st in chain before wah, o.d., tremolo or other mod , preamp with separate boost, marshall in a box od, and delay ( sans amp only on with Tech 21 power engine) The Pigtronix also has a fuzz knob, so placed WITH the muff so to speak...the fuzz is killer before other ods.
hopefully the pic came through

main amp is now a Fender Blues DeVille reissue...sans amp off...lol

Thanks. Well, I used to have a comp before the FlyRig and I was frustrated because the Plexi had 0 dynamics.

My recommendation would be to play with the position of the comp but given your setup I think it’s hard.

Do you use the archer as a boost to juice the Plexi? I really feel like you need an OD before the Pigtronix but I don’t think it will solve how you feel when you kick on the Plexi. I would experiment with something cheap and touch sensitive like the TC Mojo Mojo. Or the Archer just for experimenting. Put it first (dirty as an OD, not boost) and see how you like it and we can go from there?

 

[johnthomas]

Re: Do you turn your compressor OFF when using dirt?

Thanks. Well, I used to have a comp before the FlyRig and I was frustrated because the Plexi had 0 dynamics.

My recommendation would be to play with the position of the comp but given your setup I think it’s hard.

Do you use the archer as a boost to juice the Plexi? I really feel like you need an OD before the Pigtronix but I don’t think it will solve how you feel when you kick on the Plexi. I would experiment with something cheap and touch sensitive like the TC Mojo Mojo. Or the Archer just for experimenting. Put it first (dirty as an OD, not boost) and see how you like it and we can go from there?

Hard to know where to start. 1stly, thanks for the suggestions...I will certainly try them.
In my experience placing a compressor after dirt amplifies the nasty and ain't nice. There is a good reason why Boss for instance places comps 1st in a signal chain.
I rarely use the plexi section of the Flyrig, as I primarily play blues. I use the boost often, as it takes the Archer easily into solo territory.
The Archer is awesome as an almost always on light od. The silver Hotone beside the Archer has like 33 ods in it, so I can easily add a Sparkle Drive, TS, Zen Drive, Blues Drive or a host of Marshall in a Boxes before the Flyrig and after the lighter od.

While I agree that the plexi on the flyrig is in the middle of the pack, (the Xstomp definitely has betters) I think that Marshall style ods are there for chordal crunch rather than my style of solo. eg I think they all tend to be relatively dynamic free.

Not looking for a solution so much as simply observing...I remember the good ol days with a Boss SE50 (compressor 1st in the chain) and a Gallien-Krueger 250 which could rip your face off even with the compressor on. For the most part I simply need less compressor now, as by design they remove dynamics to a degree.







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[Blille]

Re: Do you turn your compressor OFF when using dirt?

I hear you. Thanks for being open to try stuff. FWIW I’ve used comp extensively for the last 20 years or so and I really think it makes a difference but it takes a while to find what works for you.

I disagree with comp being first always. I think it depends on what you want and what your rig is. If you think about it, your amp will add significant comp after your board and when you record you’ll likely get some additional squeeze too.

Back to your original question, no I don’t turn off my comp when using dirt but that is because it’s quite subtle and it runs after my OD.


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[TimmyPage]

Re: Do you turn your compressor OFF when using dirt?

If I use one, I keep my compressor after distortion and use a 1:1.5 ratio with a touch of make up gain to simulate the response of an actual tube amp.

For sure, I couldn't live without my compressor for bedroom practice or gigs in quieter environments. They just give back so much of that 'feel' that's missing when you can't crank it up.

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: Do you turn your compressor OFF when using dirt?

Maybe I’m wrong but doesn’t compression usually decrease headroom?

 

[johnthomas]

Re: Do you turn your compressor OFF when using dirt?

Maybe I’m wrong but doesn’t compression usually decrease headroom?

In theory yes...the general most common useage is to "even things out" which means squishing the highest parts down while boosting the lower parts up...

Nonetheless, I feel like having the compressor on sort of takes away the od's chance to get a whack at the signal so even with od, one ends up with a cleaner sound...sorta like the compressed clean is od proofed.
I agree with the guys just above that mention it helps to make up for not being able to play loud at home or small gigs. Plus it creates a really glassy nice clean for things that do not require od.


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[Aceman]

Re: Do you turn your compressor OFF when using dirt?

No comp with dirt. That's just me.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: Do you turn your compressor OFF when using dirt?

No comp at all for me... Idk maybe it's just my pedal (CS-3 that's gathered A LOT of dust in 20+ years) ...but I've always preferred the sound that's output straight from the amp..clean or dirt. Compression just sounds odd.

I'm crappy at recording though :laugh2: ..so maybe that's where it makes a difference?

 

[B2D]

Re: Do you turn your compressor OFF when using dirt?

I use an Xotic SP Compressor. I have mine always on, and I place it just after the tuner. I set it to provide a relatively transparent, clean boost to the sound that evens things out, especially on cleans. It's especially good when I'm using my Strat.

 

[johnthomas]

Re: Do you turn your compressor OFF when using dirt?

I use an Xotic SP Compressor. I have mine always on, and I place it just after the tuner. I set it to provide a relatively transparent, clean boost to the sound that evens things out, especially on cleans. It's especially good when I'm using my Strat.

yep...that is kind of where I am with mine. Mine is mostly on except now I remove it for dirt...usually
There is a focused hard crunch that is kind of nice with both, but mostly off for dirt nowadays.

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[dystrust]

Re: Do you turn your compressor OFF when using dirt?

The short answer for me is 'yes'. I have a loop switcher on my board with separate loops for clean & dirty, and my compressor lives in the clean loop. When playing clean I generally leave it on unless I'm doing some sort of touch-sensitive dynamics thing.

The only pedal I leave on all of the time is the reverb in the clean loop.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Do you turn your compressor OFF when using dirt?

I use a Monte Allums modded CS-3 ALL the time with acoustic.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: Do you turn your compressor OFF when using dirt?

I've never touched an acoustic :laugh2:

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Do you turn your compressor OFF when using dirt?

With my tube amp setup, I keep the Comp on all of the time. I am currently using the MXR Custom Comp, it is more subtle than the MXR Dyna Comp IMO.

Adjust to what you like when you are playing clean and with drive--notate the settings and see if you can't come to a balance between the two that will not go overboard one way or the other.

 

[Danich_Ivanov]

Re: Do you turn your compressor OFF when using dirt?

When recording at home i'm using compressor as an attenuator just before the amp, to be able to keep the amp at it's normal volume, at which it opens up, but turn the pedalboard down, so that i could keep the whole thing quiet, yet alive.