So recently i bought a Keeley compressor after 1) watching some jhs videos about compression and how it works and 2) hearing our bass playerâs sound.
That made me think: âshould i buy one?â
I must say i was sceptical at first, about using one and where it would benefit me, but i went ahead and bought one, thinking iâd send it back if i didnât like it.
Now itâs a âset and forgetâ / always on feature on my board. I never thought this would happen, but there you go.
My sound is much more pronounced if thatâs the word iâm looking for.
It just sounds better.
Iâd reccomend compression to everybody, but youâd have to see for yourself.
Me, i was just amazed about what i can do. (after fiddling with the settings for sometime, it was not all that obvious for me. My ears did all the work. )
I donât really understand compressors. I have a multi effects unit (Boss MS-3) but all the compression options seem to act like a massive boost pedal. I thought compression was supposed to âeven outâ the levels - why does it boost them?
âAh, Compressor, my old nemesisâŠâ
The fourth musketeer after reverb, distortion & delay
I have some ideas of what it does, without really understanding how they relate to each other, eg âevening out volume peaks and troughsâ or adding sustain.
One day I will put on my harness, ropes, and with a large supply of vittles, descend down that rabbit hole to get to the bottom of it
Iâm glad your ears have sorted you out.
Well done!
The thread starts with how I use a compressor - my clean tone is now neck humbucker into a compressor (then chorus, delay with reverb on the amp). But you donât have to scroll far for the compressor explanation.
Yep, the compressor sits early on in the chain. For me, itâs right after my tuner pedal.
TLDR: it boosts the tones that are played silently and it lowers the tones that are played loud.
If you hit a string hard, it wil bring the volume down, if you hit it softly, it will bring the volume up.
All within the borders (hard/soft) you have set up.
Right after compression, i have a boss blues driver which i use as an overdrive. If i hit that pedal, my volume gets raised within the parameters iâve set up for that pedal. (adding distortion or just extra volume).
The compressor just does itâs job like always.
Once you get used to it, itâs hard to not use it.
Compressors are great, reverbs are great, delays are great. However, I almost always practice without them - they can hide problems in my technique.
For recording or playing live, then Iâll use them - although personally I donât like too much.
I understand. Everybody has his or her own preferences.
For me, i couldnât live without effects anymore. On the other hand, they do take some time to get used to an can easily steal an entire evening, otherwise reserved for practice.
Once you get locked in a serious sound addiction, the tendency is to take it as far as possible.
It can be tricky. Different manufacturers come up with different names for the same functions.
Have a look at some pedals and see what the names are below the knobs.
It adds to the confusion, imho.
The very well known Guitar work on âReelinâ In the Yearsâ by Steely Dan was done using a compressor pedal, I believe it was a favourite of his to bring levels across the Frequency spectrum to a more even level, rather than EQ it on a mixing desk. I used to have a repro of the vintage pedal, foolishly I sold it, I can find an equivalent one now on the WWW.
Ohhh. Very nice. Keeleyâs stuff is really nice. The Oxblood overdrive/ distortion is super sweet sounding. I have not heard the compressor I am sure its killer. You can also send him your DS-1 and have him do the Keeley mod on it which is incredible.
Super stoked for you. I canât live with out my effects either. They absolutely go with anything going out my amp.
)
Oh No! I can feel another purchase coming on 