compressor issues!

[sl2lover]

I've been looking for a good quiet compressor but have been unsuccesful! I have a dbx 266XL, but it kills my sound some, and a pain to mess with!! I also have boss CS-3, and it works pretty good as far as compression, but it has kills a lot of my sound, and it's way to noisy!! Anybody got any suggestions?? [img]/images/graemlins/help.gif[/img]

[PallarAndersVisa]

Re: compressor issues!

real men dont need compression

hehe, actually i dunno, i just use the one in my Gmajor

[hippietim]

Re: compressor issues!

The Keeley compressor is excellent. It's really great.

I had the Boss CS-2 which was supposed to be great - it sucked. The Digitech X-Series compressor sounded good but it was a hiss factory. The Maxon compressor sounded too squishy. The old 9-series Ibanez compressor was just like the Maxon - squishy. The cheap ass Danelectro compressor sounded really good but had noise issues (not to mention it was a cheaply made thing). The MXR red compressor is pretty cool.

Supposedly the AnalogMan compressor is really good - the one based on the old Ross compressor. I've never tried one of these though.

[jeff300]

Re: compressor issues!

Waddya mean by "kills your sound some"? That's what a compressor does. Do you mean it adds noise? If so, that shouldn't happen.

I have a lastest gen DBX Project 1 266XL and have no complaints with it affecting the tone in ways I don't want it to.

[jimbilly]

Re: compressor issues!

Tech 21 is typically good stuff, don't they make the 'comptortion'? pedal?

[markD]

Re: compressor issues!

i have used alesis nano-compressors as well as samson rack compressors in the loops of my amps and have no noise issues.

look at how high you have the ratio set. if you are doing like a 6:1 compression ratio, you are over squashing the sound and you will get noise as you crank the output to get your volume back. for guitar you really shouldn't set more than a 4:1 ratio and even that is pretty high. look at your threshold, ataack, and release rates also. compressors work best when you aren't sure that they are even there.

i find a 2:1 ratio, with a quick attack and a moderate release keepes the sound from being overly squashed and totally prevents "pumping" from occuring.

[Chavelfan]

Re: compressor issues!

I have a Barber Tone Press that replaced my Boss. The Barber has a blend knob that lets you blend the compressed signal with your normal signal to keep all your highs and dynamics intact while giving great sustain. It can also squish if you want it to. Quieter than the Boss and hand made for $140.