5 Reasons Why I Don't Use a Compressor Pedal Anymore
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- Опубліковано 1 сер 2024
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Today I go throught 5 reasons why I don't feel like using my compressor pedal anymore.
You might reconsider if you truly need a compressor for YOUR needs! I used to love it, but I don't really want to use it anymore. My tastes change.
What about you? Do you use a compressor? What do like/don't like about it? Tell us in the comment section!
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This is the Ambient Guitar youtube channel of Canadian multi-instrumentist Antoine Michaud. Through original ambient music, chordal guitar lessons and tips on guitar pedals, Antoine is looking to educate and inspire aspiring ambient musicians to learn everything about the world of ambient guitar and chordal voicings on guitar.
One of the most insightful and helpful articles I've heard. I look forward to more
Thank You, that was very helpful!
This was great and love your honesty. Thank you!
Excellent Video 👍👍👍.
I recently was given as a gift a MXR mini Compressor, it has some great features, I mainly was using it for Sustain, it also has a Fast attack which is great but I wondered why my Neunaber Immerse Reverb had lost the Trails to an extent, now I know why!
I should of realised being a new edition to my Board, Thank you for helping me, it should of been obvious!
Take care♥️🎸👍.
Melbourne, Australia.
I love my dyna comp. it gives me a warmer and colored sound I really like. If you put sensibility under 4 you still have a good dinamics
Thank you for that very interesting video, Antoine!
I had a Keeley C4 for some time, but hardly used it. Then I thought, oh, I might just need a Cali76.
But you exactly pointed it out: for ambient music a compressor just flattens the dynamics and increases the noise.
So I will keep going on with my board without a compressor.
Thank you very much for this video. I'm a beginner learning electric guitar and I'm trying to get a pedal board together that will help me learn. I already decided on a looper, and was considering adding a compressor because indeed you hear a lot about this being essential on a board. Your video made me realise that a compressor would actually hide some of the shortcomings in my playing, making me ignore them rather than encouraging me to work on resolving them. So, no compressor yet for me. Thanks for saving me the money!!
My pleasure :-)
Loving your channel! You just saved me at least a hundred bucks which I now totally plan on putting towards one of your master courses one day soon here.... Cheers!
Awesome! Thank you! :-)
Congrats for your channel. This video is exactly what i thinks about compressors. I own in my history 2 times a cs3 and just used it some times for a craizy noissy lead tones... nothing else.
I play fender strat fender super champ a always on bd2 ... and fingers... always searching for the magic of guitar touch and sound dynamics.
Thanks for sharing !!
i like using heavy compression for booming bass, but for ambient guitar, like you pointed out, it really smothers the 3D reverbs. the difference was huge when you hit the compression on the neunaber. i do like it to squash overdriven distortion effects, but not for clean playing
I use a compressor more as a stacking clean boost than an always on pedal. It makes my clean rhythms sounds so snappy and I love having sustain for clean leads, kind of like Another Brick In the Wall. I also love how it sounds as alead boost when stacked with fuzz. It does make your other pedals sound different, but to me in a pleasing way, but only occasionally.
What about using it with for instance a preamp booster how would this work? would it be like stacking clean boots signal
Just for the fun of saying it here, in over 50 years of playing I've never owned a compressor until last week (it's a Keeley). So far, I find playing with it is enjoyable and more effortless. But now that you've posted how you are considering playing without it more, I'll think about my new experience more critically. My settings are very subtle. My guitar has the option of switching from magnet humbucking pickups to piezo and I play along with a Roland GR-33, so I like the way my guitar tone evens out and stays present with the compressor. As you say, we should be mindful of our unique needs. 👍
When you're doing the Reverb comparison, the compressor output level is lower, so it's not driving the reverb as much. The relative loudness seems quite close because the compression effect increases perceptive loudness even though your output level is a bit lower. If you have a level meter, it would be interesting to do a comparison. I tried looking at the manual for the Deep Six and couldn't figure out which way the Attack knob goes to reduce attack time. If I wanted the cleanest dynamic response, I would set the compressor to fastest attack and push it up slowly to feel it out. Another consideration, is that a compressed signal generally creates a more dense audio signal which can increase ear fatigue. Something to consider during long sessions. I use a Diamond compressor and like it's adaptability, it can go from very subtle to super squashed, so I mess with settings often.
I agree with you if you're playing in a sparse mix/mellow band. But if you need to stay audible in a dense mix compression will help, particularly with arpeggiated clean guitar parts.
I use a compressor before my EHX MEL9! For my electro-acoustic, I also use the LR BAGGS Session DI, a very subtle, transparent multiband compressor!
Thanks for the video, helped me to understand I really need a compressor (have never owned one)
I admit, I only have just bought mine (a cheap one) as a training wheel, so my uneven fingering (on bass) won't bother me quite so much when I should be just focusing on rhythm and timing and navigating the fretboard. And maybe to change how it all sounds a bit, take unintended dynamics away, or even go a bit crazy with it and remove all dynamics for a freakish sound.
Update: 3 years on I tried and re-sold multiple compressors.
They can be useful on bass, evening out the volume, but good consistent playing can get me there, too, and a training wheel compressor just makes me lazy and sloppy.
Besides, most of the time even with bass I use some distortion. Unlike what many would say, to me they just don't sound like they are getting on well, they amplify each other's noise. Except for some subtle compressors that hardly even do anything at all, but there is no point in having those.
Thank you for this video.
Great video. I am definitely questioning how much I need my compressor lately.
I'm glad you posted this video. It makes me feel better now. It's so funny..I stopped using my compressor prior to watching this video. I thought it might be hurting my sound. At first I thought it was really nice, but even after working on multiple different settings it seems to be counter-productive. I find that I control my swells better without it. :) Especially when recording in the DAW I find that it doesn't work very well. I think there are times it might be effective, but I will need to continue to experienment, but for now I am bypassing. LOL...hey that gives me room for a different pedal!!! LOL hahaha :)
Very very good explanations!! I had quiet the same feeling about compressor ... and was thinking about remove it of my board. But as you said so well in your video, I thought it was a MUST to have one; but I don't like my tone when it's on! So you just confirmed my thoughts, I will remove it! Thanks a lot!
I clicked on the video for the content,stayed for the playing. I'll check your music on Bandcamp.
Greetings from Spain
I went through quite a few compressors because I had the same problem with the way it changed the reverb tails. I now use the Rothwell "love squeeze" and found it the best compromise for me. I did find the MXR Studio compressor and the Mirage Effects RAF best for reverb tails but I prefer the way the LS sounds with drive pedals and I can live with the very subtle change to reverb trails.
Hay algunos que les gusta el sonido procesado y eso se logra con los compresores tambien por el sustain que desprende pero de igual forma meten mas ruido
Talvez es mejor usar un booster antes de los demas pedales o un ecualizador
I've been playing 30 years and never found love for a compressor. In the 90's I owned a dyna-comp which never made it to my pedal board. Sold it a few years later. I recently bought a JHS Whitey Tighty. I had it on my board for a few weeks and finally sent it back. I just prefer the dynamics. Love your channel, keep it up!
Hi Antoine, I came to your broadcast late so will watch the whole video later. I have used a compressor on my bass board for years (currently a TC Electronic Hypergravity). I use it mostly for sustaining long/full notes. So it's not always on. My ambient guitar pedalboard has a Boss CS3. I like again the boost to sustain, but the 'quack quack' attack and noise does irritate me often. I assumed I needed to adjust the pedal more carefully or maybe change for another brand, but your video has made me think I need to step back and maybe consider just bypassing it. Thank you for stimulating the debate!
You have a good point though, my complaints were about using it ''always on'', but I could also use it as an effect when needed only. Good point!
I own a behringher Comp/sustainer, and I was looking for a new Comp. (Keeley, and Deep six-Walrus) are on my list. What do i love from my comp rn, is that the notes dont go away like crazy, and helps with distorted sounds. But as yuu say ( reverb) gets mudded with it while on. Hmmm. U made me think again. Ill wait... LOL. Besides there more important pedals to think about. Like a new reverb! and an isolated power supply!
only use my deep six on my clean tone to add just a hair of sustain but i turn it off once im using my overdrive and distortion or fuzz
Antoine, thanks for sharing this video, what about the Micro Pog? I’m about to get one, but don’t want it if it’s not really useful.
I tend to add compression only when mixing. I have used it sometimes on heavier material and more often on bass.
I was considering selling my compressor and then I played my bass without it and remembered why I grabbed a compressor for my guitar. I just prefer a low gain tube screamer for compression on my board.
Yeah the compressor affected the reverb a lot and it makes sense too, great tip.
Awesome!
tks you nice video! You don't have any noise gate pedal in your setup?
What are your thoughts with adding a compressor only for the purpose of using it with your OD pedal. Thank you
A question to point #3:
Is it possible to play that dynamic parts with a multiband compressor ? Thinking of buying the tc electronic HyperGravity one, also has the toneprints, maybe there is one working well with the dynamic playing. And if that isn't the case, is there any pedal/method boosting the sustain?
I'm thinking of getting one to add to my pedal switcher for solos to make the notes all stand out, is this a bad idea?
I use my deep 6 for the moment as a 'special treble boost' for the dirt pedals. I have a tone knob on it. It gives an other kind if boost then the real boost pedal. I think it s better suited for keaping heavy noise out of the mud. RIDE uses this this way. But for clean stuff, I don't use it much. Isn't it also usefull for the longer sustain when using a Volume pedal ?
I don't use compression on my guitar. I used to and have a really processed sound. Now I have so much saturation that I get natural compression.
I use just enough compression from my Cali to impart some of its character, but never to the point where the dynamics are too squashed
When I play live I always use the compressor on my acoustic guitars. The same with the electric guitars. At home I need the compressor when I play to compressed music from UA-cam! Without a compressor, the clean sound is often too dynamic. To play really dynamic blues you can switch off the compressor when the situation makes it necessary. I use the Cali 76 Compact Deluxe. where the dry button helps to regain dynamics to the already prolonged sustain. I really like this compressor.
Im also playing ambient. Had the deep six sold it because it was too noisy, switched to cali76 never had issues A LOT OF dynamics.
hey it's funny you made this video.I bought a deep six after watching your video (that i really like) and others (like you said secret weapon etc)hopefully for me i quickly noticed what you said and it doesnt stay long on my board.The main reason for me it's the dynamics..
Guitars is a really lovely dynamic instrument its sad and cold to flattenize it, nuance are beautiful in post rock.The other reason is the noise for sure.
I think it raise a problem now with youtube videos and pedals.everyone want a pedal cause its new or the brand is cool or they saw it in a video ,pedals are more and more expensive and like you said in old video you dont finally need them or a 10 dollars pedal can be great.Trust you ears and what you like!Anyway the deep six is still a good pedal and can be really essential for country or math rock.or can be use like a boost.Cheers from France!
I had the neunaber immerse V1 pedal, I realized that this pedal does not combine with several pedals, changing the sound.
Well just use compressor when needed, simple. It doesn't need to be ON all the time :)
I use The Butter-smooth Diamond Compressor for Recording. It's a different beast.
I have electric guitar, and regular speaker, where there isn’t coming out the electric guitar sound. Will this compressor sustainer make a difference ? (Thx)
Hello my friend. I advice you to try a professional compressor such as becos comp IQ and mybe you change your opinion. Cheers
I only use compressor to play funk rhythms. it adds some spank and snappier attack.
Very informative video! I've found myself using my own compressor less and less. It started as a product of my experimentation with playing without my pedalboard and seeing what I could still do. Then adding a couple "essential" pedals in front of the amp. Turns out I can run the amp hotter and just use one gain pedal and one delay to get most of what I need. No compressor means I can pull more usable tones from the amp by varying my dynamics in the hands or through the guitars volume and tone. It's good to try different things to break out of habits sometime. Loved being able to hear some insight into how you've developed your tone more!
I have a dyna joyo compressor and dont know yet if I like to use it....i thik for some songs its ok and for some other songs is not.
I've been recording some really down tuned ultra distorted guitars lately and I've found the tone actually sounds slightly better without any added compression, weird
Distortion is a kind of hard compression so, IMO ,it doesn't make sense compressing an already compressed signal.
I use compression on bass before distorting it because sometimes I feel/hear that higher notes sound more distorted than the lower ones..so I try to keep an even distorted tone through the most range of my bass.
@@esposoman I feel with high speed riffs with hi gain Amps a little compression helps clean up the tone a little
@@bigassdummy46 Good point to mention the speed of playing. I'm more into mid tempos and hard rock than fast metal riffs.
Hi mate. I will say that I’d prefer the immerse mk2 on its own and with out the compression pedal. Because if anyone listens to this video with headphones on then the mk2 sounds much better with out it. Thanks antione.
The only reason i use a compressor is for funk, and for that 80’s chorus tone combinee with a lil wave chorus
Excellent thought process! Good points!
PS- I love my compressor for Metal. Otherwise, like yourself, I use it less and less.
Hey Antoine, I really appreciate your honesty.
I know this feeling. Same story - same ambient guitarist who convinced me to buy a compressor. And damn, the deep six was (and is still) a nice looking pedal. Bought it in 2016, used it rarely after some months and sold it this year, because I did not really like how flat it sounded and how noisy it was. Over the years I got to a point where I just could not stand any noise anymore. Was it because of a change in style? Maybe, but I still listen to and play similar music and I always was a fingerpicking guitarist. Which is more dynamic than with picks and might be the reason why a compressor isn't really necessary for me. To this day I still use picks only for special uses (like trempicking, etc.) as I do with my e-bow. In my opinion it's more a tool, than a way a (e-)guitar should always be played. I just think, as we get older, we more and more have to acknowledge that the best things are the ones without any compromise. ;P
Fun fact - I own a Deep Six v3 for months. Heard this new one should be less noisy and thought it looked great again versus V2. Sadly it's not really that less noisy haha!
After all I was just missing something on my board. Even though I wasn't really using it as intended... I don't know, a strange feeling. Now I am more than happy with my Deep Six v3, even though I'm still barely using it as a compressor. As funny as it may sound for most people - I bought this new one only, because I was just missing something, an inspiration (while looking on my pedals) and the harmony with my other pedals. This year I began to love this pedal by using it as a buffer and booster. So it's not completely useless to me anymore, but still have a kinda funny relationship with this one. :D
I used to compressor when I was kid. If your left fingers are strong enough and your picking force is same and stable in every note, you dont need to use compressor. It pushes signal in a narrow band so you can not get aware your mistakes. You can have chance to correct your technique without effects. Compressor and reverb are generally hide picking mistakes.
I use passive pickup and cheap import guitar so compressor really kill the dead spot.
Just yesterday, I watched your video from a year ago. I then proceeded to convince myself t ouse a compressor (I mean if Antoine does it...) Now this :)
Love your videos man. You're been blessed with a ridiculously likable personality
:D
Oh, finally somebody that feels the same as me, even the best compressor kills the dynamic
Interesting talk on compression. Two years on - do you still not use it, or have you changed your mind back again?
Still not using it!
Thanks Antoine! The point you raised about different rooms, etc, seems very relevant. Also: yesterday ordered the Ibanez ES-3 all thanks to your demonstration of it!
Cool I just ordered a deep six
I have 4 different compressors ... I love them all and their difference ...
Has anybody simply tried a limiter instead? My brain says that just having something to stop any rogue pop out notes is all I might need. Everything else can be left alone. The online 'advice' is that guitarists wouldn't want one - but that's the same source that says guitarists want compressors, and I really don't!
But limiters don't seem to be used or even made very much, Boss have one aimed at bassists and Behringer has a copy of it. Other than that I can only think of EHX's Platform pedal. Anyone tried these with guitar?
I found a limiter inside my Boss Katana and did prefer it to my Boss CS-3 compressor, but I found it seemed to increase the hiss. Perhaps that's just me not setting it very well. I do wonder why Boss have put a limiter option on the Katana though if 'guitarists don't want them'?!
So, for me I rank my preference as compressor at no.3, limiter at no.2, and just nothing at no.1.
I never liked them....i didnt understand why, but i use a LOT of dynamics and i like the raw sound of picking agressively.
It seemed like a lot of guys who played that 'sterile' jazz style used compressors, too 'smooth' for me.
Which reverb are you using in this video ? Im more impressed of the reverb :D
Neunaber Immerse MkII, here's my musical demo of it: ua-cam.com/video/4aHMBPIkpq0/v-deo.html
Antoine Michaud ah thats why, i got the wet reverb, you can hear the quality 👌🏻 thanks
Antoine Michaud btw is the immerse wet mode the same as the wet reverb? Maybe i will replace it with this one then 😄
Useful pedal if your playing country. Or if you prefer, country rock. First in chain. You have to be careful with the settings though. Too much can suck the hell out of everything else.
Country lead, could not live without it.
For that style, it's essential, of course!
Compressor kill the dynamic.
Thank you for sharing.
More control on picking. ✊🏽
compressor is a depressor on true dynamics and overall guitar tone... I've never used one (+ too much noise).
You're using it wrong. Compressors bring up all nuances of your tone.
I liked everything you played better Without the compressor !
A blend knob would literally solve your number two issue, and well gosh darnit look at that, you have one
Bro, you just saved me $149 in buying a higher-end compressor, and decided to just keep my Marshal Compressor. Thanks!
nice. i searched for sth like this, so thnx for doing it... turned mine off today and wondered if i was imagining the difference...
I hate the sound of a compressor on my guitar. I have tried many times because people convinced me I needed one. Music is more human without one.
Compression. Less is more. Im trying to keep my board all digital. My delay is a carbon copy deluxe. Im not sure you could do this with all your ambient sounds. However any digital pedal you add takes something away. Eventually you notice it and you did. I had a boss 500. Did it do more than my Carbon but when I switched to the carbon my sound was better. Delay better? No. Overall sound. Yes. Im in the process of billing a new board. Ernie ball MVP no tone suck. To a jackson audio bloom. Best compressor ever. Off most of the time. Use it some. Prefer to get dynamics with my hand. Use it for variety since it's there. To a brown protein. Probably all the overdrive I'll ever need. I'm thinking about a digital delay at the end. What. Collider maybe. Flashback. Old pig evolution. My board is small my tone is awesome. Mahogany tele with three pickups. Soon mare. You sound better without compression. Use it some for effect. Im going to check out the wet but liking the Collider. Maybe done. Your realizing. Less is more. Because it works for another person doesn't mean much.
Maybe its not the comp and its your studio space, you ever think of that one?
I can never really use them with my sound there useless to me
I like compressors that have a Blend Knob
I think if you know how to play with lots of dynamics and want to, I suggest not using one. Sometimes, even with some modern metal, there is dynamic changes. If you have a weaker hand when playing a long show and bust out a solo, than maybe use one, but if you want accents in your solo like with how some Jazz solos are, than I recommend not using one.
Dyna-mix??? Lol... 😂 Excellent useful tips... Thank you... ☺️☺️☺️
this demo just showing how important compressor is
Dynamix
Do really want to know where the noise in your pedals come from? It’s from your toroidal based power supply and your set up with it. They are great power supplies when the effects are adjacent but, soon as you put most pedals over them in a stack like format noise will be present unfortunately. Get a switching based power supply when stacking pedals over a power supply. Good luck
Why does this guy sound like Christffer Walken??
I just use my compressor on volume swells. That’s about it. drones also
Just to help out with the English, there..."dynamics" isn't pronounced "dina-mix" like "dinosaur." It's pronounced "die-namm-icks."
(Yes, I suck at explaining pronunciation in text. haha)
Thanks, I get it! The tonic accent should be on the ''na'' instead of on the ''Dy''. Still got a long way to go with my tonic accents, because they're pretty much exactly the opposite in French vs. English!
@@AntoineMichaudGuitar afaik we just call it "accents" not "tonic accents". Tonic has many meanings but I have never heard it used with reference to the accentuation of syllables. Maybe that is some term of art that I am not familiar with, but ordinary American English would require to simply say "accent the second syllable" or put an accent on that syllable. We would not say put a "tonic accent on it". Not to go down a rabbit hole, but tonic is also a mixer for a drink usually with gin. LOL. Great vid watching it multiple times.
Compressor is not so essential for guitar as bass
you should really utilize those attack and blend knobs, cause all of your issues don’t make any sense, those things shouldn’t be an issue to anyone in 2021
A compressor does not remove any more dynamics than virtually any overdrive pedal when in use. Why does no one complain about lack of dynamics when kicking on an overdrive pedal?
I play lead guitar in the country domain, with a live band, so it's an indispensable must-have to me at least. You cannot get those fat, snappy, popping trademark country guitar sounds otherwise. Period.
have you ever heard of recording/mixing headphones?
Are we honestly admitting that this is a small piece of scam? Instead of the usual 1: 5 ratio of the compressor, my ear hears the 1: 2 to 1: 3 ratio of the reverb. The only difference is in the formation of the attack.
Hmmm, that's because you're NOT using your pedalboard compressor as an *overt* effect in its own right. You're using it to condition the overall output, as a studio tool. The two scenarios are very different. Horses for courses, mon ami.
I agree with you.
POp OUt
Antoine, may be you just got the wrong compressor. They are not all born equal.
Loved it for many many years before! It's been 6 months since I stopped using one, and I still don't feel the need to come back!
Yes, we’ll, you said the same about your pedalboard but then went back to it. Remember?
Yeah, nothing is forever :-) Might come back to a compressor in the future, we never know!
@@AntoineMichaudGuitar I have heard of some people who got divorced then they got married again later LOL.
If you actually know what you are doing a good compressor is a great pedal to have. The argument that it kills dynamics is not factual. Learn and stop listening to everyone else's opinions.
You like having more dynamics but you don’t wanna use a compressor pedal… anyone else see something wrong there… smh
Uh, no, not really