While not the *only* ways to use a compressor, here's 5 fun ways to use a compressor pedal, specifically the Ego compressor that we make. *Fatten up tone &/or get a snappy percussive tone *Before/after dirt *Before/after delay & reverb *Hide sloppy picking *Level out everything to the same level in a pedal chain More about the Ego compressor: www.wamplerpedals.com/products/compression/ego-compressor/ Temporary offer... I'm selling a handful of signed Ego compressors (USA Shipping only... sorry :( ) modyourownpedal.com/collections/wampler-pedals-secret-stash/products/wampler-ego-compressor-signed
Just bought the ego a month ago. It’s on a lot. I swear it just makes everything better. And I noticed when I had it set a certain way it made my playing sound better. Aka “my mullet blowing in the wind” hahaha. It’s a kick ass pedal. I also 3 weeks ago got a The Doctor Lofi Delay of yours and this past week I got a Plextortion pedal. I now have 3 Wampler pedals. Evidently I’m a big fan of your stuff haha. I’d just like to say thanks and that you have insane talent for building pedals. And I’m a fan of your playing as well. And I also really appreciate and enjoy all your educational vids as well. Soooo thank you very much for everything you have done for me. Thanks a ton Brian.
I’ve always had a hard time with a comp on my board. It makes playing harder for me, since I have a light touch and I dig in sometimes, it seems I’m working harder to get the tone.Then our Friend Brian put a comp after dirt and a light bulb went off. I should be able to switch between rhythm and lead without a ton of over tones, and without palm muting and killing the dynamics of the lead parts. Thanks again Brian.
Hello Mr Wampler, I already have the Tumnus Deluxe, the Plexi Drive Deluxe and today, I have received the Ego (big one) ! Wonderful compressor! I love your pedals, many thanks for doing all those great pedals. I’m sold for the Wampler brand. I will definitely purchase other Wampler pedals. 👍
Hello from Australia, finally got my hands on one ( my 1st Wampler pedal), & I have to say what am amazing quality pedal. The low noise floor was the 1st thing that stood out in comparison to other compressors I've owned. The build quality is excellent and it just sounds amazing. Thanks Brian🤘
I think the only two main reasons I use a compression pedal for is 1 to balance out the bass vs treble of the guitar output and 2 have a sustained note. Never thought about all these options. Thanks for the video. You learn something new everyday. Wampler for the win.
Best pedal on my board. Always on. beautiful single coil cleans for rhythm / lead, and adds a sweet push to overdrives. A flexable must have pedal for single coils
Love this type of video! Could you do more back and forth between the tone with effect on and the effect off, playing the exact same lick with the same pick attack? Doing it at least twice for each different tone is really really helpful. Sean Tubbs does it this way if you want to see an example. Your verbal descriptions are top notch, but there is no substitute to then hearing the actual sounds and having enough time to hear what is different between them. But to be clear, LOVE your stuff.
That is really inspiring. I learned a lot about the possibilities to use - and place - a compressor. At the same time it is so refreshing to see a doubtlessly good guitar player who openly admits he is not good at shredding. Me being in the same category, I feel up-graded. Not everyone is or needs to be good at high-speed licks.
I absolutely LOVE your EGO Compressor - besides the tumnus it is the most important pedal on my board - especially the attack dial is great. Keep up the good work!
Around the 10:15-sh mark, with all due respect to a master- it was a good imitation of Jimmy Page.Even if your a guitarist, who really cares about shredding anymore? After 5 or more minutes of 400 notes plus per minute starts to become wankery. Gets boring when there's no soul. The current formula calls for no solos at anytime whatsoever in songs anymore, which becomes just as boring. Nobody can resist a well-crafted solo that conveys the songs emotions. My apologies to everyone for my digression. Anyway, as always another great informative video. I have learned a lot since I started watching your videos. You make us mathematics/electronic theory-deficient people understand and want to further learn the electronic components functions. Thank you Mr. Wampler! You're our favorite teacher!
I've had my Ego V2 for about a year now and still absolutely love it! I have it second in my chain after a TC Spark Mini that I can crank to full without any fear of volume spikes. From there I control dynamics with the volume on the guitar itself and it's sweet tones all the way from 0 to 10. Love it!
I ordered the Wampler ego compressor yesterday. This to replace my Boss cs-2. With the Boss I have too little attack if I set the compression high. With the Wampler you have the blend button! Watching your video, i think i made the right choice!😉
I have my pedal board split into two boards, a direct into the amp board that is all of my high gain, boost and drive pedals with a classic Dyna Comp at the start of the chain. The second board sits in the FX loop and has all of my modulation and time based pedals with a Biyang Tone Fancier compressor at the start of that chain. It gives you the flexibility to have compression before or after the drive section or if I'm playing without any drive or distortion it still lets me put the compression before or after the pre amp stage of the amplifier which provides a ton of tone options. One way I like to run it is from guitar to amp: Dyna Comp - boss GE7 Equalizer - Then into the front of a Marshall DSL100 - Out the send of the FX loop into the second compressor - Some delay and reverb then back in on the return side of the loop into the power amp half of the Marshall. What comes out of that 4x12 cabinet is etheric.
Great tips and nice pedals! Beautiful Kitty Cat at the end! I like compression here and there, for the creative effects, but unless I had that Wampler with the blend knob, I would never leave compression on all of the time. I'm a metal head, but lately, the sounds I prefer are closer to classic rock overdriven sounds with lots of room for playing dynamics, even though I'm still playing metal style notes & chugging, 2/3 of the time.
Thanks for the cool video! Great to see the Sovereign, in addition to the compression tips. I never thought of running a compressor after reverb. Well done!
Hi, I’ve got another useful tip that I use one of my two compressors for, (use two because of a rack system+amps) I use it in front of an old cranked Marshall jmp top to make it a two channel amp, just put the amount of compression you want for your clean sound and back of the output volume just until the amp gets clean, it gives you a great clean tone at just breakup if you want and can also make it totally clean, the volume difference is also very small since when the amp can,t take more volume it’s when it start distorting and compress for it self, and I also hate the volume nob on my guitars and never use them😁 thanks for your cool videos Brian🤘🏻
I wanna see a gif of a mullet-wearing Brian Wampler with his air in the wind soloing in front of an epic background. The world needs it, nay... demands it!
I use compression before my Greer Lightspeed to add a bit of sustain. Love the Mini Ego btw. It's tied for favorite compressor with my Orange Kongpressor.
Mainly use the compressors for the airbrush, inflating tires, and trim/ brad nail gun. Though if I had an IROC-Z with T-tops and a mullet I would use it for the shred- factor. Seriously, use it to balance out the overall tone.
The quality of Wampler effects is audible. I use the Ego compressor in my acoustic show pedal board. I prefer very light compression, and to my ears, it provides the perfect mix with vocals when finger picking or using a pick.
Really enjoyed your video. I love the settings you used with your Wampler distortion pedals to compliment the compression seminar. Very helpful for a new guy to pedalboard precision. Love my Sovereign pedal. Your videos offer something for guitar players of all levels and we really appreciate you!
Any guy that puts a cat in his videos is alright by me! Not to mention that this was a really helpful video for just about any level guitar player that might be struggling with compressor pedal use/placement in the chain of his, or her rig.
The VOLUME-Trick is a good one. I have an EC-Strat with the 25DB Booster. Sometimes its too loud, cos I am using a Tube amp to get the distortion. But the compressor allows to pump up the volume, having cool distortion, without having too much difference in the band-sound.
Owned a big version. Loved it, stupidly sold it to buy a Keeley. Sold the Keeley to re-buy the Ego (mini). Love and own lots of Keeley pedals, but the Ego is my absolute fave.
I have the EGO in front of the Tumnus DLX, ODR-1 and Hot Wired V2. This gives me a massive overdrive sound! I will try putting it at the end of line and need to experiment further with that. The Hot Wired is my absolute favorite and the EGO is really always on. Such a great sound!! 🙏
I used to use a compressor before TS9 to get a bit more drive without adding fuzziness. Would consider trying one again....have to consider pedalboard real estate always. Always like your videos.
I was struggling with the why of a compressor, this gave me a lot more ways to use it than just to even out levels at the front of my signal chain. This is pure gold
This was extremely helpful. Was looking for a way to increase sustain without the squash and that in the next moment do chicking picking. Compressors with blend!! Already contacted my local store for your ego mini
I'm definitely going to try placing my MI Audio Comp at the end of my chain on my DI board. It has a well-designed noise gate, and the limiting and noise-gate effects might help my tone - I really struggle with going direct. Even using good cab sim/IRs, I still struggle. That Whitfield resembles my Schecter PT Fastback Special 2. They look similar, they sound similar. The Schecter has hotter pups, tho. Nice guitar. I like to "smash" two comps, stacked. Gets me a kind of Beatles tone. Thanks for the tips.
Brian, thank you for the videos, really interesting topics. Two things, I bought your Euphoria overdrive and it is a killer! I'm glad I watched your vid on how it works, made things very clear. Second I bought your book on pedal mods, your vids have taken me back to my days of Electronic Projects for Musicians by Craig Anderton. I kind of lost touch with how much I enjoyed building and modifying electronics, thank you for re-sparking my interest. During this weird time I'm glad to be playing more and learning more as well - All the best - Tom
I use optical style comps to smooth tone by tamping down some of the shrill highs that my single coils may put out before the signal goes to the dirt pedals (ultimate destinations are Fender, Vox and Roland JC amps, all of which can get pretty spiky if not careful). With tone and level controls, good for sculpting the basic tone -- and can by itself be a "clean boost." Looking forward to trying that "after delay/reverb" tip.
I use my Ego (best in class, IMO!) for subtle extra fullness (Sustain and Blend between 10:00 and 11:00), and also as an always-on "trim" or guitar balancer. I set the output level to balance clean vs. dirty with a particular guitar, then turn it up a bit if I switch to a lower-output guitar. Saves a lot of knob fiddling on the other pedals.
With bass I use an optical compressor pedal at the beginning of my signal chain and a multi band digital compressor at the end. I like the color of the first and the second evens out the effects in between the two pedals in a controlled manner before hitting the amp.
I like to use it before chorus, delay and reverb to add sustain to clean tone (single coil guitars). It seems to enhance the effects that follow it in the chain. It also brings out more subtle sounds like harmonics.
Hell yeah, I am on the same page as you are there man. i have a comp at the start of my input chain and another at the start of my FX loop with an EQ between them. Give that a try, It's even richer in those harmonics without being over saturated.
I use my Ego set at below unity volume before a crunchy plexi-in-a-box overdrive to squash the peaks of the guitar signal below the "amp's" breaking point. So when I turn it on it's like "cleaning up" with guitar's volume knob, except without the perceived volume drop, and I still get that saturated clean-ish plexi tone. It's not what I'd use for blues or classic rock, but for more modern styles it's perfect.
I used to use a Jangle Box, especially with a Ric 360-12, but I found that it added a lot of sparkle to a Tele (and Strat, too). Since then I switched to a Keeley Compressor, which I really like. I have on all of the time, first in the chain.
I use compression on my bass.the project dictates what compressor I use: for blues, rock and punk ~Ashdown dual band; for indie, technical pop punk and new wave ~ digetech bass squeeze dual band; for Doom style and 70's metal ~ pigtronix philosopher bass compressor that has fuzz built in; for everything else from playing with the community band, country, modern metal genres and hardcore(the genre not a description) alesis 3630. I plan on adding both Wampler's a d JHS's compressors to my collection soon. I love the vids, gives me ideas and shopping lists.
Conventional guitar wisdom discourage against compressors after gain boosters, but if I forget the academics (and noise,) my ears prefer the Ego Squasher AFTER fuzz and overdrive where it makes cleaning up (down?) with the guitar's volume sound better. I wouldn't want it after a distortion pedal, though. Also keep in mind that a tube amp may also add compression/limiting which is a key element why we love them!
Hi, Brian... why the Friedman BE-OD is so noisy? can you make a video about that and how to fix it, if it can be? I got your Tumnus and is perfect, the Friedman sounds good but it’s terribly annoying.
Great video. I’ve always been happy with the ego. I mostly use it in the chicken picky mode, but now I will have to look at the volume leveling technique. I really like the blend knob on you pedals, it’s the secret weapon. 😎👏
ITB, I love a comp in front of non-precussion verbs. Keeps random bits from jumping out Could do the same on a parallel processed board. Also, I would experiment with the comp pre and post volume pedal/boost After, w the right compressor, can give you a balls/girth/whatever boost, instead of a volume boost. You'll get a great RMS, but not a huge jump in peak volume while adding more sustain. Last but not least, more isn't always (rarely) better. Don't peg it and go from there, especially in recording situations.
Mullet in the wind XD I use mine for my modulation channels tone at the beginning. Keeps everything nice and level, and also adds a bit of volume to keep up with my gain channel when I blend the two
Mini Ego is first in chain as a boost. Volume cranked. Sustain cranked. Blend at 10. Not sure that is correct, but seems to be all it's good for in my case. That's why I'm revisiting the vid. To see if there is something "special/magical" I might be missing. I will say it makes my overdrives come alive. So I must be doing something right.
Since I play almost exclusively rhythm guitar while singing, I use my compressor to level out my volume while becuase sometimes I get a lil too excited lol
I have your ego compressor and I really enjoy it. Thank you for all the hard work designing these things! :-) P.S I really like the button. Its really smooth and not like the true bypass clacky buttons, which I very much enjoy.
I like having a parallel optical compressor before my drives and then a ross/dyna style compressor after my drives. The optical stays always on with just a touch of compression and keeps things nice and bright. The other compressor goes on and off for clean and/or overdriven sounds as necessary with a slight level boost.
Back in the day, I used my compressor (a grey Univox Uni-Comp) in conjunction with an MXR Envelope Filter and MXR 6-Band EQ, to produce a reasonable "backwards tape" sounds. Say what?! I'll qualify this by noting it was well before there were any digital delay pedals with a simple "reverse" setting, so we made do with what we had. I'd set the Filter for the slowest Attack time, set the 3 lowest EQ-band sliders to minimum, and 3 upper ones to max. Remember that 1) a guitar signal begins with a big peak and quickly settles down, and 2) the Envelope Filter sweeps from low up to high, then falls back down. The Uni-Comp has a longish recovery time, so as the string signal died out, the compressor would be bringing the level back up to continue pushing the Filter to sweep, albeit slowly, resulting in a slower-than-usual sweep. With the EQ killing the bottom end coming out of the filter, you wouldn't hear much of the initial pick attack. As the filter swept upwards, though, given that the compressor maintained the level, and that the MXR 6-Band tends to clip a bit, the tone would not only get perceptibly louder as the EQ and Filter accentuated the mids, but brighter and a little more distorted, as well, similar to what you hear when a guitar is recorded to tape and played backwards. I'll just add that, while one can stick a compressor at *any* point in the signal path for different sorts of musically useful tones, one of the regular complaints from novice compressor-users is that they find the units "noisy". Remember that the pedal is only doing what you told it to do, which is turn *down* the loud bits and turn *up* the quiet bits. If your "quiet bits" contain hiss from using some high-gain pedal before the compressor, then what you'll hear when you stop playing is amplified hiss. So feel free to put your compressor anywhere you like, but be mindful of how noisy the signal is that you're feeding it.
I’m sure the backwards tape effect with filter sweeps starting to distort were great tones, a great use of what you had available at the time, I love it!! Experimentation is the key, there is never a right or wrong way in music, try it, if it’s sounds nice and you like what you’ve created then no harm in using it, it’s about being creative with the gear you have available.
I usually put my Ego before overdrive and use it for subtle dynamics shaping which with a dynamic overdrive makes the amount it overdrives more uniform. However unconventionally putting the compressor after has the opposite effect where the drive may vary but the volume may not - not something I regularly use but fun to toy with
@Wampler Pedals - love the use of comp after time-based effects. I’ve used my Ego mini as always on with blend at 10 o’clock for sustain and smoothing out the dynamics for a long time. Sounds beautiful on my Tele, but I recently got a PRS CE24 with really hot pickups that I need to tweak the Ego a little to make it less intense on high gain settings.
I like to use a dyna comp to add some overdrive to my guitar signal (like the "fatten single coils" method, but turned way up). Also good for saving you from your mistakes and adding sustain for slide playing.
I remember playing the Boss CS2 through the fender twin 'red knob' 100 watt amp, with the spring reverb turned to the extreme, and plucking the notes - it sounded to me like the sound you get when you strike a match and the flame ignites - each note gleaming beautifully in the air.
I usually like it (for guitar) to give drive pedals more saturation by running it before the drive. Or when using a clean tone, it gives me a "chimier" sound, plus it make two-hand touch parts more balanced. Which is how I like to use it with bass as well, just to quash the peaks.
I use mine to even stuff out most of the time but I've turned everything down but the level and cranked the level and it's a pretty cool boost pedal into a tube amp on the edge of break-up
I like to use my Wampler ego with my bass. I set the sustain at about 2 to 3 o'clock and blend at about 10 o'clock and get a nice full tone that I use all the time.
I have the Euphoria first which goes into the Pantheon then was thinking to place the EGO Mini after the two but letting in lots of dry sound with the Blend pot. Ordered the EGO today from Thomann. Should have it by the end of this week.
While not the *only* ways to use a compressor, here's 5 fun ways to use a compressor pedal, specifically the Ego compressor that we make.
*Fatten up tone &/or get a snappy percussive tone
*Before/after dirt
*Before/after delay & reverb
*Hide sloppy picking
*Level out everything to the same level in a pedal chain
More about the Ego compressor:
www.wamplerpedals.com/products/compression/ego-compressor/
Temporary offer... I'm selling a handful of signed Ego compressors (USA Shipping only... sorry :( )
modyourownpedal.com/collections/wampler-pedals-secret-stash/products/wampler-ego-compressor-signed
Good timing as I just ordered a mini Ego after watching g other video as on it! Thanks for all your quality products Brian!
Just bought the ego a month ago. It’s on a lot. I swear it just makes everything better. And I noticed when I had it set a certain way it made my playing sound better. Aka “my mullet blowing in the wind” hahaha. It’s a kick ass pedal. I also 3 weeks ago got a The Doctor Lofi Delay of yours and this past week I got a Plextortion pedal. I now have 3 Wampler pedals. Evidently I’m a big fan of your stuff haha. I’d just like to say thanks and that you have insane talent for building pedals. And I’m a fan of your playing as well. And I also really appreciate and enjoy all your educational vids as well. Soooo thank you very much for everything you have done for me. Thanks a ton Brian.
"....and your mullet's blowing in the wind" - pure gold.
You are TOTALLY underselling your shred cred!
I’ve always had a hard time with a comp on my board. It makes playing harder for me, since I have a light touch and I dig in sometimes, it seems I’m working harder to get the tone.Then our Friend Brian put a comp after dirt and a light bulb went off. I should be able to switch between rhythm and lead without a ton of over tones, and without palm muting and killing the dynamics of the lead parts. Thanks again Brian.
Trey anastasio been doing the compressor after OD since 84. After. Ts9 it’s glorious
Hello Mr Wampler, I already have the Tumnus Deluxe, the Plexi Drive Deluxe and today, I have received the Ego (big one) ! Wonderful compressor! I love your pedals, many thanks for doing all those great pedals. I’m sold for the Wampler brand. I will definitely purchase other Wampler pedals. 👍
Hello from Australia, finally got my hands on one ( my 1st Wampler pedal), & I have to say what am amazing quality pedal. The low noise floor was the 1st thing that stood out in comparison to other compressors I've owned. The build quality is excellent and it just sounds amazing. Thanks Brian🤘
wow i really liked the sound when you used it after the delay. that was like the most crisp and and smooth sound ever
Perfect timing for release of this vid. for me. Just bought the Ego Comp. and Tumnus deluxe.
Ya, the Tumnus. My favorite almost-always-on-pedal. I liked it so much I also bought the mini.
You're are a awesome player, but it's nice to hear guitarist being honest(with the shredding), thank you.
I think the only two main reasons I use a compression pedal for is 1 to balance out the bass vs treble of the guitar output and 2 have a sustained note. Never thought about all these options. Thanks for the video. You learn something new everyday. Wampler for the win.
Me a newbie... just picked up a Ego Compressor as my first acquisition pedal. This video really helps to understand it.
Best pedal on my board. Always on. beautiful single coil cleans for rhythm / lead, and adds a sweet push to overdrives. A flexable must have pedal for single coils
I use it after heavy distortion, to level down the palm mutes. Great video!
Love this type of video! Could you do more back and forth between the tone with effect on and the effect off, playing the exact same lick with the same pick attack? Doing it at least twice for each different tone is really really helpful. Sean Tubbs does it this way if you want to see an example. Your verbal descriptions are top notch, but there is no substitute to then hearing the actual sounds and having enough time to hear what is different between them.
But to be clear, LOVE your stuff.
That is really inspiring. I learned a lot about the possibilities to use - and place - a compressor. At the same time it is so refreshing to see a doubtlessly good guitar player who openly admits he is not good at shredding. Me being in the same category, I feel up-graded. Not everyone is or needs to be good at high-speed licks.
The volume matching is good when going from chords to single notes, like if you are adding a fill, or mixing chords in with single note riffs.
Love my Wampler Ego compressor. I have a few including the Cali 76. Ego is awesome, congrats Brian, it’s staying on my board 👍👍
I'm a huge compression enthusiast, but even I had never thought to try it at the end of the chain. Sounds great!
I absolutely LOVE your EGO Compressor - besides the tumnus it is the most important pedal on my board - especially the attack dial is great. Keep up the good work!
Around the 10:15-sh mark, with all due respect to a master- it was a good imitation of Jimmy Page.Even if your a guitarist, who really cares about shredding anymore? After 5 or more minutes of 400 notes plus per minute starts to become wankery. Gets boring when there's no soul. The current formula calls for no solos at anytime whatsoever in songs anymore, which becomes just as boring. Nobody can resist a well-crafted solo that conveys the songs emotions. My apologies to everyone for my digression. Anyway, as always another great informative video. I have learned a lot since I started watching your videos. You make us mathematics/electronic theory-deficient people understand and want to further learn the electronic components functions. Thank you Mr. Wampler! You're our favorite teacher!
I've had my Ego V2 for about a year now and still absolutely love it! I have it second in my chain after a TC Spark Mini that I can crank to full without any fear of volume spikes. From there I control dynamics with the volume on the guitar itself and it's sweet tones all the way from 0 to 10. Love it!
Someone’s been taking lessons.....
Great playing Brian, thanks for the video.
I've been meaning to pull the trigger, and buy one of these. This has definitely helped me make up my mind. I'm gonna do it!
I always enjoyed it as a clean boost on a nearly overdriven amp. Adds a smoothness to grit for lead notes
I ordered the Wampler ego compressor yesterday. This to replace my Boss cs-2. With the Boss I have too little attack if I set the compression high. With the Wampler you have the blend button! Watching your video, i think i made the right choice!😉
I looked for a compressor a lot and the best of all was the Wampler EGO Compressor, which is the best of all! I am very satisfied with mine! Great!
LOL thanks I don't have a compressor yet and now I want two. Great video the way you went through each setup really does help.
I always use a compressor with my Rickenbacker 360-12. Essential part of getting the chime.
I have my pedal board split into two boards, a direct into the amp board that is all of my high gain, boost and drive pedals with a classic Dyna Comp at the start of the chain. The second board sits in the FX loop and has all of my modulation and time based pedals with a Biyang Tone Fancier compressor at the start of that chain. It gives you the flexibility to have compression before or after the drive section or if I'm playing without any drive or distortion it still lets me put the compression before or after the pre amp stage of the amplifier which provides a ton of tone options. One way I like to run it is from guitar to amp: Dyna Comp - boss GE7 Equalizer - Then into the front of a Marshall DSL100 - Out the send of the FX loop into the second compressor - Some delay and reverb then back in on the return side of the loop into the power amp half of the Marshall. What comes out of that 4x12 cabinet is etheric.
I love to use compression on everything. It's the sauce that makes guitar sound better.
Great tips and nice pedals! Beautiful Kitty Cat at the end! I like compression here and there, for the creative effects, but unless I had that Wampler with the blend knob, I would never leave compression on all of the time. I'm a metal head, but lately, the sounds I prefer are closer to classic rock overdriven sounds with lots of room for playing dynamics, even though I'm still playing metal style notes & chugging, 2/3 of the time.
Thank you! I just got my first compressor pedal so it is good to learn more about compression!
Thanks for the cool video! Great to see the Sovereign, in addition to the compression tips. I never thought of running a compressor after reverb. Well done!
Hi, I’ve got another useful tip that I use one of my two compressors for, (use two because of a rack system+amps) I use it in front of an old cranked Marshall jmp top to make it a two channel amp, just put the amount of compression you want for your clean sound and back of the output volume just until the amp gets clean, it gives you a great clean tone at just breakup if you want and can also make it totally clean, the volume difference is also very small since when the amp can,t take more volume it’s when it start distorting and compress for it self, and I also hate the volume nob on my guitars and never use them😁 thanks for your cool videos Brian🤘🏻
I’ll be picking one up this Friday. Great demonstration as usual. Cheers!
Great video. Compression is kind of undiscovered territory for me. This helped!
Very helpful. Thanks! Ordering my Ego and Dracarys today!
"Mullet Blow'n In The Wind"……LOL, Funny Stuff
I wanna see a gif of a mullet-wearing Brian Wampler with his air in the wind soloing in front of an epic background. The world needs it, nay... demands it!
I still have my Wampler Ego. Damn fine compressor !
Thanks Mr Wampler!
Telecaster into Ego Compressor then Twin or Superreverb........
Magic!
Absolutely awsome for guitars!!! But I'm Bassist and I want to hear it on a Jazz B. to have a real idea of the improvement. THANKS for this video!!!.
Another great, educational video Mr.Wampler!
I use compression before my Greer Lightspeed to add a bit of sustain. Love the Mini Ego btw. It's tied for favorite compressor with my Orange Kongpressor.
Mainly use the compressors for the airbrush, inflating tires, and trim/ brad nail gun. Though if I had an IROC-Z with T-tops and a mullet I would use it for the shred- factor. Seriously, use it to balance out the overall tone.
The quality of Wampler effects is audible. I use the Ego compressor in my acoustic show pedal board. I prefer very light compression, and to my ears, it provides the perfect mix with vocals when finger picking or using a pick.
Really enjoyed your video. I love the settings you used with your Wampler distortion pedals to compliment the compression seminar. Very helpful for a new guy to pedalboard precision. Love my Sovereign pedal. Your videos offer something for guitar players of all levels and we really appreciate you!
Any guy that puts a cat in his videos is alright by me! Not to mention that this was a really helpful video for just about any level guitar player that might be struggling with compressor pedal use/placement in the chain of his, or her rig.
Great demo, and some musicality and feel in the playing. If I had to chose just one effect pedal this would be it, although compressors vary hugely.
The VOLUME-Trick is a good one. I have an EC-Strat with the 25DB Booster. Sometimes its too loud, cos I am using a Tube amp to get the distortion. But the compressor allows to pump up the volume, having cool distortion, without having too much difference in the band-sound.
MXR DynaComp was my first pedal. 1978. I got "addicted" to it; I just couldn't shut it off, so I got rid of it.
Also my first pedal.
My second pedal after crybaby. I did not like it. Felt like it tone sucked in bypass
@@Ottophil so put a boss pedal after it. They are buffers.
Owned a big version. Loved it, stupidly sold it to buy a Keeley. Sold the Keeley to re-buy the Ego (mini). Love and own lots of Keeley pedals, but the Ego is my absolute fave.
I have the EGO in front of the Tumnus DLX, ODR-1 and Hot Wired V2. This gives me a massive overdrive sound! I will try putting it at the end of line and need to experiment further with that. The Hot Wired is my absolute favorite and the EGO is really always on. Such a great sound!! 🙏
Ok you sold me I’m after sustain I play Les Pauls own 1 strat with Duncan hot rails . Great video thanks
Such a great presentation that I got myself a mini Ego!
Solving lots of tonal mysteries!!
I halfway expected Bubbles from the TPB make a guest appearance at 12:30 or so when Brian was using “Closer to the Heart” as his demo tune.😂
I used to use a compressor before TS9 to get a bit more drive without adding fuzziness. Would consider trying one again....have to consider pedalboard real estate always. Always like your videos.
Very helpful Brian, thank you. Currently learning Anastasia, compressing the heck out of my slop.
Thanks Brian! I am building a compressor klone and wasn’t sure where I would put it on the board.
Cool stuff!
Thanks
I was struggling with the why of a compressor, this gave me a lot more ways to use it than just to even out levels at the front of my signal chain.
This is pure gold
This was extremely helpful. Was looking for a way to increase sustain without the squash and that in the next moment do chicking picking. Compressors with blend!! Already contacted my local store for your ego mini
I'm definitely going to try placing my MI Audio Comp at the end of my chain on my DI board. It has a well-designed noise gate, and the limiting and noise-gate effects might help my tone - I really struggle with going direct. Even using good cab sim/IRs, I still struggle.
That Whitfield resembles my Schecter PT Fastback Special 2. They look similar, they sound similar. The Schecter has hotter pups, tho. Nice guitar.
I like to "smash" two comps, stacked. Gets me a kind of Beatles tone.
Thanks for the tips.
Brian, thank you for the videos, really interesting topics. Two things, I bought your Euphoria overdrive and it is a killer! I'm glad I watched your vid on how it works, made things very clear. Second I bought your book on pedal mods, your vids have taken me back to my days of Electronic Projects for Musicians by Craig Anderton. I kind of lost touch with how much I enjoyed building and modifying electronics, thank you for re-sparking my interest. During this weird time I'm glad to be playing more and learning more as well - All the best - Tom
I use optical style comps to smooth tone by tamping down some of the shrill highs that my single coils may put out before the signal goes to the dirt pedals (ultimate destinations are Fender, Vox and Roland JC amps, all of which can get pretty spiky if not careful). With tone and level controls, good for sculpting the basic tone -- and can by itself be a "clean boost." Looking forward to trying that "after delay/reverb" tip.
I use my Ego (best in class, IMO!) for subtle extra fullness (Sustain and Blend between 10:00 and 11:00), and also as an always-on "trim" or guitar balancer. I set the output level to balance clean vs. dirty with a particular guitar, then turn it up a bit if I switch to a lower-output guitar. Saves a lot of knob fiddling on the other pedals.
With bass I use an optical compressor pedal at the beginning of my signal chain and a multi band digital compressor at the end. I like the color of the first and the second evens out the effects in between the two pedals in a controlled manner before hitting the amp.
I like to use it before chorus, delay and reverb to add sustain to clean tone (single coil guitars).
It seems to enhance the effects that follow it in the chain. It also brings out more subtle sounds like harmonics.
Hell yeah, I am on the same page as you are there man. i have a comp at the start of my input chain and another at the start of my FX loop with an EQ between them. Give that a try, It's even richer in those harmonics without being over saturated.
I use my Ego set at below unity volume before a crunchy plexi-in-a-box overdrive to squash the peaks of the guitar signal below the "amp's" breaking point. So when I turn it on it's like "cleaning up" with guitar's volume knob, except without the perceived volume drop, and I still get that saturated clean-ish plexi tone. It's not what I'd use for blues or classic rock, but for more modern styles it's perfect.
I used to use a Jangle Box, especially with a Ric 360-12, but I found that it added a lot of sparkle to a Tele (and Strat, too). Since then I switched to a Keeley Compressor, which I really like. I have on all of the time, first in the chain.
I use compression on my bass.the project dictates what compressor I use: for blues, rock and punk ~Ashdown dual band; for indie, technical pop punk and new wave ~ digetech bass squeeze dual band; for Doom style and 70's metal ~ pigtronix philosopher bass compressor that has fuzz built in; for everything else from playing with the community band, country, modern metal genres and hardcore(the genre not a description) alesis 3630.
I plan on adding both Wampler's a d JHS's compressors to my collection soon. I love the vids, gives me ideas and shopping lists.
Nice vid. Got myself an ego for use with acoustic, mainly solo. Would love a vid with specific acoustic advice, if there is any!
Conventional guitar wisdom discourage against compressors after gain boosters, but if I forget the academics (and noise,) my ears prefer the Ego Squasher AFTER fuzz and overdrive where it makes cleaning up (down?) with the guitar's volume sound better. I wouldn't want it after a distortion pedal, though. Also keep in mind that a tube amp may also add compression/limiting which is a key element why we love them!
Good player 's , great speaking about pedals , guitars and words , in standard English language 's ...smarter. teaching....strings too....
Hi, Brian... why the Friedman BE-OD is so noisy? can you make a video about that and how to fix it, if it can be? I got your Tumnus and is perfect, the Friedman sounds good but it’s terribly annoying.
Great video. I’ve always been happy with the ego. I mostly use it in the chicken picky mode, but now I will have to look at the volume leveling technique. I really like the blend knob on you pedals, it’s the secret weapon. 😎👏
ITB, I love a comp in front of non-precussion verbs.
Keeps random bits from jumping out
Could do the same on a parallel processed board.
Also, I would experiment with the comp pre and post volume pedal/boost
After, w the right compressor, can give you a balls/girth/whatever boost, instead of a volume boost. You'll get a great RMS, but not a huge jump in peak volume while adding more sustain.
Last but not least, more isn't always (rarely) better. Don't peg it and go from there, especially in recording situations.
Mullet in the wind XD
I use mine for my modulation channels tone at the beginning. Keeps everything nice and level, and also adds a bit of volume to keep up with my gain channel when I blend the two
Thanks from a compression newbie 😁
Mini Ego is first in chain as a boost. Volume cranked. Sustain cranked. Blend at 10. Not sure that is correct, but seems to be all it's good for in my case. That's why I'm revisiting the vid. To see if there is something "special/magical" I might be missing. I will say it makes my overdrives come alive.
So I must be doing something right.
I never gave reverb and echo compression a thought, thank you old boy
Same here. Nice tip.
Don't you just hate clever feckers
After all these years! It just doesn't make sense! But fkme it works!
Glenn Lilley - yeah that was a really nice surprise.
Since I play almost exclusively rhythm guitar while singing, I use my compressor to level out my volume while becuase sometimes I get a lil too excited lol
You can get a really good compressed sound out of a duncan hot rails played clean!
I have your ego compressor and I really enjoy it. Thank you for all the hard work designing these things! :-) P.S
I really like the button. Its really smooth and not like the true bypass clacky buttons, which I very much enjoy.
I like having a parallel optical compressor before my drives and then a ross/dyna style compressor after my drives. The optical stays always on with just a touch of compression and keeps things nice and bright. The other compressor goes on and off for clean and/or overdriven sounds as necessary with a slight level boost.
Back in the day, I used my compressor (a grey Univox Uni-Comp) in conjunction with an MXR Envelope Filter and MXR 6-Band EQ, to produce a reasonable "backwards tape" sounds.
Say what?!
I'll qualify this by noting it was well before there were any digital delay pedals with a simple "reverse" setting, so we made do with what we had. I'd set the Filter for the slowest Attack time, set the 3 lowest EQ-band sliders to minimum, and 3 upper ones to max. Remember that 1) a guitar signal begins with a big peak and quickly settles down, and 2) the Envelope Filter sweeps from low up to high, then falls back down. The Uni-Comp has a longish recovery time, so as the string signal died out, the compressor would be bringing the level back up to continue pushing the Filter to sweep, albeit slowly, resulting in a slower-than-usual sweep. With the EQ killing the bottom end coming out of the filter, you wouldn't hear much of the initial pick attack. As the filter swept upwards, though, given that the compressor maintained the level, and that the MXR 6-Band tends to clip a bit, the tone would not only get perceptibly louder as the EQ and Filter accentuated the mids, but brighter and a little more distorted, as well, similar to what you hear when a guitar is recorded to tape and played backwards.
I'll just add that, while one can stick a compressor at *any* point in the signal path for different sorts of musically useful tones, one of the regular complaints from novice compressor-users is that they find the units "noisy". Remember that the pedal is only doing what you told it to do, which is turn *down* the loud bits and turn *up* the quiet bits. If your "quiet bits" contain hiss from using some high-gain pedal before the compressor, then what you'll hear when you stop playing is amplified hiss. So feel free to put your compressor anywhere you like, but be mindful of how noisy the signal is that you're feeding it.
Thanks man, I hope I'll be able to try something like this out someday : )
I’m sure the backwards tape effect with filter sweeps starting to distort were great tones, a great use of what you had available at the time, I love it!! Experimentation is the key, there is never a right or wrong way in music, try it, if it’s sounds nice and you like what you’ve created then no harm in using it, it’s about being creative with the gear you have available.
I usually put my Ego before overdrive and use it for subtle dynamics shaping which with a dynamic overdrive makes the amount it overdrives more uniform. However unconventionally putting the compressor after has the opposite effect where the drive may vary but the volume may not - not something I regularly use but fun to toy with
@Wampler Pedals - love the use of comp after time-based effects. I’ve used my Ego mini as always on with blend at 10 o’clock for sustain and smoothing out the dynamics for a long time. Sounds beautiful on my Tele, but I recently got a PRS CE24 with really hot pickups that I need to tweak the Ego a little to make it less intense on high gain settings.
Nice! I use it in a very standard way, actually, bur this was cool.
Thanks.
I like to use a dyna comp to add some overdrive to my guitar signal (like the "fatten single coils" method, but turned way up).
Also good for saving you from your mistakes and adding sustain for slide playing.
I used to hava dyna comp but sold it. The buffer was such a tone suck when it was off
Masterclass as usual. Love your stuff.
I remember playing the Boss CS2 through the fender twin 'red knob' 100 watt amp, with the spring reverb turned to the extreme, and plucking the notes - it sounded to me like the sound you get when you strike a match and the flame ignites - each note gleaming beautifully in the air.
I use an xotic sp first in the chain with the level past unity to hit front end of my tube amp. I picked up that method from Andy Timmons.
I usually like it (for guitar) to give drive pedals more saturation by running it before the drive. Or when using a clean tone, it gives me a "chimier" sound, plus it make two-hand touch parts more balanced. Which is how I like to use it with bass as well, just to quash the peaks.
your vocal mic is distorting.. Guitar sounds good, and a informative video none the less
Love a bit of crunch on the vox, LOL
He was auditioning as a vocalist in a Death Metal band straight after this vid! 😂
I couldn't ignore it either, but yes, great guitar tones!
Awesome video man, very clear explanation. Thank you!
I use mine to even stuff out most of the time but I've turned everything down but the level and cranked the level and it's a pretty cool boost pedal into a tube amp on the edge of break-up
I like to use my Wampler ego with my bass. I set the sustain at about 2 to 3 o'clock and blend at about 10 o'clock and get a nice full tone that I use all the time.
and I get endless sustain.
I have the Euphoria first which goes into the Pantheon then was thinking to place the EGO Mini after the two but letting in lots of dry sound with the Blend pot. Ordered the EGO today from Thomann. Should have it by the end of this week.
Lol brother your shredding sounds just like mine!! Rock On!!🤟🏻
Bro I wanted to hear compression before AND after the drive together!
Comp after fuzz on bass can give a bit of womp