SECRETS OF COMPRESSION, PT. 2 BY RICH TOZZOLI
Last month, we began exploring compression for
guitar, primarily from plug-ins and outboard hardware
[“Secrets of Compression, Pt.
1,” August 2011]. This month,
we’ll explore the same subject
as it relates to guitar pedals. As
we all know, any time you talk
about pedals with guitar players, opinions fly wildly. That
said, it’s worth your while to
get a broad perspective of what
stompbox compressors can do
for your sound.
In the studio, compression
is often added after the fact. In
other words, the guitar parts
are tracked with little to no
compression, and the effects are
added either on the console or
in your digital audio worksta-
tion (DAW). This delivers the
most production control, as the
amount of processing can be
increased or reduced without
affecting the original audio. If
you record with “in-line” com-
pression—that is, with a pedal
or rack unit in the recorded
signal chain—the effect cannot
be removed later. That means
you are stuck with what you’ve
limited) with Input and Output
knobs, others offer additional
controls such as Level, Tone,
Gain, Attack, and Sustain.
“Sustain is a major byproduct of [compres-sor] adjustments—the signal gets grabbed,
held for a bit, and then dropped. It’s not
love, but it’ll do.” —Sam Broussard
tracked. While there are situations where compression and
other effects are an essential
part of your sound, it’s sometimes advantageous to track
without them.
With pedals, compression
is primarily about dynamic
control (smoothing out string
response), boost, and sustain.
In fact, some pedals, such as the
Boss CS- 3 and T-Rex ToneBug
Sustainer, are specifically mar-
keted as compressors/sustainers.
While some manufacturers
keep it simple (and somewhat
that elusive bloom of the tone
expanding—opening up—in
the ‘held’ period, a second after
the strings are struck.”
But compression pedals don’t
work in every situation. “They
make your notes die later,”
Broussard says, “so your rig feels
more forgiving. But compressor
pedals often don’t sound good
for blues. Smoothed-out dynam-
ics aren’t appropriate for raw
juke-joint music.”
I asked Broussard which ped-
als he’s currently using and what
they do for his sound. “The
Like many stompbox compressors, this Keeley Compressor has just
two knobs—Sustain and Level.
Boss CS- 3 is a good workhorse,
if not exactly a tone machine,”
he says. “But there are many
mods for them on the ’net. And
they have an Attack (or anti-
attack) knob that I don’t use.
More expensive pedals preserve
more of the guitar’s tone, but I
find there’s not enough of me
in the out-front mix to warrant
studio-quality tone and expense.
I have a Keeley pedal in the
chain for studio work, but you
must remember that another
byproduct of compression is a
rise in the noise floor—hum
and hiss. This isn’t much of a
problem at a gig—if you can
hear the noise, the song stopped
or your drummer left. In the
studio, however, it’s critical to
avoid noise.”
Every compression pedal will
have a slightly different tone
and respond differently to your
particular technique. The $20
Behringer DC9 won’t sound the
same as the tube-based $350
Effectrode Photo-Optical Tube
Compressor. As with other gear,
price does not always equate to
quality, but generally speaking,
the more expensive units use
better components and materi-
als. Also, compression pedals
aren’t for electric work alone. Try
plugging your acoustic DI into a
compression pedal. Compression
can add a nice sustain to both
chords and single-note lines
played on a flattop.
RICH TOZZOLI is a
Grammy-nominated engineer and mixer who has
worked with artists ranging
from Al Di Meola to David
Bowie. A life-long guitarist,
he’s also the author of Pro
Tools Surround Sound Mixing and composes for the likes of Fox NFL, Discovery
Channel, Nickelodeon, and HBO.
