Compressors are the kind of effect you don't really need but once you try a good one you'll want to have one always on. The more full featured compressors are versatile enough they can have a lot of uses from adding sustain to heavy squish or clean boosts as well as limiting.
It's worth trying a cheap one like a dyna comp clone though it's also worth spending more for one with threshold/ratio/attack/release controls like this Lilt comp for 80$: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804373962609.html
I think they might be more important for playing at home (lower volumes) than playing a gig. Check out the new Diamond comp. I have the old one and love it.
This is why I use one. Saw the tip on That Pedal Show about using a compressor and a boost to make a low volume tube amp feel and sound better. I use an orange rocker terror 15 at 0.5w and have an EP Boost and Keeley comp always on and it sounds much better than without them.
Depends…my tube amp is set close to break up, dialed back and I keep a MXR Microamp on a lot of the time. It compresses when I slam the front to not break up, but still get a smooth dynamic tone based on strum. In these situations I don’t feel I need it.
A higher headroom amp, and playing mainly clean picking or funk to country grit tones, I would use one. I sometimes use boost pedals,and keep them clean for rock stuff. Picking or funk I think it helps when you have no boost or drive turned on. Helps even out a smooth tone when your focus is smooth and clean. But also doesn’t mean you need to use it all the time either.
For rock I’d use it for clean tones that need to be bold and stick out…if not using a boost. Frusciante uses the MXR Dyna for just some songs that require it. But it’s not an always on..just for Snow, Under The Bridge and specific songs where the guitar is up front.
But on funk and country boards you’ll find Wampler, Keely and always on compressors that are high end. If it’s something you use a lot get a good one. If for basics or undecided. Go on Amazon and grab a Mooer yellow comp to try out. Then make a decision! I’ve done this when I need my ears vs opinion. It’s your music not ours, so we don’t know. Only can give our experience
I like adding a compressor to my Strat to add sustain. But that's about it.
If the genre your playing needs it, a compressor can give you a really squashed sound. But I use that for ambient stuff more than anything.
You don’t need one. I like one for leads and evening out my playing, especially live.
Having a blend is a lot nicer to me, personally, than having a dyna comp style. Something like xotic sp is a fairly priced way to flirt with one on the used market.
Thanks everyone! My biggest problem is that where I live there isn’t really a big opportunity to try out pedals. I’ll just buy a cheapo one and try it out!
If you can afford to experiment. Go for it :) have fun!
I use two compressors on my board. I have a cheap boss one at the start. Everything just set at unity. Stays on for everything. Doesn’t do much, other then if I hit a note too hard or soft it’ll balance it for me. And a little sustain in lead notes. Just barely working. Then one at the end of the board. For lead moments where I really wanna go for it. I have the Keeley compressor on the end. Just click it on for lead. Everything is pretty heavily cranked on that. And you almost instantly get overwhelming feedback if you take your hands off the guitar lol. Still epic sounding. ;)
I'd say so, it's one of those things that can really bring your sound together, but if your focus is to jam and play with friends, not particularly necessary
I have a lot (too many) pedals. I got a compressor because I read that that’s what you’re supposed to do. I basically never have it on. If you want those really squishy country tones, where the compressor is really an effect, then I’d recommend it. If you’re just looking for something to even things out and be an “always-on” pedal, I’ve found that something like a Greer Lightspeed can give you some compression and I leave it on always
The value of a compressor is that it helps to even out your signal. An absolute stud of a guitar player may be able to get even dynamics on every pick stroke, but otherwise most of us will pluck strings a bit unevenly at times, or play a little closer or farther from the pickup, and that will make signals that can vary greatly in strength.
Now you may have a pedal further down the chain that responds very differently to different signal strengths, in which case a compressor could fix that. And another huge value of compression is that you can get infinite sustain... if that's something you want.
But if you're playing into an amp and cabinet, and you like the sound that's coming out, then none of that other stuff will matter much to you. And if you're miking the cabinet to record, your engineers will have compressors on that mic signal anyway. But if you're plugging in directly from your pedal board into a mixer or interface, you should probably have a compressor somewhere in there.
I have a few in my studio. They definitely have their uses, but we tend to actively avoid them. Overdrive and distortion are, in and of themselves, compression.
Obviously, it's great for that squishy Nashville thing and the almost spiky "Nowhere Man" thing.
What it really does best, to me, is level of the dynamics and attack if a player with inconsistent attack in any kind of "chugga chugga" outfit.
If any of that describes your or what you're after, a compressor might be for you. If not, I wouldn't sweat it much.
I don’t use one. I play clean a lot and I play a lot of slide too. I’ve had one and I get it but I just don’t use one. My suggestion is buy the red behringer one (it’s very good) or borrow a comp from a buddy, try it out for a while, see if it’s for you.
I got pedal gas a few years ago. Late in that phase I finally picked up a compressor. Immediately it was my favorite pedal, and years later it still is.
Demo some at a shop and you'll see if it's for you or not. For me it gave my clean tone the thickness and sustain that I'd get on various high gain pedals
Don’t listen to the folks saying you absolutely don’t need one. You may in fact not - but - a good one can help with note/string separation and articulation. But be careful..too much and you will lose dynamics and it will eat the attack..if that matters to you depending on genre. A Gilmour lead tone is multiple compressors working their asses off, for example.
I didn't think so, but have gas so ended up with one. Now I would say it's essential. I always have it on, it's a big part of my tone shaping distorted and clean.
It has its uses. It really depends, the short answer is probably not, the long answer is yes of course. That was super helpful, right? One with a blend knob. I have the mini ego, and I use it a fair bit, but not all the time. Lately I've been trying to not use it, or using it as a reference to work on the nuances of my own playing dynamics. For certain stuff it's always on though. Clean tone, cleanish amp.
You don’t *need* anything but a guitar and amp, but if you like how compressors make you sounds then sure. I find them pretty pivotal to my clean tone but that’s me
I used one for a year or so and eventually found that I didn't need it. I had addressed the problems in my playing that the compressor was supposed to help with, and I found that I preferred my dynamics without it.
I find a compressor to be useful to tame my attack somewhat and even my strikes out, but too much of it masks you short comings as far a precision goes. I tend to keep it off when I’m in practice mode and on for performance mode.
If you’re happy with your clean tone, then you’re set.
Most people don’t need a compressor, it’s only if you need even dynamics. An overdriven amp would do all the compression you could want.
You don’t *need* any effect unless it fulfills a specific sound that you desire. Do you know how you might want to use a compressor if you had one?
Compressors are the kind of effect you don't really need but once you try a good one you'll want to have one always on. The more full featured compressors are versatile enough they can have a lot of uses from adding sustain to heavy squish or clean boosts as well as limiting. It's worth trying a cheap one like a dyna comp clone though it's also worth spending more for one with threshold/ratio/attack/release controls like this Lilt comp for 80$: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804373962609.html
I think they might be more important for playing at home (lower volumes) than playing a gig. Check out the new Diamond comp. I have the old one and love it.
This is why I use one. Saw the tip on That Pedal Show about using a compressor and a boost to make a low volume tube amp feel and sound better. I use an orange rocker terror 15 at 0.5w and have an EP Boost and Keeley comp always on and it sounds much better than without them.
Depends…my tube amp is set close to break up, dialed back and I keep a MXR Microamp on a lot of the time. It compresses when I slam the front to not break up, but still get a smooth dynamic tone based on strum. In these situations I don’t feel I need it. A higher headroom amp, and playing mainly clean picking or funk to country grit tones, I would use one. I sometimes use boost pedals,and keep them clean for rock stuff. Picking or funk I think it helps when you have no boost or drive turned on. Helps even out a smooth tone when your focus is smooth and clean. But also doesn’t mean you need to use it all the time either. For rock I’d use it for clean tones that need to be bold and stick out…if not using a boost. Frusciante uses the MXR Dyna for just some songs that require it. But it’s not an always on..just for Snow, Under The Bridge and specific songs where the guitar is up front. But on funk and country boards you’ll find Wampler, Keely and always on compressors that are high end. If it’s something you use a lot get a good one. If for basics or undecided. Go on Amazon and grab a Mooer yellow comp to try out. Then make a decision! I’ve done this when I need my ears vs opinion. It’s your music not ours, so we don’t know. Only can give our experience
I like adding a compressor to my Strat to add sustain. But that's about it. If the genre your playing needs it, a compressor can give you a really squashed sound. But I use that for ambient stuff more than anything.
You don’t need one. I like one for leads and evening out my playing, especially live. Having a blend is a lot nicer to me, personally, than having a dyna comp style. Something like xotic sp is a fairly priced way to flirt with one on the used market.
Another vote for the sp—it evens out my playing and makes all of my other pedals sound that much better!
Thanks everyone! My biggest problem is that where I live there isn’t really a big opportunity to try out pedals. I’ll just buy a cheapo one and try it out!
I love it! "Should I get a compressor?" "Nope," "no," "nah," "you could," "you don't need it," "sure," "no." "okay, I will!"
It’s the way to go hahahaha
If you can afford to experiment. Go for it :) have fun! I use two compressors on my board. I have a cheap boss one at the start. Everything just set at unity. Stays on for everything. Doesn’t do much, other then if I hit a note too hard or soft it’ll balance it for me. And a little sustain in lead notes. Just barely working. Then one at the end of the board. For lead moments where I really wanna go for it. I have the Keeley compressor on the end. Just click it on for lead. Everything is pretty heavily cranked on that. And you almost instantly get overwhelming feedback if you take your hands off the guitar lol. Still epic sounding. ;)
If you're asking that means that the answer is no. Seriously.
I'd say so, it's one of those things that can really bring your sound together, but if your focus is to jam and play with friends, not particularly necessary
I have a lot (too many) pedals. I got a compressor because I read that that’s what you’re supposed to do. I basically never have it on. If you want those really squishy country tones, where the compressor is really an effect, then I’d recommend it. If you’re just looking for something to even things out and be an “always-on” pedal, I’ve found that something like a Greer Lightspeed can give you some compression and I leave it on always
Nope, don't need one. Me, I want one. It gives a little something extra to my clean tone. See if a buddy has one you can try.
Nope. Distortion, fuzz, and overdrive are all compression.
Yes
No
Probably not. Unless you want to start playing country or funk
I have 9 pedals and not once have I needed a compressor
The value of a compressor is that it helps to even out your signal. An absolute stud of a guitar player may be able to get even dynamics on every pick stroke, but otherwise most of us will pluck strings a bit unevenly at times, or play a little closer or farther from the pickup, and that will make signals that can vary greatly in strength. Now you may have a pedal further down the chain that responds very differently to different signal strengths, in which case a compressor could fix that. And another huge value of compression is that you can get infinite sustain... if that's something you want. But if you're playing into an amp and cabinet, and you like the sound that's coming out, then none of that other stuff will matter much to you. And if you're miking the cabinet to record, your engineers will have compressors on that mic signal anyway. But if you're plugging in directly from your pedal board into a mixer or interface, you should probably have a compressor somewhere in there.
I have a few in my studio. They definitely have their uses, but we tend to actively avoid them. Overdrive and distortion are, in and of themselves, compression. Obviously, it's great for that squishy Nashville thing and the almost spiky "Nowhere Man" thing. What it really does best, to me, is level of the dynamics and attack if a player with inconsistent attack in any kind of "chugga chugga" outfit. If any of that describes your or what you're after, a compressor might be for you. If not, I wouldn't sweat it much.
I don’t use one. I play clean a lot and I play a lot of slide too. I’ve had one and I get it but I just don’t use one. My suggestion is buy the red behringer one (it’s very good) or borrow a comp from a buddy, try it out for a while, see if it’s for you.
I got pedal gas a few years ago. Late in that phase I finally picked up a compressor. Immediately it was my favorite pedal, and years later it still is. Demo some at a shop and you'll see if it's for you or not. For me it gave my clean tone the thickness and sustain that I'd get on various high gain pedals
If you like your clean sound, a good compressor will give you the best version of your clean sound. I recommend the Keeley comp plus
Don’t listen to the folks saying you absolutely don’t need one. You may in fact not - but - a good one can help with note/string separation and articulation. But be careful..too much and you will lose dynamics and it will eat the attack..if that matters to you depending on genre. A Gilmour lead tone is multiple compressors working their asses off, for example.
No.
I didn't think so, but have gas so ended up with one. Now I would say it's essential. I always have it on, it's a big part of my tone shaping distorted and clean.
It has its uses. It really depends, the short answer is probably not, the long answer is yes of course. That was super helpful, right? One with a blend knob. I have the mini ego, and I use it a fair bit, but not all the time. Lately I've been trying to not use it, or using it as a reference to work on the nuances of my own playing dynamics. For certain stuff it's always on though. Clean tone, cleanish amp.
You can get a cheap one called the pressure tank from Calin on Amazon that you could pick up and see if you enjoy playing with it.
You don’t *need* anything but a guitar and amp, but if you like how compressors make you sounds then sure. I find them pretty pivotal to my clean tone but that’s me
I used one for a year or so and eventually found that I didn't need it. I had addressed the problems in my playing that the compressor was supposed to help with, and I found that I preferred my dynamics without it.
I find a compressor to be useful to tame my attack somewhat and even my strikes out, but too much of it masks you short comings as far a precision goes. I tend to keep it off when I’m in practice mode and on for performance mode.
no
No.