I stopped using a compressor as I just had no need for one. I had been using it more for clean boost into the OD w very little compression. I just dropped it for more a true clean boost pedal. I currently use the Fulltone Fat Boost 3 set rather clean into a new 1.4v OCD which gets knob twisted about every time I play, from a cleaner tube push to more dirt. Combines extremely well with the fat boost.

Compressors are better for cleaner stuff especially that country “chicken pickin” thing. I play more heavy fusion more Jeff Beck Satriani type tones. I could use the compressor on cleaner stuff but on high gains or driven tubes it is just way over kill.

When I play clean my tubes give all the compression I need even clean channel and the OCD is not so much a compression OD circuit. Those playing high gain tones really do not need a compressor. The best place is up front BEFORE dirt, there is argument of wah before or after depends on the wah and OD or Dist being used. Compressors will maginfy the noise floor even on a normally quit chain, it’s just what they do.

And FYI the best place for an external noise reduction like a Hush or an ISP decimator is in the loop last on return or if no loop amp-in last position. As with all effects, less is more, just use what is needed to sweeten the tone no matter what it is.

Mark

Things like fingers sliding on strings or slight noise from lighting is reduced first and so never makes it to a compressor, overdrive, boost, or distortion pedal. If those slight noises make it to your compressor, all that happens is that the hum and hiss and string noise you don’t want getting through just gets squashed and louder in the signal chain…which makes it even worse when it then hits your distortion pedal. The further down the chain your noise suppressor, the harder it must work to dampen unwanted noise.

What should make it through the noise gate/suppressor is what you want heard, and thus what you want running through your compressor. My vote (as a high gain sort of player) is that a compressor should go second. In fact, I find for those really tight and fast metal riffs, the best thing is to have a noise suppressor running at the start of the chain with the lightest possible setting that just removes ‘unintended noise’, then compressor, rest of your chain and a second noise suppressor with the lightest settings possible again at the end of it to help with rapid deadening for tight palm-muted playing.

Granted, if I’m playing blues or classic rock or a lot of mellow stuff, it isn’t a big deal and I probably wouldn’t even have a suppressor/gate in the chain…but for metal players, putting a compressor first just means those ‘unintended and undesirable’ sounds and noises are made harder to deal with further along in the chain. I see a lot of young players mistakenly put a noise suppressor last in their chain and then complain it doesn’t work right and is too noisy or kills their tone because they have to crank the suppression/gating up so high. Duh!

Why try to reduce the noise you don’t want after it’s been raised in volume, distorted, and then might have modulation effects thrown on it? Much easier if you can target the noise before anything else is done. The noise suppressor must work harder and also reduces more of the total signal rather than just the tiny noise that should have never hit any other effects in the first place if it is not the first thing in your chain. If you are worried about it killing your tone, run an EQ or tube preamp pedal to inject a bit of any missing frequencies back into your tone and then into your compressor as the third item in the chain.

Just my two cents, and again…that’s just what I have found from my own high gain rituals.

Love the blog. What a great bunch of articles and ideas!

For musicians who put a comp last in their chain to controll volume I have a suggestion.

I connect my chain to a level meter in one of my rack units to set even volumes out of comps and od units etc.
My volumes now remain constant which is important for recording or a sound man live.

I think musicians need A simple portable meter at the end of his chain that looks like a like a tuner.
A switch on it could allow P-P Avr and RMS db level readings and would be great for complex waves too.
This way a guitarist can take a reading with everything bypassed, then turn one effect on at a time to adjust equal volume throughout a chain.

Besides maintaining an even recording volume I found this most usefull for adjusting pickup height and setting patch volume levels on those dreaded all in one multieffects pedals also.

Also Pros dont boost lead volumes much sound men punch them up for solos.

For those who arent so luckey you could have all the musicians in a band set an equal boost % and put an end to volume wars.