Comments on: Compressor placement on your pedalboard

By: JH

JH — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:08:37 +0000

Completely disagree with the original post. There is no ONE RIGHT WAY to place the comp. I prefer the comp after OD. I tend to use hi-quality low to medium gain overdrives and noiseless pickups so my noise floor is alot lower than you might think. I also tend to like optical compressors which are much more quiet, subtle and musical sounding than those horrible ross/dynacomp noiseboxes and their countless clones. Plus I like OD’s that have a dynamic response to pick attack and guitar volume adjustments.When using a pedal like the zvex distortron which can go from full gain with the guitar on 10 to completely clean at 6-7 a post OD comp keeps the overall volume at each setting nearly identical. That is a REALLY useful trick if you want to switch between equal volume clean & dirty tones (and any tones in bewteen) just by using your guitar knob. It is also impossible if you put the comp first. Jus’ sayin’ there’s more than one way to skin a comp.

By: Emilio Ramirez

Emilio Ramirez — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:49:02 +0000

This one is for Bristan and Curt few month later…i use my Tuner first…you want to be sure your guitar signal goest straight to your tuner first so what you’re seeing on your tuner screen is actually happening at that moment with nothing in between…your tuner will get the purest guitar signal first and will not affect your tone at all. I have my chain in this order: Guitar-Boss TU-12H Tuner-Morley Mini Wah/Volume-Boss AC-3 Acoustic Simulator-Xotic EP Booster-MXR Super Comp-Amp input…that’s what i have front to my amp…then i run a Boss TR2 Tremolo and a Line 6 M5 thru the effects loop…the M5 gives me great modulations, i use it mainly as my delay effect but it has a lot of other great modulations. I still want to try the MXR Super Comp before the Xotic EP Booster to see if there’s any changes on the compressor…hope this helps a little.

By: Curt Summers

Curt Summers — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 22:29:01 +0000

Yea, I need the answer to that question as well. What if you have a “true bypass” tuner first, then the compressor?

By: Bristan

Bristan — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 05:47:32 +0000

I am confused….I thought tuners were ALWAYS suppose to be your first pedal on your rig. Does the compressor go before the tuner???? Does it really make that big of a difference???

By: Ric

Ric — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 08:03:34 +0000

Keeley feels the compressor sounds better after the distortion but b4 lead boost thou levels of the compressor matter too if your gonna do leads or chords. After all that for your signature sound the Rack Compressor is added to the recording process…..thats a different story altogether?

By: paul

paul — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 18:31:46 +0000

I have since dropped my Visual Sound boxes and the compresor off my board. Not that they were not all really good units I just like to shuffle the deck now and then. I have an all new pedalboard chain these days.

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.

By: Paul R

Paul R — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:53:57 +0000

so is it noise suppressor(Boss NS-2), before compressor(Boss CS-3) that’s best?

By: paul

paul — Tue, 04 May 2010 01:01:07 +0000

Compressors raise the noise floor, the level of hiss when you are not playing. True hard wired by-pass cannot save you here, it is just the inherent nature of the compressor, some will be worse than others and if your chain already has some hiss it will magnify it. My line is totally quiet and my Visual Sound compressor has an internal noise reduction circuit and level pot. I keep it on min. Those ISP decimator would help your hiss, also high quality cables.

By: paul

paul — Tue, 04 May 2010 00:46:12 +0000

Compressor up front yes BUT if you are using harmonizer effects NO. Harmonizer effects need to be up front for proper signal trigger, the compressor screws up the guitar signal for dynamic response. I use the Digitech Whammy primarily for its harmonizer modes, Digitech agrees w me it needs to be first up for proper trigger pitch. You can put this last IF you are using for the typical 8va whammy sweeps. Also I have a TRIGGERED WAH (Digitech Synth Wah) this ALSO has to be in front of the Compressor for proper triggering. My Compressor is in front of my 1st OD and Dist. NEVER and I repeat NEVER put a Compressor OR a DIST gain box in the amp loop!

By: Andy

Andy — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 14:15:13 +0000

This is all helpful but, what about running my compressor through my effects loop? My distortion all comes from my mesa head. should my compressor be in my loop with phaser, delay, and reverb? or in front into my guitar? Andy