The SP is giving you a kind of parallel compression with the blend control, blending the dry signal with the compressed signal, it make anything sound thicker and is generally a good sound, clean or dirty.
The guitarist of Michael Thompson recording for the artist are Westlife, Michael Bolton, Toni Braxton, Monica, Girls Aloud, Ashlee Simpson, Cher, Phil Collins, Michael Jackson, Celiné Dion, Comic Boyz, Leehom Wang, The Whispers, NSYNC, The Michael Thompson Band, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Babyface, Peter Cetera, Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, Cristian Castro, Atomic Kitten & Kerry Katona, Peabo Bryson, Mark Spiro, Christina Aguilera, Ella, TLC, Marc Anthony, Madonna, Earth, Wind & Fire, Jennifer Lopez, Alanis Morissette, Roger Taylor, The Cross, Richard Marx, Brian McFadden, Michael Bublé, Katy Perry, Brandy Norwood and many more.
I finally can play this beautiful little spheric piece. Took me a long time to get close to that sound as i don't have 2 Eventide Racks. Guitar Rig got me close. Thanks Michael for all your beautiful work over the years.
really wish there would have been more of a comparison between the Diamond and the SP involving actual playing to A/B them, versus just talking about them
I've been really happy with my SP pedal. Its small, sturdy, versatile, and sounds great imo.--Plus there are 3 extra dip switches inside when you take the backing plate off that allow for more tonal possibilities
Thanks for a great demo. I've got the CS-3, modded by Mark Humphrey. It definitely makes a difference. Quieter with a better balance that serves both clean and distortion/OD very well. But I have to say that I'm very interested in the blend function. I really like that in this SP. The Wampler Ego has one, too. I'd like to A/B the two of them with my CS-3.
I ended up comparing the two myself. Found the SP to be more versatile, capable of harder compression than the Diamond but can be subtle as well, and seemed to impart more treble. The Diamond is softer and subtler with more tonal control (at least without opening up the box).
I've always had an odd fetish for compressors ever since first playing a Dyna Comp. The instant Hi-Fi fullness of clean arpeggios just grabbed me. One of the first pedals I ever built was a Ross clone kit. I own several now, though use only 2. I have a Keeley 2+4 knobs, script Dyna Comp, a Philosopher's Tone optical (which I got to fill in for a guitar player when he had to jump off a tour with a month left for medical reasons, that I only used then and had remained in a bin ever since), Ross, etc. To this day though, the one I play the most and love the most is just a $100 BYOC 5-knob. The tone and blend controls makes it so versatile. When I want to get some long sustain through a clean amp for those Eric Johnson like leads, I can crank the compression, set the attack for a slower grab, and roll the blend so most of the tone is dry with 40% or so of "wet". The tone control, which was genius to take advantage of a part of the circuit that was already always there but never had a pot used for it, let's you control the treble which at times can either be too high or too low depending on the guitar/amp is great. But when I want that full evenness and pop for clean arpeggios; the old script Dyna Comp is still my go-to pedal. That percussive " click " it has with my Strat's single coils can't be beat. I never really got attached to the Ross'. They weren't as transparent as the later Keeley's, nor did have the character of the Dyna Comp. I was pretty surprised when I built the first one to find that while the only real difference between them and the Dyna Comps was 2 pairs of resistors had lower values. That was it. It may have a different opamp, I can't remember off the top of my head. But anyone who's converted a TS9 Tube Screamer over to a TS808 knows that while those used different opamps, and most think that it's that that contributes to the different tone, in reality it's a 1 or 2 resistors that really makes the difference. The opamp thing I believe was more a marketing thing. It had an affect on the general tone, but not the clipping.
Seemed like an honest review to me. To my ears, all of his points seemed valid. I wish he would have talked more about the level of noise/hiss from all of the pedals. Blend knob FTW.
The Barber Tone Press is the best compressor on the market today.Have you tried tweaking the internal trimpot(Color)it really does make a diff. I have mine about half way and it really keeps the high end in tact without really squishing anything while the full and fat, thick tone it embarks is just priceless! Peace.
Sounds like the the SP and Mad Professor FGC are pretty similar then. I did a shootout with those two and came away loving the Diamond more than ever. Sure, the FGC was more versatile and could compress more, but I could always hear it compressing (if that makes sense). I think what I like best about the Diamond is that, at moderate settings, you don't even really notice it. Until you turn if off, that is. :)
Funny how he says others have tried it, but haven't done it as well. Thats the xotic pay check talking there. I have this pedal and its great, but my Barber Tone Press does this and more, and sounds as good if not better where the Barber has more controls, and can adjust to your rig better.
The SP is really good but I have never have been able to emulate the Dyna Comp effect with any other compressor. I tried the MXR Super Comp for a while but the added noise was just too much to deal with.
Wasn't sure whether this was an advert. Anyway, the SP is another Ross/Dyna clone, although with a blend knob. IMO optical comps like the Diamond and the Aphex are classier for this kind of music. I own both, but if I wanted cheaper, the Carl Martin Classic Opto is supposed to be great. Recommend looking up OVNILAB comp reviews. Although the Ovnilabs guy just throws the SP in under Ross Clones.
Michael, I play a lot through my Fender Deville amp. I have been trying the Wampler Echo and if volume on compressor is past 1/4 i get a terrible hiss. is the SP quiet ?
I have the Wampler as well and don't have any hiss at all! What kind of power supply are you using? If it's something like a daisy-chain or onespot then that might be your problem. Cheers
This is a great video! It's very informative and everything being said is immediately revealed in the playing and sounds, etc. Honestly, in my quest for a good compressor, I never considered the Xotic SP. After my enlightenment :) I'm gonna go pick one up. Thanks for the video!
I didn't say that the SP sounds like a Ross/Dyna - simply that the Ovnilab compressor review site classes the SP as a Ross clone with regards to circuitry.
This guy has a great collection of compressors, He is just missing a real dry sound because of all of the delay he has on, so it kind of enhances all of the compressors,wish he had a lead riff to compare all of them with,the dynacomp you can hear doing a little of that country thing going,great comp, very good demo, can't wait to hear more demos and to try it myself. He has just about all of the popular compressors except, no Keeley, which I think you have to have, but he has the Analogman Ross.
The Fairfield Accountant Compressor is way better than the EP. Tried them both and was really impressed by how it handles that slight boost and is super quiet too.
Yup; that came off a little snobbier than I intended, sorry. :( But he DID basically cover Keeley territory in his review. Keeley just changed a couple of part values from the Ross circuit, which adds a little bit of filtering to the Dynacomp circuit, so they're all roughly in the same ballpark. But yeah, that was a snotty comment; my apologies.
That was a great comparison with pro guitar playing. Certainly, the Xotic is a great pedal. The Diamond, Bi Comp, and the Maxon had great tones, too. I has a Boss and a Dyna Comp and didn't like eiter. Michael made them both sound good.
Should I feel deprived if I didn't get to hear the equipment and settings that Michael finds useless for music? Life is short. I guess a lot of folks saw this, because those SP compressors are thick on the ground out here.
SP sounds thin and unfounded. The tone can easily drift into a territory where the notes appear trivial in the eyes of a critical listener. The transient attack is thickest with the Diamond. You always want a coherent mid range for your fretboard to appear even and balanced. This allows you to play diversified stuff.
I did have to stop using compressors on all the time. They can become a crutch, and the day you may be forced to not be able to use it, it can be a real eye opener as to how much it hiding any sloppy technique. I had to take it off my board and keep it off for months. Now I use them only for certain applications and leave it off the rest of the time.
tim white So I shouldn't use something that makes my playing sound better because I might have to play without it someday? That my friend is the biggest steaming pile I've encountered on the internet today - possibly in 2 days. Maybe you shouldn't use strings. They make your guitar sound better but you might break them someday. Seeing the error in your logic yet? If I sound better I use it. Simple.
David D Your logic is absurd, you can't play without strings. Compression can be a crutch, and lead to bad technique become a habit. If you play only metal, then go ahead and use a compressor all the time. If you ever plan on using dynamics in your playing then you can't use compression it eliminates dynamics. If you rely on compression because of bag technique,then your playing will sound like shit. This applies to everything, If you need to rely on a cheat to be able to pull things off then correctly. read the whole post, and watch the video that just played, he gave several circumstances where you don't want to use compression
tim white I guess I earned that comment. I get your reasoning. Yes I play but never professionally and I don't own a compressor. Am in the market for one for clean playing. My understanding and reasoning for wanting one is while they all reduce loud and increase quiet sounds they can make quiet playing at bedroom volumes sound more like playing at higher volume. Brings the same saturated tone down to tolerable levels by reducing the level/volume knob. I guess I'll see what you mean when I get one about covering up my sloppiness.
David D the 'pull your head out of your ass' line might have been a bit much, I came back to delete it and saw your response. compression is a great effect, I have a real affinity for it, I own several out of which 3 I built myself all for different reasons. my old Dyna Comp has a really good strong compression that adds a percussive "click" to arpeggiated clean chords. I have both an opamp based and optical compressor that both have wet/dry blends, so I can turn the compression up high, but dial back the wet so it's 30-40%wet and 60-70% compressed to add sustain to clean solos to get an Eric Johnson like tone that without the compressors would require me to turn the volume up to a ridiculous level. Some can make a Strat with 9 or 10 Guage strings sound like they have 12s and give a SRV tone. I teach guitar to younger kids and loaned one to a student who's getting into playing slide for some songs how band covers. He doesn't have his technique down yet, and also plays on a Guitar that's not setup for slide (action is too low). the compressor allows him to sound good with the band, but if he keeps using it he'll never be able to develop the technique he'll need. This is where compressors can become like training wheels on a bike. If you don't take them off at some point, you'll be a 40 year old A-hole with training wheels on a bike. like I said, I really loved the Dyna Comp when I first started to use compressors, but when the batteries died one day I realized that not only didn't I improve Oct 7 the period I used it, I actually backslid and lost the technique I had prior (I really need to get a thesaurus to find a different word to use besides technique).
David D Yes they even out the volumes at bedroom levels, but they will always add "compression". That might seem r really obvious, but until you get one and experience it you won't know. The part where it evens out volume in regards to bringing quiet levels up; this is t where it helps cover up mistakes. if you don't fret the note properly normally the note will either not ring out, or ring at all. The compressor will make it ring out. the downside is when it brings higher volume down. I play a Strat 70% of the time. Single coils don't compress nearly as much as humbuckers,this is why many blues players like them. My main amp is a clone of an early 80's Dumble Overdrive Special. It's really the most touch sensitive amp I've ever played. I can set the gain so when I have the volume of the guitar at 8,it's full on overdrive at 4-5 it's squeaky clean. When I have the volume at 6-7, I can fully control the distortion by how hard I attack the strings with my picking hand. However if I turn the comp on and have it set at lower output, the amp will stay clean no matter how hard I hit the strings, set higher and it's going to have dirt no matter how soft. This can be a good thing, or bad if you want to control it with your pick. Incidentally, when I picked up my PRS which was the first humbucker guitar I owned in a few years, for the first week or so I had to keep looking at my pedal board because the compression the pickups had that the Strat didn't made me think I left through comp on. Anyway if you're looking for a comp to do what you said you wanted (lower vol ) you may want to look at the Boss compressor /limiter. The Dyna Comp is my favorite sounding, but it definitely colors the tone and isn't as transparent as others. You may want to get one that's able to run at both 9 and 18 volts. 18 volts will have higher headroom and be more transparent. Or you can look at an Ego Compressor from Wampler, BYOC 5 Knob compressor (sold as a kit but you can find them fully built for only $20 or so more). Both have a wet/dry blend. The Wampler may be a bit expensive though. the Pigtronix Philosophers Tone micro is an optical comp with wet/dry, and optical is what you find in a studio, however if you want that snap that compressors make an optical may be to clean for you. The SP is a really good compressor. It does what it does without changing your tone to much (compressors can take away some treble in single coils or add them in humbucker which you may not want). Plus it's small, well made and relative affordable. When you get one make sure you put it early in your fx chain, many say it should be first, though I have a Duncan pickup booster first to even out the difference in output of my guitars but more often I keep it off to act as a buffer to bring back the high frequencies that get lost with longer instrument cables
The circuit in the Keeley (the Ross compressor) is incorporated in the Analogman Bi-Comp as an alternative to the Orange Squeezer, and he mentions that he never really got along with it. Don't buy the Keeley hype.
"I supersticiously didn't wanted to change the settings when I first got it..." Well thats not very smart when you're doing a demo is it? The shootout had the outcome you could expect hearing the intro pitch talk for SP
6:25 "Everything sounds so much thinner" It usually does when you pick closer to the bridge. ;)
lol that's totally what he did there. sharp eyes
that was terrible... i love MT, and like Exotic.. but that was embarrassing
The SP is giving you a kind of parallel compression with the blend control, blending the dry signal with the compressed signal, it make anything sound thicker and is generally a good sound, clean or dirty.
I'm not really a compressor guy, but I just picked one of these up and I really like it.
The guitarist of Michael Thompson recording for the artist are Westlife, Michael Bolton, Toni Braxton, Monica, Girls Aloud, Ashlee Simpson, Cher, Phil Collins, Michael Jackson, Celiné Dion, Comic Boyz, Leehom Wang, The Whispers, NSYNC, The Michael Thompson Band, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Babyface, Peter Cetera, Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, Cristian Castro, Atomic Kitten & Kerry Katona, Peabo Bryson, Mark Spiro, Christina Aguilera, Ella, TLC, Marc Anthony, Madonna, Earth, Wind & Fire, Jennifer Lopez, Alanis Morissette, Roger Taylor, The Cross, Richard Marx, Brian McFadden, Michael Bublé, Katy Perry, Brandy Norwood and many more.
You are one of the very very best out there Micheal Thompson. Always loved and love your playing.
This man’s noodling is like others composing at their best. Magic
I finally can play this beautiful little spheric piece. Took me a long time to get close to that sound as i don't have 2 Eventide Racks. Guitar Rig got me close. Thanks Michael for all your beautiful work over the years.
really wish there would have been more of a comparison between the Diamond and the SP involving actual playing to A/B them, versus just talking about them
maxon sounds really nice!
I've been really happy with my SP pedal. Its small, sturdy, versatile, and sounds great imo.--Plus there are 3 extra dip switches inside when you take the backing plate off that allow for more tonal possibilities
Thanks for a great demo. I've got the CS-3, modded by Mark Humphrey. It definitely makes a difference. Quieter with a better balance that serves both clean and distortion/OD very well. But I have to say that I'm very interested in the blend function. I really like that in this SP. The Wampler Ego has one, too. I'd like to A/B the two of them with my CS-3.
AT 7:52, it is driving me crazy what song that is from. I know it, just can't put my finger on it.
Me too. I've seen another video where he was talking about his love of both of those comps for different purposes.
Agreed! I'm a fan of the Diamond for the same reasons :)
awesome compressor, I love it.
I ended up comparing the two myself. Found the SP to be more versatile, capable of harder compression than the Diamond but can be subtle as well, and seemed to impart more treble. The Diamond is softer and subtler with more tonal control (at least without opening up the box).
very good review
Fine review, thanx!
I like how there is a Shure Mic pointing toward his monitor on the left lol...
wish there was some comparison videos with Empress and Joemeek also. two of my absolute favorites.
Is he using position 5(bridge) or 4? Sounds fantastic, love the ambience and of course the compressor
Until the next flavor comes around!!
I agree I like the Xotic SP, sounds damn rich and full and more open.
posted before i finished. anyway i appreciate the vid. hard to decide with such a subtle effect
I've always had an odd fetish for compressors ever since first playing a Dyna Comp. The instant Hi-Fi fullness of clean arpeggios just grabbed me. One of the first pedals I ever built was a Ross clone kit. I own several now, though use only 2. I have a Keeley 2+4 knobs, script Dyna Comp, a Philosopher's Tone optical (which I got to fill in for a guitar player when he had to jump off a tour with a month left for medical reasons, that I only used then and had remained in a bin ever since), Ross, etc. To this day though, the one I play the most and love the most is just a $100 BYOC 5-knob. The tone and blend controls makes it so versatile. When I want to get some long sustain through a clean amp for those Eric Johnson like leads, I can crank the compression, set the attack for a slower grab, and roll the blend so most of the tone is dry with 40% or so of "wet". The tone control, which was genius to take advantage of a part of the circuit that was already always there but never had a pot used for it, let's you control the treble which at times can either be too high or too low depending on the guitar/amp is great. But when I want that full evenness and pop for clean arpeggios; the old script Dyna Comp is still my go-to pedal. That percussive " click " it has with my Strat's single coils can't be beat. I never really got attached to the Ross'. They weren't as transparent as the later Keeley's, nor did have the character of the Dyna Comp. I was pretty surprised when I built the first one to find that while the only real difference between them and the Dyna Comps was 2 pairs of resistors had lower values. That was it. It may have a different opamp, I can't remember off the top of my head. But anyone who's converted a TS9 Tube Screamer over to a TS808 knows that while those used different opamps, and most think that it's that that contributes to the different tone, in reality it's a 1 or 2 resistors that really makes the difference. The opamp thing I believe was more a marketing thing. It had an affect on the general tone, but not the clipping.
My life changed when I added the SP Compressor to my rig. It's the Holy Grail!
Excellent, excellent review! Thank you!
Seemed like an honest review to me. To my ears, all of his points seemed valid. I wish he would have talked more about the level of noise/hiss from all of the pedals.
Blend knob FTW.
how envious people are! Your tone and ambience are wonderful! great review!
Fabulous pedal. I've had mine for about a week and I've played some of the bigger names. Best compressor I've used.
The Barber Tone Press is the best compressor on the market today.Have you tried tweaking the internal trimpot(Color)it really does make a diff. I have mine about half way and it really keeps the high end in tact without really squishing anything while the full and fat, thick tone it embarks is just priceless!
Peace.
very Twin Peaks at the beginning..
Great video!
He needs to keep the delay and reverb off or lower next time.
Pretty good comparison, though! I loved the Maxon and the SP.
This is an SP advertorial, right? So I do not see objective his points of view on the other compressors.
Also notice he has his favorite pedal in-line FIRST. Makes a different with any pedals in my experience.
Hi Michael, Great sound, great post. I always end up back with my old Dyna Comp. I hear there's a new Keely super fancy one coming out.
great compressor!I love it
Sounds like the the SP and Mad Professor FGC are pretty similar then. I did a shootout with those two and came away loving the Diamond more than ever. Sure, the FGC was more versatile and could compress more, but I could always hear it compressing (if that makes sense). I think what I like best about the Diamond is that, at moderate settings, you don't even really notice it. Until you turn if off, that is. :)
I wish you would switch all the other effects off.
Is that a Bill Nash Strat?
Hello
everything sounds exactly alike with so much delay he has
onemorebrando I'm not a guitarist so sorry for this: where does the reverb come from? From his guitar?
Yeah... he really undersold what is, in my opinion, an amazing compressor. Blend control or otherwise.
dude, isn't that the theme from Billitus? Tasty! :)
Funny how he says others have tried it, but haven't done it as well. Thats the xotic pay check talking there. I have this pedal and its great, but my Barber Tone Press does this and more, and sounds as good if not better where the Barber has more controls, and can adjust to your rig better.
They are called "MUSIC EQUIPMENT HOARDERS"
The SP is really good but I have never have been able to emulate the Dyna Comp effect with any other compressor. I tried the MXR Super Comp for a while but the added noise was just too much to deal with.
Thanks for sharing!
@@XoticUs great
Wasn't sure whether this was an advert. Anyway, the SP is another Ross/Dyna clone, although with a blend knob. IMO optical comps like the Diamond and the Aphex are classier for this kind of music. I own both, but if I wanted cheaper, the Carl Martin Classic Opto is supposed to be great. Recommend looking up OVNILAB comp reviews. Although the Ovnilabs guy just throws the SP in under Ross Clones.
what effects are you using in the video intro?
The name of the song in the beginning?
Mike Thompson is one great player loved His work on Babyface live ' We both are good Friends with Drummer Ricky Lawson : lpedal sounds great
What other pedals do you have on giving you that nice ambience?
This or wampler ego? Input welcome
I'm looking for a compressor to help to turn out my pick attack. Any recommendations? Also why isnt there a keeley in this?
Does anyone know the ratios corresponding to the High-Mid-Low toggle switch? Thanks,
I have the Keeley and I love it. To each his own.
Hey Michael, pls try the cheapest ever comp called Kokko :) pls
Michael, I play a lot through my Fender Deville amp. I have been trying the Wampler Echo and if volume on compressor is past 1/4 i get a terrible hiss. is the SP quiet ?
I have the Wampler as well and don't have any hiss at all! What kind of power supply are you using? If it's something like a daisy-chain or onespot then that might be your problem. Cheers
I have a Vodoo Lab I took the Wampler back and purchased the Xotic sp works great and no noise
Wich effect are he using?
This is a great video! It's very informative and everything being said is immediately revealed in the playing and sounds, etc. Honestly, in my quest for a good compressor, I never considered the Xotic SP. After my enlightenment :) I'm gonna go pick one up. Thanks for the video!
Where the hell is the Keeley?
Great, and beautiful sound !! What other pedals or rack effects he uses in this video ?
a voodoo Lab, I have a Xotic now and love it
I didn't say that the SP sounds like a Ross/Dyna - simply that the Ovnilab compressor review site classes the SP as a Ross clone with regards to circuitry.
This guy has a great collection of compressors, He is just missing a real dry sound because of all of the delay he has on, so it kind of enhances all of the compressors,wish he had a lead riff to compare all of them with,the dynacomp you can hear doing a little of that country thing going,great comp, very good demo, can't wait to hear more demos and to try it myself. He has just about all of the popular compressors except, no Keeley, which I think you have to have, but he has the Analogman Ross.
The Fairfield Accountant Compressor is way better than the EP. Tried them both and was really impressed by how it handles that slight boost and is super quiet too.
would the SP also be a good choice for funky chordal and single note rhythm parts?
Which compressor all of on the market will be good for acoustic guitar?
that was great! Loved the sound. What else did u have on the chain? Loved the way that strat sounded
Xotic and Diamond are much better at 12 V ! Yes, they can run at 12 V. Diamond at 12V is magical and will be the best of all !!
Does SP Compressor work good as a sustain pedal as well as a compressor one?
Hi, this video made me get the SP compressor but I would like to know...
Wich pickups are Michael using???
Sounds awesome.
Thanks...
Yup; that came off a little snobbier than I intended, sorry. :( But he DID basically cover Keeley territory in his review. Keeley just changed a couple of part values from the Ross circuit, which adds a little bit of filtering to the Dynacomp circuit, so they're all roughly in the same ballpark.
But yeah, that was a snotty comment; my apologies.
That was a great comparison with pro guitar playing. Certainly, the Xotic is a great pedal. The Diamond, Bi Comp, and the Maxon had great tones, too. I has a Boss and a Dyna Comp and didn't like eiter. Michael made them both sound good.
more of an endorsement than shootout
So true.
Should I feel deprived if I didn't get to hear the equipment and settings that Michael finds useless for music? Life is short. I guess a lot of folks saw this, because those SP compressors are thick on the ground out here.
🤓MXR & BOSS CS-3 my fave's😉
Cool shootout, but it would have been better without ANY ambient effects.
Have anyone can help me,which compressor is good for acoustic guitar live setup?maybe Diamond or yellow comp,i heard good thing about them
Anyone knows the song at the beginning? Absolutely beautiful piece!
Joshua Lim Please let me know if you find out. Pieces like that make me want to buy a Strat so bad. Beautiful.
David Nyc Best thing I ever did. Sold my Les Poo and got a Mexican made Strat for $450 on sale. Sounds and plays like butter.
So it's a "blend" control, and not a compression level like other compressors?
SP sounds thin and unfounded. The tone can easily drift into a territory where the notes appear trivial in the eyes of a critical listener. The transient attack is thickest with the Diamond. You always want a coherent mid range for your fretboard to appear even and balanced. This allows you to play diversified stuff.
Fiasco Seven I have the diamond comp love it
the reverb sounds like a little shimmer... ¿? it´s a
shimmer?
It's Kevin Bacon's older, yet cooler, brother!
Great demo!
The cameras angles in this video are horrid.
What is the reverb he always uses ?
I just copied the beginning part G major diatonic progression and its amazing with ambient setting.
What a lovely old lady
What pickups are these in this guitar?
Who makes that power supply? Sexy lookin'!
Maxon to me.
Between the Xotic SP and the Diamond, which would you use for studio?
The age old question only to be answered by the Gods.
Aya comp has gone somewhere.
I did have to stop using compressors on all the time. They can become a crutch, and the day you may be forced to not be able to use it, it can be a real eye opener as to how much it hiding any sloppy technique. I had to take it off my board and keep it off for months. Now I use them only for certain applications and leave it off the rest of the time.
tim white So I shouldn't use something that makes my playing sound better because I might have to play without it someday? That my friend is the biggest steaming pile I've encountered on the internet today - possibly in 2 days. Maybe you shouldn't use strings. They make your guitar sound better but you might break them someday. Seeing the error in your logic yet? If I sound better I use it. Simple.
David D Your logic is absurd, you can't play without strings. Compression can be a crutch, and lead to bad technique become a habit. If you play only metal, then go ahead and use a compressor all the time. If you ever plan on using dynamics in your playing then you can't use compression it eliminates dynamics. If you rely on compression because of bag technique,then your playing will sound like shit. This applies to everything, If you need to rely on a cheat to be able to pull things off then correctly.
read the whole post, and watch the video that just played, he gave several circumstances where you don't want to use compression
tim white I guess I earned that comment. I get your reasoning. Yes I play but never professionally and I don't own a compressor. Am in the market for one for clean playing. My understanding and reasoning for wanting one is while they all reduce loud and increase quiet sounds they can make quiet playing at bedroom volumes sound more like playing at higher volume. Brings the same saturated tone down to tolerable levels by reducing the level/volume knob. I guess I'll see what you mean when I get one about covering up my sloppiness.
David D the 'pull your head out of your ass' line might have been a bit much, I came back to delete it and saw your response. compression is a great effect, I have a real affinity for it, I own several out of which 3 I built myself all for different reasons. my old Dyna Comp has a really good strong compression that adds a percussive "click" to arpeggiated clean chords. I have both an opamp based and optical compressor that both have wet/dry blends, so I can turn the compression up high, but dial back the wet so it's 30-40%wet and 60-70% compressed to add sustain to clean solos to get an Eric Johnson like tone that without the compressors would require me to turn the volume up to a ridiculous level. Some can make a Strat with 9 or 10 Guage strings sound like they have 12s and give a SRV tone.
I teach guitar to younger kids and loaned one to a student who's getting into playing slide for some songs how band covers. He doesn't have his technique down yet, and also plays on a Guitar that's not setup for slide (action is too low). the compressor allows him to sound good with the band, but if he keeps using it he'll never be able to develop the technique he'll need. This is where compressors can become like training wheels on a bike. If you don't take them off at some point, you'll be a 40 year old A-hole with training wheels on a bike.
like I said, I really loved the Dyna Comp when I first started to use compressors, but when the batteries died one day I realized that not only didn't I improve Oct 7 the period I used it, I actually backslid and lost the technique I had prior (I really need to get a thesaurus to find a different word to use besides technique).
David D Yes they even out the volumes at bedroom levels, but they will always add "compression". That might seem r really obvious, but until you get one and experience it you won't know. The part where it evens out volume in regards to bringing quiet levels up; this is t where it helps cover up mistakes. if you don't fret the note properly normally the note will either not ring out, or ring at all. The compressor will make it ring out. the downside is when it brings higher volume down. I play a Strat 70% of the time. Single coils don't compress nearly as much as humbuckers,this is why many blues players like them. My main amp is a clone of an early 80's Dumble Overdrive Special. It's really the most touch sensitive amp I've ever played. I can set the gain so when I have the volume of the guitar at 8,it's full on overdrive at 4-5 it's squeaky clean. When I have the volume at 6-7, I can fully control the distortion by how hard I attack the strings with my picking hand. However if I turn the comp on and have it set at lower output, the amp will stay clean no matter how hard I hit the strings, set higher and it's going to have dirt no matter how soft. This can be a good thing, or bad if you want to control it with your pick. Incidentally, when I picked up my PRS which was the first humbucker guitar I owned in a few years, for the first week or so I had to keep looking at my pedal board because the compression the pickups had that the Strat didn't made me think I left through comp on.
Anyway if you're looking for a comp to do what you said you wanted (lower vol ) you may want to look at the Boss compressor /limiter. The Dyna Comp is my favorite sounding, but it definitely colors the tone and isn't as transparent as others. You may want to get one that's able to run at both 9 and 18 volts. 18 volts will have higher headroom and be more transparent. Or you can look at an Ego Compressor from Wampler, BYOC 5 Knob compressor (sold as a kit but you can find them fully built for only $20 or so more). Both have a wet/dry blend. The Wampler may be a bit expensive though. the Pigtronix Philosophers Tone micro is an optical comp with wet/dry, and optical is what you find in a studio, however if you want that snap that compressors make an optical may be to clean for you.
The SP is a really good compressor. It does what it does without changing your tone to much (compressors can take away some treble in single coils or add them in humbucker which you may not want). Plus it's small, well made and relative affordable. When you get one make sure you put it early in your fx chain, many say it should be first, though I have a Duncan pickup booster first to even out the difference in output of my guitars but more often I keep it off to act as a buffer to bring back the high frequencies that get lost with longer instrument cables
The circuit in the Keeley (the Ross compressor) is incorporated in the Analogman Bi-Comp as an alternative to the Orange Squeezer, and he mentions that he never really got along with it.
Don't buy the Keeley hype.
Very Eric Johnson at the beginning.. heheh
The Hair.
"I supersticiously didn't wanted to change the settings when I first got it..."
Well thats not very smart when you're doing a demo is it?
The shootout had the outcome you could expect hearing the intro pitch talk for SP
ask chris lord who's"sound" that really is...
his strat sounds so thin.. michael landau has fat sounding strat.
that hair despairs, like my mother-in-law's