It all comes down to taste but I would recommend transistor units for single coils and finger picking and optical units for humbuckers and if you’re using a lot of gain pedals. There are no rules as to what type of compression you should use for specific amps, guitars or musical styles. There are also FET and tube units although these are rare among pedals. Optical compressors, based around light dependent resistors, are smoother and more subtle, much like the studio outboard units. Compressors based around a transistor circuit, like the DynaComp, are often favoured by finger pickers, for their fast and aggressive compression. There are mainly two types of compressor pedals. What type of compressor should you choose? Read more about David’s Rattle That Lock gear in this in-depth feature. Using compression throughout the set and setting the amount of compression high, allow him to use less gain from his overdrive and distortion pedals and get a more focused and cutting tone, emphasising on the mid range. On the recent Rattle That Lock tour, compressors are a dominating part of David’s tone. The pedals were now placed first in the chain. Perhaps he mainly used it for cleans or, that they simply weren’t used to compressor pedals and set it up much like a studio unit, compressing the entire signal and the front end of the amp for a better balance and more headroom.ĭuring the 80s and 90s David experimented with several different compressor pedals in his rigs for different tones and applications, sometimes using two or all three compressors at once, like the intro on Time. The pedal seems to have been placed somewhere in the middle of his effects chain.
His first unit was a mid 70s MXR (scrip logo) DynaComp. David Gilmour and compressorsĭavid Gilmour has been using compressor pedals since early 1977, during the Animals tour. Some modern units also offer more controls and often a blend function, which will retain that crisp attack of your picking and allow you to dial in the right amount of compression. The sustain is basically one control for all the controls you have on your studio unit, while the volume can be used to compensate or boost. These had two controls – sustain and volume. However, the amplifying of the lower frequencies, will make the overall volume sound more consistent and fatter and therefore, make it stand out more in a mix, with more mid range and sustain.Ĭompressors for guitar started to appear in the mid 70s, with the MXR DynaComp and Ross Compressor among others. Peaking transients will be smoother, making the signal to appear lower in volume.
KEELEY COMPRESSOR 4 HOW TO
In this feature we’ll look at a handful of models and how to incorporate these in your rig, with David Gilmour’s tones in mind.Ī compressor controls the dynamic range of a sound by making the quiet notes louder and the louder notes more quiet. I hope that helps and enjoy the compression adventure.A compressor may not be on the top of your list but it really is a powerful tool for enhancing and sculpting your tone. Yes, I have compression on all of the time now and is part of my secret sauce, but you would not know that I have it on. Keeley has a more elaborate compressor nowadays, so maybe start there and move up if you can. To me, the MXR is not even in the same league as the Keeley 4 knob, but what I know today, basically, the more knobs the better and the more expensive the better. Of course this takes a lot of time to learn and not for the weak at heart nor for one with bad ears. After all the work I invested in learning about compression, the Empress easily won out because of having all of the attributes independently dialed in. The fewer knob compressor pedals are basically reflecting the pedal designer combining some of the attributes to make it faster or easier to dial in a "good" compression to your sound. In the end, I found that the more control you have of each attribute, the better you can dial in what you want. He recommended the MXR bass compressor for me to learn about ratios. It was a wonderful opportunity, but it took a lot of time learning the nuances of all the attributes of compression. The idea was to learn as much as possible about compression during that time. The MXR Bass compressor, the Keeley 4 knob and the Empress.
My best friend let me use three of his compressor pedals for over two years.
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