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Line 6 Compressor vs. Modeled Compressors


Moderato
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It really depends on the piece of gear you are using. For instance I have the amplifi75 and there appears to be just the generic compressor available. It has only threshold and gain controls.

 

I also have the pod hd400 and that has 6 different compression models to choose from. There is

 

1. The boost comp (Drive. Bass. Comp. treble. Output.

2. Red compressor (Mxr type) Sustain. Level

3. Blue compressor. (Boss type) Sustain Level

4. Blue compressor treble (treble switch on). Sustain. Level

5. Vetta comp. Sensitivity. Level

6. Vetta juice. Amount. Level

 

My manual says the Vetta juice and the blue compressor treble are only available on the podhd400.

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This is what's available on the Amplifi 150, I'm guessing they'd be the same for the 75.  It's under Drives & Dynamics.  Thing is you need to use one of your three assignable slots.  Too bad you can't assign one of these models to the dedicated compressor slot but I guess that's the way it works. 

 

 

Red Comp â€“ Based on* the MXR® Dyna Comp, probably the most widely used stompbox compressor.

Bue Comp â€“Based on* the Boss® CS-1 Compression Sustainer with the treble switch off.

Blue Comp Treb â€“ Based on* the Boss® CS-1 Compression Sustainer with the treble switch on.

Vetta Comp â€“ This effect is taken from the Vetta II, Line 6’s flagship guitar amplifier. A Line 6 original, Vetta Comp has a fixed ratio (2.35:1, in case you’re asking) with the threshold (that would be your Sens knob) adjustable from -9dB to -56dB and up to 12dB of gain available at the Level knob. In other words, turn the Sens knob ‘til you like the way your signal’s compressed, then set the volume with Level.

Vetta Juice â€“ A Line 6 original originally created for our flagship Vetta II guitar amplifier, the ‘Juice’ in Vetta Juice comes from the 30dB of available gain in the Level knob. Holy smokes, this thing’s packin’ some heat! It’s got a fixed threshold of -40dB with the Sens knob varying compression ratio from 1.5: 1 all the way up to 20:1 (which is a whole heck of a lot). This combination of design features gives you the option of cranking the level enough to get some serious gain boost, or setting the gain lower and dialing up a smooth, clean sustain. Take your pick, and dial away.

Auto Swell â€“ This effect is an envelope generator, similar to the Boss®SG-1 Slow Gear and other pedals. Each note or chord that you play ramps up. You can dial in the ramp time here to give you the kind of ‘bowed’ attacks that might otherwise require you to have your pinky rolling the volume knob on your guitar with every pick attack. Longer ramp times in combination with delay and reverb can keep you occupied for a pleasant hour or two, seeing what kind of chords you can come up with to blend into each other. You’ve got Ramp time to set over how long the swell takes to happen, plus Depth to determine how much the volume of your attacks is reduced.

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Ok, duh! I found them under Drives and Dynamics. Sorry folks I was just having a senior's moment.

 

No prob, it's cool.  I mentioned that in my reply, I tried to help out!  Let me know how you feel about those compressor models vs. the default Line 6 one that's available with every patch.  Sounds like you have more experience with them than I do and I'm curious to hear your thoughts, thanks.  Of course there's the trade-off involved in that the modeled compressors take up one of your assignable slots so that's the other consideration. 

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Hello Moderato: here is what I figured out. The red and blue compressors are subtlety different to my ears. The blue with treble is quite

A bit more trebly sounding and maybe louder. The Vetta sounds different from the blue and red not in a bad way.

The Vetta juice seems to be the loudest of all five offerings.

 

I can think of three reasons to use the modelled compressors over the generic offering.

1. You can go pre or post amp and or pre or post of a given effect. There seems to be no end of debate over which is right so just

Go by your personal preferences.

 

2. You can use the blue treble or the Vetta juice for more treble, or more volume respectively.

 

3. The Vetta and Vetta juice offer different options ( the Vetta offers sensitivity and level whereas the juice offers amount and level

 

So let us clarify the last bit. The Vetta has a fixed ratio but the threshold is more sensitive than the Vetta juice.

The Vetta juice has a fixed threshold of -40db but has variable compression ratio and lots more gain from the level knob (read loud!)

 

I would play around with the Vetta and Vetta juice to get a good idea of how ratio, and threshold affect the sound .

Remember that the ratio is fixed at a lower level in the Vetta model.

 

In Case you are wondering what these controls are really doing let me try and explain.

 

The threshold is the level in decibels that the guitar signal has to reach before the compressor starts to work

The sensitivity control on the Vetta is controlling the threshold at which the compressor starts to kick in.

 

 

The amount control on the Vetta juice is controlling the ratio of the compression and the threshold is fixed at a fairly

Sensitive -40db.

The ratio determines how much the signal is compressed. The higher the ratio gets , the more compression is applied.

At 2:1 the signal is compressed by 2 db for every 1 db it goes above the threshold.

At 10:1 it is compressed by 10 db for each 1db above the threshold.

That is where the Vetta juice is good, because if the sound is compressed by a large amount, the extra gain on the level

Control can increase the sound back to the level it was at before compression, and even louder!

 

So here is the home work, on the Vetta juice try moving the amount (ratio) slider from low to mid to high while picking at the same volume with the right hand. (Assuming you are a right handed picker.)

 

As you move it back and forth you will hear more or less compression applied. Keep the level slider at a moderate level for this exercise.

 

Also experiment with picking harder while moving the amount control and softer while moving the amount control.

You should notice that at higher ratio settings you can play hard or soft and the sound doesn't change that much in level.

(At very high compression increase the level slider to make up for volume lost due to compression)

 

I think compression is a very delicate balancing act and everyone's ears are different depending on age, experience, and taste.

Even your picking style, and whether you are a light or heavy handed player come into play.

As far as I can see there is no right or wrong with any of this, so monkey around and have some fun!

See what you can discover.

I hope this helps you and maybe a few others.

 

Just a side note! If you like to vary your performance by controlling your loud and soft passages ( this is called dynamics )

Too much compression can kill this fast. I have learned through practice that a properly set up tube amp and the volume control on your

Guitar in tandum with how hard or soft you pick can give you all the control you may need. Of course this takes time, patience and experimentation.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...

I'm trying to come up with a compressor-related tone, so I thought I'd post on this thread...

 

In years past, I used the 'attack' knob on a Boss CS-2 Compressor/Sustainer to get rid of pick attack in order to emulate a violin or cello.  The built in compressor effects on the Amplifi 150 don't have this option.  I've been using the Auto Swell stomp box, but it's not really making me happy.  The pick attack is gone, but there's too much of a volume swell rather than just a consistent volume minus the pick attack.

 

I know I'm explaining this poorly...  To give you a frame of reference, I started with the embedded tone for "Streets Have No Name".  Then I rolled back the drive and reduced the delay effects a bit.  Finally, I added the Auto Swell stomp box and set the ramp to ~50% and the depth to 100%.

 

In short, does anyone have a tone that would work nicely to emulate violin.  Think slow, haunting notes in a large-ish space. 

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