How are the compressors?

[strabes]

When I need some spank with my tele, the red squeeze gets it done. Personally not a fan of that sound/feel but when there's some chickin' pickin' to do it gets it done. 

[WickedFinger]

Classic is often another term for nostalgic crap. personally I have no interest in reusing old stuff I had when I was teenager. Glitch out octave pedals and whatnot. Noisy bad quality pedal circuits. No thank you. The best thing about the Ross and Dyna comp circuit was what others did with it modifying it and improving it, like the tubescreamer OD circuit, better versions of it abound everywhere.  

 

Compressors are an acquired taste. Country players like overt squeeze. I prefer more transparent. I always used Wampler or Keeley, just has to have a blend control for me. I do use the LA Comp from time to time but probably not in the way most would. The more gain and tube dist thing you get on guitar the less compression you want as that is already a part of that sound. Too much compression is dreadful. It's a useful tool and accomplished studio engineers know how to apply it. Most guitarists go over board. It can just flat out ruin the natural dynamics of the guitar, less is more in that case, if there is another case of that being true. 

Just enough to bring up the response of the lower volume string picks without getting too much unnatural sound is where I am at. Compression offers an illusion of loudness and a spike reduction but too much might be novel for some "chicken pickers" but in general it ain't a good thing. 

[hideout]

The original Keeley 2 knob compressor was and still is the best I've ever used. And I'll also add while Helix does do high gains well and they generate their own sustainable tones, some of us Helix owners use the other less gain patches too, and need compression. In other words and as always, YMMV and that's okay too! ; ) As far as the LA2A is concerned, I'm thinking that a lot of us (me included) just don't know how to use it properly. Once again pure speculation 😉

For electric guitars, I think the release parameter is where most of the trouble is. The attack can also cause problems but easy enough to correct. At least, that's been my experience, Spikey.

[MusicLaw]

Whatever satisfies your Sonic Pallette. One man's Fast Food Sonic Recipe is another man's Gourmet Sound.

[spikey]

Whatever satisfies your Sonic Pallette. One man's Fast Food Sonic Recipe is another man's Gourmet Sound.

 

Im not sure you are saying that Helix compressors are like fast food or not?  ;)

[MusicLaw]

Im not sure you are saying that Helix compressors are like fast food or not?  ;)

"Just remember you can't put too much water in a Nuclear Reactor!"

[HonestOpinion]

The original Keeley 2 knob compressor was and still is the best I've ever used. And I'll also add while Helix does do high gains well and they generate their own sustainable tones, some of us Helix owners use the other less gain patches too, and need compression. In other words and as always, YMMV and that's okay too! ; ) As far as the LA2A is concerned, I'm thinking that a lot of us (me included) just don't know how to use it properly. Once again pure speculation

 

I also love that Keeley compressor! I know what you mean about users not knowing how best to utilize the 'LA Studio Comp'. This one was a little less obvious to me than for instance the 'Deluxe Comp' which has more flexible user controls and has the compressor settings I am most familiar with.  The nice thing about the 'LA Studio Comp' is that it is actually modeled after a very sought after studio/broadcast compressor and I think they did a great job on it. I have also noticed it uses more DSP than the 'Deluxe Comp' as when I get close to the edge on Helix DSP usage I can bring up the 'Deluxe Comp' but not the 'LA Studio Comp'. So, judging by the amount of DSP it uses it may be a more complex and nuanced compressor model despite the fact that it has fewer controls.

 

I found the link to the docs on helixhelp.com for the 'LA 2A' to be really helpful for tips on how to use this effect. http://helixhelp.com/pmwiki.php?n=Main.Dynamics 

 

I included a description of the critical parameters on the 'LA Studio Comp' and some tips on using them in the bottom of this post in case you want to skip down to them.

 

Essentially other than the 'Mix' and 'Level' there are two main controls on the 'LA Studio Comp' you will find yourself adjusting most often, the 'PeakReduc' and 'Gain'. The PeakReduc parameter will determine the ratio or amount of compression as well as the threshold and the 'Gain' knob is essentially the 'makeup gain'. Generally the higher you set 'PeakReduc' the more makeup gain you will have to add to account for the amount of volume reduction caused by the compressor. You may or may not find yourself wanting to tweak the 'Emphasis'. The description of what it did on the original 'LA 2A' is below in the parameter descriptions which don't include 'Mix' and 'Level' because they are self-explanatory and most people know how to use them. One thing to note is that the 'Mix' control can help you regain some dynamics and attack as well as brightness or tone as it mixes in a percentage of the uncompressed signal.

 

One final note, I have not experimented with this but as on many 'two-knob' compressors you may find that the level of the input signal going to the 'LA Studio Comp' compressor may change the compressor quite dramatically depending on how the 'PeakReduc' control is set as it includes not only the ratio but the threshold control as well. Because ratio and threshold controls in the 'LA 2A' are collapsed into the 'PeakReduc' control on the 'LA 2A' varying the input level to this block may be preferable if you want the compressor to activate properly on lower ratio settings as varying the threshold by cranking the 'PeakReduc' knob will also turn up the compression ratio (more compression). Varying input levels is often one of the methods for managing compressors without separate threshold controls in the analog world, not sure if the same applies in the digital realm on this compressor.

 

One caveat, I am making the assumption that L6 modeled this effect close to the way the original 'LA 2A' was designed. That is what guided my explanation of how the controls work on the Helix.

 

Here is a link to a rather lengthy (perhaps too lengthy) writeup I did on compression that some may find particularly helpful for using the 'Deluxe Comp'.              http://line6.com/support/topic/23488-compressors-explained/?p=178763

 

Some tips on using the 'LA Studio Comp':

 

Helix 'LA Studio Comp' Parameters And Usage Tips

 

PeakReduc - This will set the 'amount' of compression and also adjust the threshold (how high the input level or the often related, how aggressive the pick attack needs to be, to trigger compression). These two parameters(ratio, threshold) are collapsed into this single control on the 'LA 2A'. The ratio control being the ratio of dbs being reduced you are used to seeing e.g. 2:1, 4:1 and threshold referring to what input level is required to trigger compression. I don't know how or even if the attack and release are figured into the PeakReduc when it is adjusted as the 'LA Studio Comp' original did not have attack and release controls (similar to a two knob compressor pedal) but instead used the "combination of an electro-luminescent panel and a photo-cell to determine the attack and release characteristics of the LA-2A". I am not sure how Line6 modeled that circuitry but that is what would set the attack and release in the original effect. 

 

Gain - This is referring to the 'makeup' gain knob you see on most compressors. Generally the higher you set the compression (PeakReduc) the higher this will need to be set. "This control does not affect the compression.  The gain control should be set after the desired amount of compression is determined using the Peak Reduction control.  Once the Peak Reduction control is set, adjust the Gain Control to achieve the desired output level."

 

Emphasis - Use this to have more or less compression on the sparkly high end. "The LA-2A was designed for use in broadcast applications.  The audio signal in FM broadcasting undergoes pre-emphasis and results in a 17 dB boost at 15 KHz.  Due to this increase in signal level, transmitters are subject to over-modulation.  The LA-2A provides a control (R37) which controls the amount of high-frequency compression. This potentiometer is factory set for a “flat†side-chain response (clockwise).  Increasing the resistance of this potentiometer by turning it counter clockwise will result in compression which is increasingly more sensitive to the higher frequencies."

 

Type - This parameter will adjust the ratio curves, generally you will set this to 'Compress' for guitar. Setting it to 'Limit' will change a 2:1 ratio into for example a 10:1 ratio more ideal for limiter use.