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Compressor, where in the chain?


Indianrock2020
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I need to revisit this due to an experience I just had setting pickup height.  I was getting odd, very low output during bends on the high E string, especially above the 9th fret.  No fretting out.  Pickup height adjustments didn't fix it and I suspect now a compressor was set aggressively enough that it was killing the output altogether once the string moved in between pickup pole pieces.
For a long time I've had a mild LA studio at the end of the chain, like Jason Sadites. Never created an issue.  Then recently I read about people putting another one after the cab/IR and before wet effects but apparently I had it set too aggressively.  This was also the LA studio.  I'm thinking now of moving that to the beginning of the chain, using the Ampeg Opto comp instead and setting it very mild in a fixed, alway on configuration.  Or possibly going a step further and having it on only for clean snapshots. Thoughts?

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The input block does have a threshold and I think a release parameter but I always thought of it as something to get rid of noise not a true compressor... I just got through testing this, removing the aggressively set compressor before the wet effects and substituting in a very mildly set deluxe comp at the beginning and everything seems to be as it should be now.

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I use two compressors...

 

One is always one, and is after the cabinet blocks, but before any reverb/delay. When viewing the gain reduction meter... it is compressing very little, but the flavor of the compressor is always coming through. The LA studio Comp or the Rochester work really well in this position... 

 

The 2nd one is toward the front of my chain and is used more as a "squish" for country picking and 80's style pop. It's more aggressive than the latter compressor, but not squished to death. Gain reduction is likely 2-3 bars rather than barely on. 

 

On 9/3/2022 at 8:03 AM, Indianrock2020 said:

Or possibly going a step further and having it on only for clean snapshots. Thoughts?

 

That is exactly how I run the 2nd compressor I mention. 

 

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On 9/3/2022 at 10:10 AM, Indianrock2020 said:

The input block does have a threshold and I think a release parameter but I always thought of it as something to get rid of noise not a true compressor... I just got through testing this, removing the aggressively set compressor before the wet effects and substituting in a very mildly set deluxe comp at the beginning and everything seems to be as it should be now.

 

I mention it because it can cause the exact issue that you have. If the proper signal never reaches the signal chain, nothing you do afterwards will help.

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