TelePaul
J to the R O C
I need some advice on how I should set a compressor for a punchy arpeggio. Any thoughts? I have a Boss CS3 if anyone's feeling specific.
M
mixsit
Well-known member
Punchy arpeggio- as in a fast series of notes with their attacks in tact?
First, what would you like the compression to do? (The uncompressed version (or at least by that definition) would seem to be a fit in it's natural state.
In general, slow the attack if you want the front end peaks to come through.
First, what would you like the compression to do? (The uncompressed version (or at least by that definition) would seem to be a fit in it's natural state.
In general, slow the attack if you want the front end peaks to come through.
TelePaul
J to the R O C
What do you mean by 'a fit in its natural state'? The problem I have is that when I'm doin a sweep arepggio the B and high E strings are obviously much weaker than the others. I'd like a smooth attack sure but more importantly a smooth decay.
M
mixsit
Well-known member
Right. I guess I was thinking the punchiest series of notes might be with no compression, their natural state.
I can see this going two ways- on a series of unconnected notes, or held notes. (but then you didn't say staccato' did you
Hmm.. The difference might be that on a held note pasage, the louder playing note(s) are setting the amount of compression -for both the loud and soft notes (vs compressor timing dealing with a series of separate events.
If they play together- sounds like a pickup balance issue.
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TelePaul
J to the R O C
Right. I guess I was thinking the punchiest series of notes might be with no compression, their natural state.
I can see this going two ways- on a series of unconnected notes, or held notes. (but then you didn't say staccato' did you
Hmm.. The difference might be that on a held note pasage, the louder playing note(s) are setting the amount of compression -for both the loud and soft notes (vs compressor timing dealing with a series of separate events.
If they play together- sounds like a pickup balance issue.
Sorry I should have said...it's very staccato, almost percussive. Like Andy Summers' tone on that Police song 'Every Breath You Take'. The notes are unconnected, it's fast enough at 121BPM.
Gorty
New member
Maybe a little more attack with your pick on the B and E strings when playing. I know I'm stating the obvious here but that may be the best solution.
TelePaul
J to the R O C
Yeah I tried that...you'd be surprised how quickly it can sound unpleasant! I will probably have to overdub a perfect harmony an ocatve lower. I think i've cracked it, I'll post in MP3 when I'm done.
M
mixsit
Well-known member
TelePaul
J to the R O C
For some reason I was assuming 'bass.. Not sure why.
I wish I could do something that fancy on a bass! No way! 6 strings all the way.
Creamyapples1
www.murphycabs.com
Try raising your pick up on that side....maybe? I had some problems with my B and high E a few years back and just tinkering around with pickup height straightened me out.
G
ggunn
Crystal Flavolian
If you are going to go with a compressor, you'll need to play with silence (or at least signal level below the trigger point for the compressor) between notes, and you'll need to set the release time short enough so that it will "let go" of your signal between notes. Unfortunately, the release time parameter is not settable on some compressors.
Gorty
New member
I have to do this all the time on my Stratocaster, the pick-up seems to drop away over a few weeks of playing. It's marvellous though the strength of signal on the B and E strings when the pick-up is raised.
S
Superhuman
Shagaholic
Hey Tele, slight off the topic of compression but I've always found turning the gain/distortion down to about 1 o'clock on the dial gives me the best tone for sweeping techniques - helps each note to ring through with clarity and definition. I also use compression and a HUSH - I'll try to dig out the settings later.
TelePaul
J to the R O C
Thanks man, I'll bear it in mind. In this case though, it's a clean piece.I've never really used a pedal compressor with distortion....hows it sound?
Tadpui
Well-known member
Oh man I love my CS3 as a kind of overdrive. Turn the level way up, tone at 12:00 or 1:00, attack at about 11:00, sustain at about 3:00. Then set your amp for a nice subtle crunch and kick on the compressor for solos. More sensitivity without more distortion. And its great for generating controlled (and uncontrolled!) feedback, sustaining notes forever, and general anarchy.
Of course now that I got my TS9, I've been using that for overdrive and the CS3 more for "over the top" distortion when I turn both of them on. Oh man, look out! I nearly took the paint off the wall.
I use the CS3 almost exclusively with distortion. It takes such different settings to do that versus use it to tame a clean tone that I just leave it set up for distortion all the time. I never use my amp's clean tone anyways. The crunch channel with a low preamp gain sounds just as nice to me. Then either the CS3 or TS9 for a boost, or both for out of control distortion.
Of course now that I got my TS9, I've been using that for overdrive and the CS3 more for "over the top" distortion when I turn both of them on. Oh man, look out! I nearly took the paint off the wall.
I use the CS3 almost exclusively with distortion. It takes such different settings to do that versus use it to tame a clean tone that I just leave it set up for distortion all the time. I never use my amp's clean tone anyways. The crunch channel with a low preamp gain sounds just as nice to me. Then either the CS3 or TS9 for a boost, or both for out of control distortion.
6
60's guy
Guest
Compressor settings for guitars are going to vary guitar to guitar. No two guitars are the same.
D
donkeystyle
New member
but there are starting points (the reason you get presets with software compressors) that can get you in the ballpark and then you can tweak the settings to perfection.
6
60's guy
Guest
That's very true from a software standpoint, but I was speaking more so from a hardare standpoint. I have a dual channel compressor that I use on an amp setup. One channel is a setup for the one and only acoustic guitar I ever plug into it and the other channel is setup for electric guitars and only requires a minor tweaking here or there.
Tadpui
Well-known member
But keep in mind that the CS3 stomp box compressor/sustainer paints with a pretty broad brush, so to speak. It's not exactly a precision piece of gear. It's a lot of fun though!
Farview
Well-known member
What the shred guys do is take a pedal like yours turn the compression all the way up. Then play the sweep and see if it is smooth as you want it. Keep backing off the compression to get rid of the chokey-ness. Once you find the sweet spot where you get the effect you want without the artifacts, tape the knob down.
It's a pretty fine line, and you do have to have your technique together or else the dynamics of your picking will be too much for the pedal to fix.
Yngwie uses a sustainer pedal on his ovation acoustic (live, anyway).
It's a pretty fine line, and you do have to have your technique together or else the dynamics of your picking will be too much for the pedal to fix.
Yngwie uses a sustainer pedal on his ovation acoustic (live, anyway).