questions on compressor
- Thread starter reyrey
- Start date
Punch Factory/BBE Opto Stomp is an optical compressor in which an internal light source(light bulb which glows dimmer or brighter according to the input) is used to read the signal, the unit will than track the varying brightness of the bulb and change gain.
Transparency as in it does not affect/color your tone.
Units like EBS has a "tube sim" which colors your sound if you like it that way.
Some compressors are multiband(Compresses highs/mids/lows seperately)
Some also throw in an extra 12AX7 for tube warmth.
Some compressors are used to extent substain by adjusting longer release times
And some like to use it just for reducing dynamic range drastically(Squash)
A more extreme form would be peak limiting in which are mostly use for speaker/surge protection.
Ratio, Threshold, Knee Attack, Release Controls all work together to give the different kinds of compression.
A good compressor is one that is so subtle that you can't hear it.
Transparency as in it does not affect/color your tone.
Units like EBS has a "tube sim" which colors your sound if you like it that way.
Some compressors are multiband(Compresses highs/mids/lows seperately)
Some also throw in an extra 12AX7 for tube warmth.
Some compressors are used to extent substain by adjusting longer release times
And some like to use it just for reducing dynamic range drastically(Squash)
A more extreme form would be peak limiting in which are mostly use for speaker/surge protection.
Ratio, Threshold, Knee Attack, Release Controls all work together to give the different kinds of compression.
A good compressor is one that is so subtle that you can't hear it.
Slapshock has one too, I've seen at least 2 other bass users here having a PF on their board. It's a transparent dynamic compressor.
If you want the coloration to change your tone, you'll better off with something else.
Last i heard, Yamaha has limted stocks.
A better/detailed compressor would of course be a studio grade rack mounted one.
If you want the coloration to change your tone, you'll better off with something else.
Last i heard, Yamaha has limted stocks.
A better/detailed compressor would of course be a studio grade rack mounted one.
Colarndo, a longer release time does not give you more sustain. Generally, longer release time is used for transparency reasons. In fact, if you think about it logically, a longer release setting may actually kill your sustain!
To get more sustain, you need to compress more and turn up your make-up gain. That might colour your tone, though. So it's a tradeoff.
Also, a good compressor may not necessarily be a subtle one. It really depends on what you want and how you set it.
And anyway, I recommend that first-time users get a compressor with more knobs (more adjustable settings), so that you can play around and discover how it affects your dynamics and sound.
Hope I helped!
To get more sustain, you need to compress more and turn up your make-up gain. That might colour your tone, though. So it's a tradeoff.
Also, a good compressor may not necessarily be a subtle one. It really depends on what you want and how you set it.
And anyway, I recommend that first-time users get a compressor with more knobs (more adjustable settings), so that you can play around and discover how it affects your dynamics and sound.
Hope I helped!
Colarndo. I think that's not true.
Release time is the amount of time the compressor takes to "deactivate" its gain reduction. That is... the amount of time it continues to compress after the signal level falls below the threshold level.
A short release time will deactivate the compressor quickly, giving it a "pump&breathe" effect. If you increase the release time, it will recover more slowly.
To "hold" a signal, I think you'll need a delay of some sort.
Release time is the amount of time the compressor takes to "deactivate" its gain reduction. That is... the amount of time it continues to compress after the signal level falls below the threshold level.
A short release time will deactivate the compressor quickly, giving it a "pump&breathe" effect. If you increase the release time, it will recover more slowly.
To "hold" a signal, I think you'll need a delay of some sort.
Release does not affect sustain... Normally, you increase your release to counter compression artifacts, to make it sound more natural. Because if the compressor suddenly stops compressing (at the point of threshold), the sudden change in volume can sound quite unappealing. That is why the release setting is important... allow the compressor some time to "release its clamp".
One fun thing you can try to understand the release setting better is... set your ratio to very high (highly compressed), and attack to minimal (very fast). Then set your release to very low. It will create a volume swell effect. Because the compressor stops the gain reduction very quickly, you can actually hear the volume get louder very fast. Then increase your release setting, and realise the swell gets slower
Anyway, a compressor can increase your sustain, but that is through high level of compression, couple with high makeup gain.
Think about it... why does an overdrive increase your sustain? It is actually because of a higher level of compression (ratio, threshold) and makeup gain, not because of a super long release time!
Hope I cleared some doubts!
One fun thing you can try to understand the release setting better is... set your ratio to very high (highly compressed), and attack to minimal (very fast). Then set your release to very low. It will create a volume swell effect. Because the compressor stops the gain reduction very quickly, you can actually hear the volume get louder very fast. Then increase your release setting, and realise the swell gets slower
Anyway, a compressor can increase your sustain, but that is through high level of compression, couple with high makeup gain.
Think about it... why does an overdrive increase your sustain? It is actually because of a higher level of compression (ratio, threshold) and makeup gain, not because of a super long release time!
Hope I cleared some doubts!
