compressors that don't sound like a snow storm.

Progrockabuse · Post by **Progrockabuse** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 1:09 pm

is their such a thing? i know a compressor is never gonna be the quietest pedal in the world, but some must be quieter than others.

i have the soul preacher which is hampered by very very loud snowstorm when engaged at any level of compression. it's a shame as the actual compressed sound is really nice until you stop playing or play quieter.

ideas? not fussed about boss cs-3 or dnya comps as i've owned tried them and they've not really floated my boat.

Post by **Doog** » Sun Sep 04, 2011 5:19 pm

Unfortunately, it's always gonna be side effect of boosting the signal so much when you're not playing. Maybe try pairing it with an inexpensive noise gate pedal for winning combination?

There's a few compressors with built-in noise gates out there, I don't have the experience to recommend any, though.

Will · Post by **Will** » Sun Sep 04, 2011 6:31 pm

I have a Boss CS-2 which is quite nice. Not a very inspiring sound, but nicer than the CS-3 and nearly as quiet.

I've heard the Keeley is about as noieless as you can get, but it costs the earth.

riotshield · Post by **riotshield** » Sun Sep 04, 2011 6:49 pm

If you are looking for a transparent studio quality compressor then Carl Martin's compressor is your best choice.
I use that for many years and its always on at the beginning of the chain for a subtle compression that is not noticeable regardless of the dynamics. Actually even at more squashed Frusciante settings it still retains its transparency.
Its a little pricey though, but believe me its worth it.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Sun Sep 04, 2011 7:24 pm

I was quite impressed with the Line 6 tonecOre Constrictor i scored for Â£6. Almost to the point that i wondered how i've managed all these years without Compression.
But yeah, typical snowstorm once any gain device is used.

If its any use, i've noticed a lot of Boss players always seem to use a Noise Suppressor if they have a CS-3 in their chain.

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Sun Sep 04, 2011 7:41 pm

I have a CS3 in my chain, which I actually bought from you prog.

I use it without a noise suppressor

I really like it but it does get noisy as soon the sustain knob is past 1 Oclock ish.

dkoor · Post by **dkoor** » Sun Sep 04, 2011 7:45 pm

I could really use one good comp...

Are MXR (Dunlop) stuff any good? Been looking into some red Dunlop compressor pedal...

Will · Post by **Will** » Sun Sep 04, 2011 10:58 pm

dkoor wrote:I could really use one good comp...

Are MXR (Dunlop) stuff any good? Been looking into some red Dunlop compressor pedal...

The classic Dyna is good if you want its particular sound. I like to have an attack-time knob, like this:
http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/m132-s ... compressor

ultratwin · Post by **ultratwin** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 1:47 am

Progrockabuse wrote: it's a shame as the actual compressed sound is really nice until you stop playing or play quieter.

Though I use compression while playing maybe 75% of the time, my personal use of it may be quite different from how you're set up and may prove my comments irrelevant. Nonetheless:

Sounds like some mega pumping going on there, but along the lines of what the guys said, with lowered threshold comes a higher floor (and all the garbage lying around will rise as well). If you're using a lot of gain and Sanata-ing or pinching out juicy Gary Moores, I'd try using less agressive settings on the comp (before dirt pedals, obviously) and letting the amp or other pedals bear some of the comping weight. Otherwise all of the noisiez coming out prior to the compressor will be magnified bazillion times over when your signal gets ravaged by all the dirt that follows.

If the issue is also a problem when you're playing with mostly a clean tone, then I'd also mess about with your guitar's volume control along with comp settings, to ease into your desired tone instead of backing off from a perfectly squashed sound. I usually do this when I'm going for a Jonny Buckland more ambient cleanish tone that has just enough punch on the attack to nicely color the tail.

I personally feel a 3-knobber like CS-3s are a great place to start mostly because of the attack control, but most certainly the colorization effect is what is going to set one pedal apart from another. Just the same, if Ross-types are already not your thing, you might want to try an OS kind, like the BBE Orange Squash or my favorite, the Pedalworx McSqueeze. The overall colorization of OS types tends to be a distinct fatness rather than a familiar "plinky" comp tone, but the way it works by simultaneously pushing the output gain sometimes works magic with the natural compression from an amp's front end, without sounding like an artificial boost of sorts.

compressors that don't sound like a snow storm.

compressors that don't sound like a snow storm.

Re: compressors that don't sound like a snow storm.