Compressor/Sustainer

darthed1981

Hi All,

I'm trying to build my little pedal rig, and to allow me to practise better I'm currently looking at: -

Behringer Tubescreamer Clone (for a boost when playing over my rhythm loops)
Boss RC-2 Looper
Trio Band Creator

I'm thinking of topping this off with a Boss Compressor/Sustainer to even out my shoddy picking and sound a tad better, what do we think?

Might get a cheap delay or a multi-FX when I want to play with tones, but this is all about getting a good general purpose tone to practise playing songs with a "band", even alone in the house!

I do have a Boss GT-8 but it is not what I need right now, if anyone wants to buy it do let me know!

mike_l

I'd worry more about getting your playing right. A compressor won't make bad picking sound better.

darthed1981

mike_l said:

I'd worry more about getting your playing right. A compressor won't make bad picking sound better.

Oh I worry about that all the time, don't worry

Legionreturns

I think you should definitely get one! You should buy the one I've got listed. It'll make you sound like nuno and instantly better. It'll also get you laid and make you rich. Not bad for the price  

bigjon

It's my couldn't-do-without pedal - at the Leicester jam I was going into the clean channel of the amp but via a CS3 with the Attack and Sustain dials turned up to max, plus an OS2 with the Overdrive level on only 2/10.

darthed1981

bigjon said:

It's my couldn't-do-without pedal - at the Leicester jam I was going into the clean channel of the amp but via a CS3 with the Attack and Sustain dials turned up to max, plus an OS2 with the Overdrive level on only 2/10.

Certainly liked your solo tone at the jam!

mike_l

Legionreturns said:

I think you should definitely get one! You should buy the one I've got listed. It'll make you sound like nuno and instantly better. It'll also get you laid by Legionreturns and none else, and make you rich. Not bad for the price  

edited for truth...

JezWynd

mike_l said:

I'd worry more about getting your playing right. A compressor won't make bad picking sound better.

I started my compressor quest when I was looking for something to even out the bum notes in my finger picking; didn't really work if I'm honest, practise was the key to getting even volume and attack but the compressor gave me the confidence to crack on with practising even when I sounded horrible. (I still sound horrible but the uniformity is beautiful to behold).

I've got a CS-3 up for sale btw, boxed and lovely.  

darthed1981

Everyone is selling theirs.. can't quite be an essential...?

@JezWynd - that is EXACTLY why I'm thinking of getting one, I'm not naiive enough to think a pedal will make me play better, but when I've used compression settings and patches before it renders things smoother, more like recorded music, and it does build confidence for me.

Glad it's not just me!

Legionreturns

darthed1981 said:

Everyone is selling theirs.. can't quite be an essential...?

Stop using bloody logic! That's cheating!

darthed1981

OK, this is a song I'd like to play that I think a CS3 type pedal could help with, to be totally fair, the clean channel on my katana and some reverb is in the ballpark... what do you all think?  It's one of those easy to play but difficult to play right songs...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v01lLARbr5Q

Dominic

Maybe a chorus pedal too ?
And so the board grows !

darthed1981

Dominic said:

Maybe a chorus pedal too ?
And so the board grows !

I've got one of those!

mike_l

darthed1981 said:

Everyone is selling theirs.. can't quite be an essential...?

I sold mine years ago to @bigjon....
Incidentally, having a smidgeon of drive gives a natural compression, you don't need much, just a touch.

darthed1981

mike_l said:

darthed1981 said:

Everyone is selling theirs.. can't quite be an essential...?

I sold mine years ago to @bigjon....
Incidentally, having a smidgeon of drive gives a natural compression, you don't need much, just a touch.

Thanks - will try that and a bit of chorus, see if I can get my bluetones.. tone...

ToneControl

the joyo one is a clone of a nice one

Veganic

darthed1981 said:

OK, this is a song I'd like to play that I think a CS3 type pedal could help with, to be totally fair, the clean channel on my katana and some reverb is in the ballpark... what do you all think?  It's one of those easy to play but difficult to play right songs...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v01lLARbr5Q

Don't Katanas have built in effects?

darthed1981

Veganic said:

darthed1981 said:

OK, this is a song I'd like to play that I think a CS3 type pedal could help with, to be totally fair, the clean channel on my katana and some reverb is in the ballpark... what do you all think?  It's one of those easy to play but difficult to play right songs...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v01lLARbr5Q

Don't Katanas have built in effects?

They do indeed, however they get applied to your loop and your band creator as well if applied in the amp.

I usually use just the Katana and it's all the amp i need at home.

Legionreturns

darthed1981 said:

Veganic said:

darthed1981 said:

OK, this is a song I'd like to play that I think a CS3 type pedal could help with, to be totally fair, the clean channel on my katana and some reverb is in the ballpark... what do you all think?  It's one of those easy to play but difficult to play right songs...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v01lLARbr5Q

Don't Katanas have built in effects?

They do indeed, however they get applied to your loop and your band creator as well if applied in the amp.

I usually use just the Katana and it's all the amp i need at home.

Have you not got the trio in the fx loop? Or are you using the 50?

JezWynd

darthed1981 said:

OK, this is a song I'd like to play that I think a CS3 type pedal could help with, to be totally fair, the clean channel on my katana and some reverb is in the ballpark... what do you all think? 

I think a comp could help a lot with that style of play. I find them really useful when I'm doing a mix of finger picking with semi strummed chords - keeps the levels level. The trick is to adjust the attack and release so that you aren't compressing the incoming note; how it's set (esp. release) can have a big impact - if the compression hasn't released then your next note sounds dull at the attack. As a rule of thumb I set release to be quick for finger picking country style, only set it long if you are looking for increased sustain in solos etc. The naming conventions in comps vary too, sometimes 'compression' is in fact an input gain control and the compression ratio itself is fixed - you are in effect hitting the compressor with a hotter signal hence more compression occurs. It's a good idea to find out exactly how the one you choose operates so that you can get the best from it.

darthed1981

Legionreturns said:

darthed1981 said:

Veganic said:

darthed1981 said:

OK, this is a song I'd like to play that I think a CS3 type pedal could help with, to be totally fair, the clean channel on my katana and some reverb is in the ballpark... what do you all think?  It's one of those easy to play but difficult to play right songs...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v01lLARbr5Q

Don't Katanas have built in effects?

They do indeed, however they get applied to your loop and your band creator as well if applied in the amp.

I usually use just the Katana and it's all the amp i need at home.

Have you not got the trio in the fx loop? Or are you using the 50?

The 50