As a long time user of studio compressors before I got in to the guitar, something I found odd when using compressor pedals (or at least the ones I used) was the lack of a gain reduction meter.
I know it's best to just listen but with compression I found it hard to judge how much compression is actually being applied. I suppose it's maybe not important to know how much, as long as the sound achieved is right, it's just after years of knowing how much gain reduction I want for certain applications it's weird going in blind.
I've actually considered getting a new compressor pedal that has a meter purely for the meter itself.
Anyone else found that at first but then got used to adjusting by ear? Any tips for doing it?
Comments
Re judging it by ear - it's easier with an older type comp like the Dyna or similar as the effect is so noticeable once you've crossed the threshold. But I'd guess that by the time you're noticing it, there's already some compression been applied. The strength of the signal hitting the comp has a big effect, so adjusting the guitar volume is a good way to finesse the comp's response. For comps with a fixed threshold, using a boost in front of the comp can give you more options, if you're going for an exaggerated bloom effect for instance.
I've heard the Keeley mentioned before countless times as being great and I've seen the Empress before and it looks really good - sadly both are way over my budget for a compressor pedal.
The MXR M87 is the one I had my eye on, though it's still not cheap by any means.
At the moment I'm using the one built in to the Atomic Amplifire and it's a very good digital compressor, I've got no issues with the sound quality what so ever, it's purely the lack of metering that makes me even consider a pedal.