Should I use an Compressor for ambient guitar

ellandroadhero

I don't use a compressor but I've seen that a lot of people use them for ambient stuff. Anybody able to help me out on why this is and how it would benefit me to use one? 

shuikit

It will give you more sustain and a 'smoother' sound

Voxman

I would have thought reverb and delay were the tools for an ambient tone?

RaymondLin

And a volume pedal.

ellandroadhero

I've got 2 delays, a reverb and a trem so I'm definitely there on that front! I wondered if it helped keep the picking sound clear?

samzadgan

I think it would help with keeping the attack level consistent and add sustain in to reverb and delay...

Unorthodox

Found this today, he explains a bit and gives some examples.

hubobulous

^^^^^ It's worth watching his whole series. The guy is a God when it comes to ambient composition. Copying his pedalboard can make anyone sound awesome.....along with a little talent of course!!

JohnPerry

hubobulous said:

^^^^^ It's worth watching his whole series. The guy is a God when it comes to ambient composition. Copying his pedalboard can make anyone sound awesome.....along with a little talent of course!!

i've watched a few of these. More convinced about his pedals than his talent tbh

joeyowen

I've not long got a diamond comp, and it's a tricky one.  It isn't a turn on and wow kinda pedal, it's subtle.  But when you turn it off something is missing.  

I actually find it works really well with gain, for example, a Marshall esq sound doesn't lend itself too well to barre chords, or some chord variations. With the diamond comp, each string is much clearer and the sound is much more balanced, which really helps the sound of the chords/phrases.

So with that in mind, in ambient music a big part is layer after layer of sound, so if you can have a product that helps with clarity in those layers, it can't be a bad thing right?  However, you might not watch to have the comp up to far so the pop/squeeze is too much as this might add dull freqs throughout.

I wouldn't use it for the sustain purpose, you have enough delay/reverb for that generally.

joeyowen

JohnPerry said:

hubobulous said:

^^^^^ It's worth watching his whole series. The guy is a God when it comes to ambient composition. Copying his pedalboard can make anyone sound awesome.....along with a little talent of course!!

i've watched a few of these. More convinced about his pedals than his talent tbh

pffft is that not most genres

Johnnyseven

If you want to give one a try you could do a lot worse than pick up the DOD FX80B that is in the classifieds. They are awesome and very cheap.

therose789

I play a lot of ambient stuff and a compressor is one of the most useful tools i have bought! 

When playing 'swells' with a volume pedal it adds loads of sustain! 

It also helps to add clarity to picking over the top of pads. 

I would suggest getting something with a blend control where you can blend your clean and compressed signal. 

not_the_dj

therose789 said:

I would suggest getting something with a blend control where you can blend your clean and compressed signal. 

Good tip.

The Xotic SP is perfect for that.

RaymondLin

therose789;438929" said:

I play a lot of ambient stuff and a compressor is one of the most useful tools i have bought! 

When playing 'swells' with a volume pedal it adds loads of sustain! 

It also helps to add clarity to picking over the top of pads. 

I would suggest getting something with a blend control where you can blend your clean and compressed signal. 

What compressor do you use at the moment?

therose789

I have a JHS pulp n' peel @RaymondLin I love it! 

Heartfeltdawn

joeyowen said:

I've not long got a diamond comp, and it's a tricky one.  It isn't a turn on and wow kinda pedal, it's subtle.  But when you turn it off something is missing.  

I used to think my Tim was the only pedal I'd never sell but the Diamond is in there. It suits my music perfectly. 

For ambient stuff, dick around with pedal chains. Compressor into delay then reverb, compressor into a short reverb going into a longer reverb is very cool. For a while I had a VanAmps Solemate going into a Laney long spring reverb tank head (one of those PA-type head units with four inputs). That was a fabulous sound. Pitchshifting is good too. 

57Deluxe

Compressors are a dark art... you have to be a member of the 'Brotherhood' to appreciate their true value in the wider scheme of things...

Heartfeltdawn

57Deluxe said:

Compressors are a dark art... you have to be a member of the 'Brotherhood' to appreciate their true value in the wider scheme of things...

Hush now, Brother Godwin. Until he has learnt the secret handshake and been baptised in the Water of the Congregation, he is not ready for this. 

hubobulous

Heartfeltdawn said:

57Deluxe said:

Compressors are a dark art... you have to be a member of the 'Brotherhood' to appreciate their true value in the wider scheme of things...

Hush now, Brother Godwin. Until he has learnt the secret handshake and been baptised in the Water of the Congregation, he is not ready for this. 

Brother Godwin can't hush. Everything he says beneath a certain volume is automatically manipulated to even out peaks and troughs

Heartfeltdawn

Then it has come to this. Matron, bring out Autotune. We shall turn him into a white female pop singer in seconds.