Recommend a compressor?

[punkin]

Hello All,

I've been toying with building a compressor. I would like to add some sustain to my rig. I know VERY LITTLE about compressors and would like to build one that's relatively easy to build. I tend to play classic rock, some metal. Can anyone recommend a build that's not too terribly complicated? I noted the Orange Squeezer in the schematics section but from some UTube videos I've heard I'm concerned that the thing is a bit too subtle but again, I have no experience with these things at all.

Steph

[Mark Hammer]

Compressors do not add sustain.  They provide the illusion of sustain by minimizing the volume differences between the start and end of the note/s.  If your amp volume is up high enough, that particular adjustment will assist the guitar in resonating longer, which I suppose you can call sustain.  But the circuit alone does not change the physics of your guitar.

What you look for in a compressor project will depend on how you intend to use it, and the style of music you play.  So fill us in a bit more, and we'll point the way.

[punkin]

Thanks...I get the "physics" of what you're saying and I am looking for the "illusion" of some sustain.

Effectively what I'm looking for is bringing up of low level notes and squashing the higher levels to get a more uniformed level of sound. I find that things like pinch harmonics just don't ring through or seem to be faded into the background when compared to other notes and chords. Mind you I'm not just interested in the harmonics but used it as an example.

I tend to play classic rock, metal and some fusion (Satriani-esque) tunes.

Thanks for the reply. Hope I'm explaining my interest.

[Mark Hammer]

Thanks.

Simple enough request.  Build a Dynacomp or Ross or Saffron Squeeze.  They are all pretty much the same pedal with a few minor differences addressing noise issues.  The basic design provides for a longer recovery time.  Short gain recovery times behave more like a limiter by reining in the peaks, and leaving the softer parts largely unaffected.  Longer gain recovery times restore the gain/volume more gradually, providing less contrast between the peaks and softer parts.

[punkin]

Thanks Mark!

Of these you suggest...does any of them stand out as a "better" project in your opinion?


Steph

[zombiwoof]

The Ross comp is regarded as an improved version of the Dynacomp.  If you build either one, I suggest you make sure you put in a variable attack/release pot, as in stock form those pedals have a very slow attack, so the volume tends to swell up slowly when set to high sensitivity (the amount of compression) settings.  If you can control the attack, you can set it faster so you can use more compression without the "pumping" that is evident in the stock pedals.  I'm sure there is a schematic that includes that out there, or I'm sure Mark can tell you how to implement it (he's posted it in other threads).

The Orange Squeezer is another one to consider, although I think it's a more complicated build.

Al

[Mark Hammer]

Yeah, the stock Ross/Dynacomp is set for slower recovery, which I why I suggested it, but that single resistance can be easily varied - precisely what a whole batch of companies have done in their Dynacomp-inspired pedals.  I think the Tonepad layout shows how to do this.

[punkin]

I thank you for the recommendations. I'll do some searching for a schematic and layout for the Ross and see where it takes me. Again, thanks very much for the insight.


Steph

[fatfoohy]

i just recently built the flatline compressor, i loooove it, i even squeezed it in a 1590a! it can add tooonnnnns of sustain with it too

[Philippe]

For the maximum in clean & transparent (if that is your goal), maybe something along the lines of a Joe Meek FloorQ? It's a stompbox varient of their larger rackmount compressor & it's possible someone has already found a way to DIY it.

An Orange Squeezer will 'season' your overall tone a bit & when cranked, it turns into an overdrive booster of sorts...just depends on what you are going for. The OS is a good little unit & like the Ross/Dynacomp, it has been around for a long time.

[petemoore]

  Compressors in general:
  Turn the amp volume up at the most inopportune moments, when input is the lowest [not playing etc.], any noise hiss or whatever is can be greatly accentuated at these times.
  Sometimes are considered a hinderance or superfluous because distortion compresses, amps may, and speakers can be pressed to compress heavily[cabinet may assist this], amps may 'sag' much, which can be slow version of similar characteristics.
  What makes 1 compressor seem great 'here', makes the same compressor useless 'there', suffice it to say it's best to have or find a good reason for compression.
  What is 'down the line' may come to depend on compressor[s:
  Amp can be pushed to distort more, more of the note-time [longer during sustain portion for instance], but still not overdistort. The added harmonics also may help fascilitate ''A/C air drive'' to increase the inducing of guitarwood/string vibration.
  In another instance heavy bass peaks flattened by compressor can take a load off of the speaker or spike from the listener experience.
  They can be used to 'even-push' a distortion box that doesn't distort/compress by itself, or after distortion just for the increased/multiplied inputhashnoise.
  Before phase is another example, phase may sound ''thicker/more often'' [like the amp, input is near overdistortion 'zone'] if the input signal strength is limited to a smaller window, just before the phaser distorts nasty.
  Envelope filter ramps respond to changes of input voltage.
  To have or find a need for compression, knowing when to use it can be good, as well as developing quick with the bypass technique, not even a full sentence, still a decent suggestion.
  Slow compressors:
  Allow the string and speaker more cycles to 'align' resonances, this may allow power-feedback to ramp up..if everything else happens to be right for creating feedback sustain, this tends to broaden the area of the neck where sustain was hard to produce otherwise [or at even more amazing volumes and much greater peak volumes], and generally make it easier to get started up in volume feedback =sustain instead of dying off. Rather fine lines, easy to miss them the first time setting up compression for "pickup>amplification>speaker>air>wood-and-string>pickup" loop.
  So...I set the slopto compressor [slow/optical] to compress to ducking if needed, but the slow lets a small fraction of attack peak time into the distorter, which puts an introduction 'schpike' tone there, especially if I let the ramp drift back up before 'whank' ing the string[s or set in faster response range, an extra hard attack event right at the very beginning of each attack.
  And the OS being swift, quick, smooth yet light in ramp depth, can't duck worth a darn, catches every input transient and responds to it instantly, it is so delicate that you might not even be able to tell it is there, it is only when the slight effect is influencing something else to not 'bark' about a peak so much that it is obvious. It is cool tool because of this, if in the right situation, and doesn't tend to 'hampster wheel' the amp volume up during rests. 
  Optos are cool and the slow response of the light either works good offers some limitation on what can be achieved when reshaping the ramping..quite easy for the duckswells effect, excellent if on the verge of, and have time for 1 or more second swells into feedback-growth time.
  OS is just quick/light is all, except a noticable soft distortion with it, I like soft distortion before distortion and for thicker clean, quite nice.
  Dyna/Ross are like brothers, but the former has a voice with the high frequencies tamed, it can be believed that turning the compression amount to powerful when less than pristine HF input was present lead to the added LP filtering at the end of the Dyna, which doesn't kill-with-noise-effect quite as bad when the user is a little late to the BP switch, fine place to filter, especially if a similar filter [say in tone control elsewhere] can be adjusted to not double-cut the HF's.