Orange Squeezer compressor for acoustic guitar

[bettycat]

I´m looking for a compressor for acoustic guitar only, will the Orange Squeezer (maybe with some mods ?!?) do it ? Or any other suggestions for a DIY comp for acoustic guitar ?

[Solidhex]

  Most people want transparency when using compressors with acoustic guitars. The Orange Squeezer doesn't really do that. I bet it would sound cool though. I'm sure some other people have some recommendations for you. Ross compressor maybe?

--Brad

[bettycat]

  Most people want transparency when using compressors with acoustic guitars. The Orange Squeezer doesn't really do that. I bet it would sound cool though. I'm sure some other people have some recommendations for you. Ross compressor maybe?

--Brad

Hi Brad,

that´s absolutely right, distortion in the tone is not what I´m looking for   I thought about changing the feedback resistor from 220k to 200k or even 190k to get rid of some unwanted distortion. But I´m also open for any other suggestions.

[markm]

The Flatline Compressor maybe ideal for you.

[bettycat]

The Flatline Compressor maybe ideal for you.

Hey Marc,

thanks for this info, I will check out this one for sure !

[markm]

The Flatline Compressor maybe ideal for you.

Hey Marc,

thanks for this info, I will check out this one for sure !

Who's Mar"c"?   

[bettycat]

The Flatline Compressor maybe ideal for you.

Hey Marc,

thanks for this info, I will check out this one for sure !

Who's Mar"c"?   

OOOUUUCH, sorry - over here most of the Marks are written with a "c" at the end ... the nordic variant 

[markm]

Quite alright.
Just foolin' with ya! 

[Mark Hammer]

Sheesh, I would think the OS is probably a very appropriate compressor for acoustic guitar since it has the dynamic characteristics suitable for that use.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but an acoustic guitar player does not want a compressor that will keep notes ringing longer than they normally would since that only increaess the risk of feedback erupting.  The OS has been prized by many players because if gets in and out very quickly, relative to any of the Dynacomp-inspired models, performing more like (though not exactly like) a peak limiter than a compressor.  Provided one keeps the levels set just right (which is easy enough to do), whatever "distortion" one hears may well be from envelope ripple at the tail end of a chord, as opposed to any sort of clipping.

Now I'm not saying the Flatline is not a decent compressor.  Generally speaking, LDR-based compression and limiting are solid noise-free choices.  However, an amplified acoustic guitar will sound less like it ought to and be more prone to howling should one use a circuit that introduces, or attempts to introduce, constant volume levels.

A more suitable way of keeping the dynamics in check would be to adapt the Q&D Compressor that uses the SSM2166 chip.  That chip is designed with mic'd applications in mind and will allow you to set the point at which hard limiting is applied as well as provide very gentle noise reduction when the signal level descends below a certain point.  It WILL do maximum squish too, but if you want subtler out of it, it will deliver that too.

[bettycat]

Sheesh, I would think the OS is probably a very appropriate compressor for acoustic guitar since it has the dynamic characteristics suitable for that use.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but an acoustic guitar player does not want a compressor that will keep notes ringing longer than they normally would since that only increaes the risk of feedback erupting.  The OS has been prized by many players because if gets in and out very quickly, relative to any of the Dynacomp-inspired models, performing more like (though not exactloy like) a peak limiter than a compressor.  Provided one keeps the levels set just right (which is easy enough to do), whatever "distortion" one hears may well be from envelope ripple at the tail end of a chord, as opposed to any sort of clipping.

Now I'm not saying the Flatline is not decent compressor.  Generally speaking, LDR-based compression and limiting are solid noise-free choices.  However, an amplified acoustic guitar will sound less like it ought to and be more prone to howling should one use a circuit that introduces or attempts to introduce constant volume levels.

A more suitable way of keeping the dynamics in check would be to adapt the Q&D Compressor that uses the SSM2166 chip.  That chip is designed with mic'd applications in mind and will allow you to set the point at which hard limiting is applied as well as provide very gentle noise reduction when the signal level descends below a certain point.  It WILL do maximum squish too, but if you want subtler out of it, it will deliver that too.

The Q&D is a great compressor for sure and I had it on my list, but it seems that the SSM2166 is impossible to get over here in Europe. Do you have any idea where I can get this chip ?

[markm]

The Q&D is a great compressor for sure and I had it on my list, but it seems that the SSM2166 is impossible to get over here in Europe. Do you have any idea where I can get this chip ?

smallbear. 
I wouldn't waste my time on that one though.
Too complicated, hard to set up, more knobs to twittle with.......for what? 
O/S would probably be fine for plug-n-play and ease of use. Unless knob twittling is your thing?!! 

[mars_bringer_of_war]

Assuming you're using a piezo pickup and not mic'ing the guitar, the Orange Squeezer is a great choice, for the reasons Mark Hammer noted. I built and used an OS in just that fashion for a few years, and it was perfectly suited for the task.