Do I need a compressor?

[fenderslash]

Hi all,

A little over a week ago I became the very proud owner of a new Fireglo 360 with hi-gains. I love playing this instrument, but I confess that I am having some difficulty getting a sound on my amp’s dirty channel that makes me 100% happy.

To give some background and put things into perspective, I’m a gigging muso with nearly 20 years experience in rock cover bands, getting heaps of work, so I’m not exactly a newbie at this game. But I have to admit that I have a lack of technical know-how that stems from the fact that once I found a guitar/amp combo that I loved back in the late '80s - Telecasters and Fender solid state amps (first a Pro-185, now a Stage 160) - I just never felt the need to expand my horizons until recently. I don't have good gear-related problem-solving abilities because I've never had problems to solve! “My” sound is a crunchy single-coil sound, not overly distorted because I like to hear the clarity of the notes in a chord, but still distorted enough to have balls.

I have no intention of gigging with the 360, but I have a 620 on order (for more than eight months now!) to replace my Tele as my main gigging guitar. While I'm waiting for it to arrive I'm using the 360 to find a good sound, get used to the neck, etc.

After a week of searching with the 360’s and the amp’s settings I think I’m getting close. I’ve got a sound I like with the amp’s volume set to “1”, but when I closed the windows and turned the volume up to what I’d use on stage - about “2” on the dial (trust me, these amps are LOUD!) - I discovered a new problem. The pick “attack” volume, for want of a better term, as I strike the strings is way too harsh. Or to try to put it another way, it sounds like the signal from the guitar is too great at the moment I strike the strings, unless I play gently. I tried lowering the pickups to see if that would even things out at all, but I didn’t notice any change.

I am aware that compressors are designed to even out the volume to a degree between the loudest and softest signal, so I was wondering if getting one would be my answer. Before I laid out the dollars for one I thought it would be a good idea to draw on the experience of the forum users here who have similar hi-gain equipped guitars. As I mentioned above, this problem is not so apparent with the amp set to "bedroom" volume, so perhaps when the gain/volume ratio is a little greater in the gain’s favour at lower volume the amp is somehow acting as its own compressor?

If it is agreed that a compressor is the answer then the next question is which is the best one for my purposes? There are so many on the market. I don't mind paying for quality. After all, a cheap one would be more of a waste of money if it doesn't meet the needs. I did a search of the forums before posting this, but all of the threads relating to compressors seem to only refer to getting the best clean sound.

I am loving the sound of the 360 on my amp’s clean channel, by the way.

Sorry about the long post, but I didn’t want to ask an ambiguous question without giving a detailed description of the circumstances.

[ozover50]

Hi Carl. Glad you got the 360 and I hope you're happy with it.

Wish I could help, but it's such a subjective thing.... I'd be scared to stick my neck out. I had a Boss CS3 but it didn't do much for me at all. I've now got a Janglebox but I don't know whether it's going to give you what you want.

My suggestion is to take the guitar to your local and try a few out. Sounds good in practice but I don't know anything about the scene in Townsville.

Hopefully someone here with more knowledge will be able to point you in the right direction.

Cheers.........

[admin]

Carl: A compressor should be of benefit in this application.

You could take your guitar to a music store to try it out with one of their compressors. Just in passing, a compressor would be great for the clean channel as well.

To go out on a limb, I think that everyone with a Rickenbacker 12 string would appreciate having a compressor in their signal chain. You will discover new tonalities and playing styles with a compressor in your effects chain.

[paul_shover]

Carl: I also own a 360 and it sounds like our taste in overdrive are about the same. I never play my Ric without a compressor. I am using a Boss unit, but there are a lot of better compressors out there. I use just a little compression and sustain, but I do bring the output level up to match the level of my Hamer Studio, so when I switch guitars, the volume stays constant.

I also like the way a Ric interacts with a tube amplifier. My tube amps seem to round the sound out a little. So to add to the suggestions, not only try out some compressors, try plugging your guitar into some others amps and see how it interacts with them

[fenderslash]

Thanks for the responses guys.

Howard... Yes, I'm glad I got the 360 too. I can't put it down! The Janglebox you mentioned gets a lot of good reports on other threads, but I haven't seen any about so I can't try one to see how it would suit my purposes. After all, I wouldn't be using it to sound like the Byrds, and that kind of effect is it's strength from what I've read. But of course, that doesn't mean that's all it can be used for.

Peter... Now that you and others agree with my theory that a compressor would help me out I think I'll take your suggestion on board and take the guitar into one of my local music shops to try out some of their effects, and hopefully find a patient shop-guy to teach me how to use them. I'm hoping what I'll end up with is a unit that I can set-and-forget, so I guess that opens up my options to any kind of stomp box or rack unit.

Paul... I'm glad you back up my theory. I've seen Boss units advertised around, but since you suggest that there's plenty of other better units about I'll wait for more suggestions and do plenty of research before making my choice. I have no idea what's available locally for me to try and buy, but I'd hate to get something that turned out to be just the best of a bad bunch and find out later that I could have mail ordered a much better one. I'd also love to try this guitar with a tube amp as you suggest. I got into the solid state amps a long time ago after having trouble with an old Marshall tube amp that I used in the mid 80s. It just didn't seem to cope too well with being lugged around everywhere and getting knocked about. In all the years of using the Fender Pro-185 and Stage 160 amps I only ever had one night where one of them failed (the Pro-185). So I guess for gigging I chose durability over the best sound. I've been tempted lately to save up for another tube amp for home use, either a Fender or maybe a Vox AC30 combo with the 2x12 speakers. Or perhaps I should even get my old Marshall overhauled.

One other thing I forgot to mention in my original post (although I doubt is would be an issue) is that I never use any external effects. The only effect I use is some mild reverb from the amps' built-in reverb. Until now I've always had the attitude that if you can't get a good sound out of your guitar and amp then you need a new guitar and amp. Also effects units are just one more thing that can go wrong at gigs. But the enjoyment I'm getting from the 360 is making me bend my own rules and go the extra mile to get the maximum from it.

Any other suggestions on how to solve my problem and/or suggestions for a good compressor suited to overdrive would be very much appreciated.

[jwr2]

I would never play an electric guitar or electric bass with a compressor ...

[jingle_jangle]

Carl, my first impression as I read your first post just now (it's 7:30 Sunday morning--what the heck am I doing here?) was "he should switch to tube amps." This following your comments about the Fender 160. My second was "he needs a GOOD compressor". As I read down, it seems like others are saying the same thing.

So I'll have my breakfast and go back to working on...

Whoops. Don't want to let the bandicoot out of the bag!

[ozover50]

Huh?

[jingle_jangle]

Aitch: Har. You'll see with those beady little eyes, you'll see...

Carl, everybody raves about Steve Lasko's Janglebox. Do look into it. I believe that Steve finally has some units in stock after being backordered for months.

The Boss pales in comparison. I've got an ART Pro VLA tube compressor and a Maxton (CP-01?) pedal. The ART is a nice unit, but needs a rack which is a bit cumbersome to lug around.

[fenderslash]

These things aren't as easy to obtain locally as I had hoped. I haven't visited any music shops in person yet, but when I searched online there was only one dealer that mentioned the Janglebox on his site, and even then there were no descriptions, prices, etc. Did you find yours in stock somewhere Howard, or did you have to order it in?

After making my second post here I did a search of the Fender Discussion Page forums, and discovered a hell of a lot of people singing the praises of the Barber Tone Press. Anyone have any experience pairing one of those with a Ric?

Almost no-one had a nice thing to say about the Boss units, so I think I'll avoid those.

[ozover50]

I purchased mine direct from Steve Lasko at Janglebox in the US, Carl. Steve tells me that Tym Guitars in Sydney is his only Aussie agent at this stage and I don't know whether he stocks it or just includes it in his product listing. You'd have to call him if you want a price. I paid $361.20 AUD for mine, including freight.

If you feel like flying down to Melbourne for a weekend, you can try it out!! In fact, you can try it out through a new AC-30CC1 if you like! Or with a Korg AX1500G or Vox Tonelab SE pedal.... the choice would be yours!! It would end up being a bloody expensive compressor (no matter what you end up with), wouldn't it?

Hope you get some good advice here and end up with the right goodies. A new Vox AC-30CC1, CC2 or CCX2 (big bucks!) might stop your problem dead in in its tracks!!!!

[jingle_jangle]

Yeah, Carl, call Steve. He's a member of this Forum. The URL should be easy to figure out...

The Boss units are ubiquitous here because GC pushes cases of them out the door at $88.00 complete with box and cellotape.

An inferior unit, in my humble estimation.

[sloop_john_b]

The Boss CS-3 doesn't even compare to the Janglebox. I was ready to sell my 12 string until I decided to bite the bullet and try one. Needless to say, the 12 is staying, and the Janglebox is tightly velcro'd to my pedalboard.

[jingle_jangle]

Amen to that. Again, thanks to GC, many guitar newbies will buy the BOSS unit and never know the sonic advantages of a GOOD compressor.

[aristeas]

Howard, Tym Guitars is in Brisbane not Sydney. He's my guitar tech of choice, and a real gent -

http://www.tymguitars.com.au/
(07) 3891 2185

He specialises in importing Japanese retro guitars as well as making his own Mosrite and similar stuff.

PS: I'm still using your old CS3 and getting less and less use out of it - mostly for balancing riff/chord work on a 6-string.