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compressor placement question

groovepooper

groovepooper

Guest
Mar 25, 2012
13
0
Utrecht, The Netherlands
#1
Hi guys maybe you can help me out on this one. I sorta know what a compressor does, but this is a specific situation. Cause I have no compressor pedal (yet) I can't test my query.

Here goes:

In my pedal chain there are two 'sick puppies', a DOD fx25b and a Behringer TP300. I love them for what they do but both have a volume drop. I've sorta fixed this with the DOD using an eq in front as a booster, but it is cumbersome. Would a compressor work, placing it last in my chain? Will it adjust the levels?

Extra fact, I use my tremelo much like Juan Alderete for a stutter/chopper effect. Will a compressor keep up with that?

I know I could use 2 Boss Ls2's to fix it. But that would cost me more than I can probably spend, and space on my pedalboard I don't have.

Thanx, welcome to hear if there are any other options.
 
#2
Check the FAQ linked in my sig to learn what a compressor actually does. There's an article there about placement in the chain. Putting a booster in front of an effect is not a sensible way to boost its output. Put the booster after, not in front. You can use a comp as a booster, and I guess you can use an LS-2 as a booster, but boosting is not their main function.
 
#3
Thanx for the input!

I meant the Ls2's to be effects loops, so to be able to adjust the volume of the pedals that way. My main concern is to keep my overall signal level the same when either pedal is engaged.

If I read correct a compressor will work fine after my envelope filter and fix that problem. So that leaves my tremelo. How could I counter the volume drop when it is engaged?
 
#4
Don't know if this helps, but, as far as I know the FX25B is something of a band pass filter, so it's going to take away some of your low end sound pressure as the affected sound is focused in the midrange. In other words, it alters the sound a lot so unity gain is something that's very tricky to define with such a pedal. Tremolo, on the other hand, does lower perceived volume as your average volume over time is dropped, even if the volume is unity at the top of the volume peak. So a lot of guys I know who use tremolo are perfectly happy with a little extra volume coming from the trem. You may need a bit more extra volume using a hard chop vs. say, a sine wave trem. Just keep in mind that if the peaks are louder to compensate for the valleys and equal out your perceived volume, the peaks may clip things further down the chain.
 
#5
groovepooper said:
If I read correct a compressor will work fine after my envelope filter and fix that problem. So that leaves my tremelo. How could I counter the volume drop when it is engaged?
Click to expand...

Does it have an internal trim control to adjust that volume drop? If not, you could potentially replace it with a trem pedal that does. A lot of trem pedals suffer from a volume drop. Running it in an LS-2 loop would certainly fix that in the absence of an internal volume trim control.
 
#6
groovepooper said:
I meant the Ls2's to be effects loops, so to be able to adjust the volume of the pedals that way.
Click to expand...
Yes, but the part that "adjusts the volume" in the LS2 is a gain stage (a booster). Having a loop doesn't address the volume drop at all--having a gain stage does.
groovepooper said:
If I read correct a compressor will work fine after my envelope filter and fix that problem. So that leaves my tremelo. How could I counter the volume drop when it is engaged?
Click to expand...
It's exactly the same for both the filter and the trem. The dynamic part of the comp reacts to the peaks and turns them down by an automatically-varying amount; while the non-dynamic gain stage at the end turns everything in the signal up by a fixed amount. The first part reduces the amount that peaks may clip your amp/rig, while the second part is the same as using an EQ pedal or the LS2 to boost the overall volume.
 

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