Fuzz/Compressor/Octaver order catch 22

[IronLung1986]

I seem to have arrived at an unsolvable conundrum with the order of my fuzzes, compressor, and octaver. Feels kind of stupid because it's really pretty simple.

Basically, my ideal world is to have my octaver running into my fuzzes. This is the best for getting badass sounds. However, I'm not able to do it because: 1. The fuzzes need to go before my compressor or else they sound completely awful; and 2. The octaver needs to go after the compressor or it'll get disproportionately squashed. (I like to have the dry and the octave down signal at equal levels on the octaver, and when that "double" signal hits the compressor it results in a perceived volume loss.)

So I'm stuck going fuzz > compressor > octaver. I've tried rigging it up so that the compressor is in one loop of an LS-2 and the octave > fuzz combo is in another, so that the compressor can be removed entirely when the fuzz is engaged. This is great on paper since fuzz is of course already compressed. However in real life it's not so great because it makes the fuzz sound less full than the compressed clean sound.

So there you have it. Everything was fine until I got into compression! That's where things got tricky. I love my compressor though so no regrets there. But I'm curious if anyone else has run into this same thing. It seems like it must be pretty common since it's based on some popular pedal types and it seems impossible to run them in the ideal desirable way. Maybe I need a tip on a fuzz or distortion that works distinctly well after compression? So far I invariably prefer to have all my dirt before the compressor.

Anyone found this with their rig? Any ideal solutions I'm missing here?

 

[jking138]

Had the same problem and ditched the comp altogether in the end.
Perhaps set the pedals up as you want them (Octave - Fuzz - Comp) and play with the comp settings. Try a lower ratio and higher threshold so the octaves can still push a little without getting super compressed.
Have you tried Comp - Octave - Fuzz? Depending what fuzz you are using it could be something to do with the buffers as well.

 

[IronLung1986]

Yea the trouble is I really like my compressor and it would probably be the last thing I'd want to get rid of haha. I have tried both Octave > Fuzz > Comp and Comp > Octave > Fuzz, and both have stuff I don't like.

Maybe my comp is boosting the signal too much. That's how I think it sounds the best, when it's not unity but rather compression + boost. That's probably what's blowing out my fuzzes when I run them after it. I'll try running the comp at unity instead and see if that helps. My hypothesis is that it'll diminish my enjoyment of the compressor, but it's worth a try.

 

[Michedelic]

I would(and do)do comp/octave/fuzz(only tuner before comp)as the comp is smoothing out your signal from the bass so that the octave can grab the note. Then, think of the octave note, either up or down, as another string...it is a representation of a pure bass sound, even with any compromised fidelity. All of that, then, should go to the distortion or whatever as an accumulation of notes, just as if you were playing a double course 8 string.

 

[Johnny Mac]

Maybe my comp is boosting the signal too much. That's how I think it sounds the best, when it's not unity but rather compression + boost. That's probably what's blowing out my fuzzes when I run them after it. I'll try running the comp at unity instead and see if that helps. My hypothesis is that it'll diminish my enjoyment of the compressor, but it's worth a try.

Is your fuzz sensitive to buffers/having other pedals in front of it? It may be that the fuzz has to go first in the chain for that reason.

If you can't get the compressor to work in front, you may want to look into one with a sidechain HPF. This will stop the super-low frequencies from the octaver from triggering the compressor.