Using a compressor with acoustic
 

Hey folks,
I just looking to SLIGHTLY enhance my covers of Billy Mclaughlin and a Hedges(Arrowhead) tune. I am finding that some of the hammer-ons are not as loud or die off quicker than I want them to. I know Hedges used Compression in the studio and live(off the soundboard, not in his rig). I just think I need it ever so lightly. I`m just not sure EXACTLY how it works. Sorry in advance for being a nim-rod. Thanks:D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compres...lectric_guitar)

Buts thats electric, think its the same principle.

Studio compression is somewhat different from a compression pedal for electric players. There are a couple out there in pedal form that will be close, like the BBE pedals. I use a Yamaha 102c mixer with compression on 2 channels that works well for what you are asking and its cheaper than the pedals.

I have some experience with this, though not a ton. I also have the Yamaha 102C and agree that it has a good compressor built in that works well and the whole board is less than most good compression pedals.

I have tried a couple of different compression pedals with my acoustics and find that they tend to be a bit noisy. The ones I tried were made for electric (Boss, MXR, DanoElectric, etc), so that may be part of the problem. I have not had the chance to try the BBE Optical Comopressor Pedal yet, but have heard good things.

Hope that helps a bit...

I have used several and own several of these. First the compressors built into my Yamaha board are surprisingly useful and is a feature no other board has. I have used on guitars and it works very well. The compression built into my Fishman Aura Spectrum pedal and the F1 Aura on board my Martin guitar are a little more "transparent" . My Boss CS-3 does not work as well with acoustics but is not bad. My Analogman orange squeezer is good but is not clean and kind of edgy but sometimes that is cool. My Analogman Ross type compressor is not very good on acoustics.
Overall, I suggest going with a Yamaha mixer which are decent quality and include the compressors.

I have a chance to get a BBE Orange "something or other". Should I go for it?

Orange Squash compressor. Any good????

I am not familiar with the BBE pedal. The name implies it is similar to an orange squeezer pedal. The orange squeezer is heard on the famous song "Sultans of Swing" by Dire Straits applied to a Fender Strat.

I haven't been gigin' for about a year but when I get back into it this is one I am going to get $349 msrphttp://www.fmraudio.com/arc.htm

This pedal is copied from a MXR dyna comp. Its made for country picking, not acoustic. The BBE Optical compressor is the best choice I know of outside of studio grade compressors. However, the Yamaha is still cheaper and better.

Could you clarify?

It is not easy to dial in a good level of compression for the acoustic guitar, in my experience. I think you will find that too little quickly morphs to too much as you play with the knobs. My take on it is that if you are within a fraction of getting all the tone you want, then a small bit of compression will help you the rest of the way. That said, a compressor pedal isn't that expensive and they are quite salable if you don't like the effect if you get one of the highly-rated ones.

The easiest pedal I know of to set up is the Barber Tone Press. This pedal mixes the compressed signal with the unmodified signal in a combination that you set. I use it on my electric rig but not on my acoustic one.

Best of luck in getting the effect you seek. Post back and let us know how it went.

I picked up the BBE Orange Squash. Plan to plug in today. I`ll let you all know. Thanks for all the help.:)

Well, I gotta tell you. So far so good. Does not color your sound at all. I plan to tinker some more with it. I just had it on my Dazzos. Plan to run full system soon. Keep ya`ll posted.

A really good pedal compressor for use with acoustic (UST) pickups is the Diamond CPR-1 compressor pedal. It is an opto-compressor that is very quiet and transparent in its functioning. It also has a unique Tilt EQ that comes in handy for overall tone shaping. I use it for electric and for acoustic and it excells at both.
Thanks,
Barnzy