Do I need a compressor pedal

[Thisisme]

Hello. So when I plug into my amplifiers (Roland ac33 and fishman loud box mini charge) i can get it to play the way I want at low volume, let’s say twice the volume of the guitar but when I play it loud for busking,gigs it’s as if the guitar becomes stupidly dynamic. I can’t mix fingerpicking and strumming becuase the strumming always comes out much louder and when I fingerpick I play badly at that volume because it changed the way I play and same with the strumming. So it sounds like a mess and I can only play about 20% of my ability due to the louder volume of the amp. Ps my guitars have K&K pick ups in them



I feel I need a compressor to help my issues. It’s even got to the point where I’m not busking with my acoustic guitar anymore. I busk with my weissenborn lap slide guitar because I have no issues with that it always sounds sweet coming out of my amps at a gig worthy volume

My question is do I need a compressor?

[EverettWilliams]

Maybe.

First, a question: what you’re doing for a preamp? Perhaps a RedEye would be a good start, those play well with the K&K. I generally don’t think one should need a compressor with an acoustic guitar so I’d look at the other variables first.

Second, I use compressors a lot with electrics and I have a bunch of them that I love - but I use it more as a sound sculpter rather than dynamics control. Something with a blend may be wise - Barber Tone Press does this well - this way it should allow some of the transients to come through unmolested. But Diamond makes a pretty transparent one. And if you like the 1176, the Origin Cali 76 is stunning - love the big box version too! I suppose I could go and plug in a K&K loaded guitar to try it out, but I haven’t tested this with acoustic.

I think the key would be something transparent and clean with a fast release. You’d want to feel it but not hear it.

If you’ve got a good dealer nearby, I’d suggest bringing your rig in and seeing what they can do.

I'd opt for a volume pedal first.

[EverettWilliams]

Originally Posted by Willie Voltaire

I'd opt for a volume pedal first.

That’s a good thought, would address the issue, where you’d be getting high frequency attenuation is where you’d want it anyway, and would not compromise the dynamics of your playing. Ernie Ball volume pedals are built like tanks.

[Buc-a-Roo]

I highly recommend a compressor for use with an amplified acoustic guitar. Excellent control of dynamics with very good overall smoothing of the sound. Of course it does take some experimentation to dial in your particular wants with your particular instrument but the result is well worth the effort. I use just enough squash to hit the "smooth" level......never that pinched, squeezed tone often heard with electric setups.......just a nice warm smoothing of the sound. Wamplers' EGO is a very good one, as is the Keeley 4-Knob.......I prefer the Wampler.

Like everything else guitar, all is subjective......yes?

[fwphoto]

I like some light compression on my acoustic guitars. I use a ToneDEQ that has compression & also a volume boost switch. That combination might give you some addition control between your 2 playing techniques, too.

I'd also address the preamp, especially with K&K pickups. My guitars have K&K pickups & I use a polytune3 tuner/mute as a buffer between the K&Ks & next in line in the pedal chain. Oh yeah, its a great tuner/mute, as well!

Frank

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Thisisme

…My question is do I need a compressor?

Hi TIM

Chances are you ARE strumming louder than you finger pick. So if you are going to get that to match through an amp/PA, you will likely need to either soften your strumming or use some compression to limit how loud the strumming gets.

Having recorded a lot of guitarists, strumming is almost always louder than finger picking.

[varmonter]

comps and acoustics go together. You have to learn where to set it though
because you dont want to squash the sound
to much. You dont want to kill all the dynamics.
you want to set the attack so your
fingerstyle is basically not compressed and
your strum is slightly . This will take that vol edge off your strummng.
For electric distortion comps are used hard. For acoustics a light touch
is all you need from a comp.

[Chriscom]

I switch between fingerpicking and strumming on occasion (these days nearly all of my public performance is strumming), and have often wondered whether I should just get a pedal with a boost switch for my fingerpicking--the type some electric guitarists, perhaps most notably, use to punch up their solos.

[The Kid!]

Red Eye. Set the volume boost for finger picking and click it off for strumming. Great pre and it has an FX loop and XLR out.

[wkbryan]

Originally Posted by Willie Voltaire

I'd opt for a volume pedal first.

It's timely that you should post this now as I've just been through this process myself. A little over 6 months ago I started playin in a much smaller church than where I'd been for about 13 years. The sanctuary is small enough that if I had my volume set for fingerpicking it would be a little too strong when strumming. If I set the volume for strumming, the fingerpicking couldn't really be heard. For about 6 months I used a compressor to help even things out. It worked, but I was never 100% happy with it-I missed the ability to back way off the volume on-the-fly.

A couple of weeks ago my wife gave me a Morley PVO Plus volume pedal and so far I think it's just right and am very happy with it. What I like about this particular pedal is the switchable minumum volume. When the minimum volume mode is on I can set the heel-down volume to be just right for strumming, and the toe-down volume for fingerpicking. I can switch that mode off and the signal is muted when heel-down (nice since my guitar doesn't have a volume control).

This really seems to be a better solution for me. I hope this information helps.

[takatsukimike]

Originally Posted by Thisisme

.....I can’t mix fingerpicking and strumming becuase the strumming always comes out much louder and when I fingerpick I play badly at that volume because it changed the way I play and same with the strumming....


I feel I need a compressor to help my issues.

My question is do I need a compressor?

No.

I used to be a strummer WAAAY back in the day, coming off electric. Then I started playing fingerstyle. Then I realised it was a pain to sometimes use a pick and sometimes not, so I started strumming without. This helped me develop a fairly light strumming technique and I no longer need to worry about volume differences.

A compressor kills all the dynamics in your playing. As others have suggested, even a volume pedal or boost for your two main styles of playing will be a better option as it keeps the dynamics there. Reverb is also handy especially for fingerpicking

[B. Adams]

I like a little compression on acoustic, but enough compression to match the level the volume of fingerpicking might squish your sound too much. Something to adjust the level would probably be more appropriate, like a boost switch or a volume pedal. An EQ pedal can be useful in this case as well.

I've also worked with people who use an A/B switch and 2 inputs, one for strumming and one for fingerpicking and single note stuff. The advantage of this is that you can also EQ the channels differently if you want to. It might be a good option if your amp has a spare channel, or if you're running through a mixer.

[Woodstock School Of Music]

I would recommend a a boost pedal. I use the boost on my Redeye but you don't have to go with a Redeye. A Boss GE7 will work too

Compression won't accomplish what you're trying to do without squashing the transients. Think of compression as a sound texture to add to your palette and not as a fix it.

[H165]

I use a limiter. I haven't had much success with compressors due to the "breathing" effect. Boosting quiet sounds and background noise can get messy real fast.