on the sound and feel of a vintage-style compression pedal to enhance clean tones and punch up their rig . That thick , gelatinous squish that can tighten up rhythm tones , make single notes bloom , and add singing sustain without piling on the gain . This kind of compression , and the distinctive artifacts that it produces , has become a crucial element of certain styles and genres , with the “ chicken pickin ’” style of country lead guitar being an especially notable example . Virtually any guitarist that primarily plays clean , or with lower gain overdriven tones , can benefit from the sustain and punch added by a quality compressor .
Now for the bad news : old-school compressors , particularly ones that come in the stompbox format that most of the readers of this magazine have long ago sworn allegiance to , are frequently noisy , not at all transparent , and are well known for exhibiting sonic characteristics that many of us consider to be heavy-handed and unpleasant . When employing these pedals the trade-off for extra punch and sustain is often loads of hiss , an overall darkening of the tone , and a complete flattening of natural feel and dynamics . For many this is an unacceptable compromise .
The good news is that there is another way , a middle ground between the life-sucking vortex of dull , tone-strangling compression , and no compression at all . Recent developments in the pedal world have led to an excellent selection of decidedly modern comps geared towards players that need a little assistance with reigning in dynamics , but have no love for the audible squish , increased noise floor , and dark tonal characteristics of many of the classic compression stompboxes . This new breed of compressor finds its inspiration in the professional audio world , mimicking the smooth , transparent response and enhanced functionality of the best studio compressors . Here are a handful of our favorite new compressor pedals , designed for players that hate compressor pedals .
Many players depend
on the sound and feel of a vintage-style compression pedal to enhance clean tones and punch up their rig . That thick , gelatinous squish that can tighten up rhythm tones , make single notes bloom , and add singing sustain without piling on the gain . This kind of compression , and the distinctive artifacts that it produces , has become a crucial element of certain styles and genres , with the “ chicken pickin ’” style of country lead guitar being an especially notable example . Virtually any guitarist that primarily plays clean , or with lower gain overdriven tones , can benefit from the sustain and punch added by a quality compressor .
Now for the bad news : old-school compressors , particularly ones that come in the stompbox format that most of the readers of this magazine have long ago sworn allegiance to , are frequently noisy , not at all transparent , and are well known for exhibiting sonic characteristics that many of us consider to be heavy-handed and unpleasant . When employing these pedals the trade-off for extra punch and sustain is often loads of hiss , an overall darkening of the tone , and a complete flattening of natural feel and dynamics . For many this is an unacceptable compromise .
The good news is that there is another way , a middle ground between the life-sucking vortex of dull , tone-strangling compression , and no compression at all . Recent developments in the pedal world have led to an excellent selection of decidedly modern comps geared towards players that need a little assistance with reigning in dynamics , but have no love for the audible squish , increased noise floor , and dark tonal characteristics of many of the classic compression stompboxes . This new breed of compressor finds its inspiration in the professional audio world , mimicking the smooth , transparent response and enhanced functionality of the best studio compressors . Here are a handful of our favorite new compressor pedals , designed for players that hate compressor pedals .