Do Steel Players Use Compressors?

Paul Honeycutt · Post by **Paul Honeycutt** » 24 Apr 2005 8:51 am

I know a lot of slide players and Tele players use 'em, but I don't seem to see them on steel player's gear lists. Do any of you use a comp? Why or why not?
TIA.

Keith Cordell · Post by **Keith Cordell** » 24 Apr 2005 9:19 am

I do, but then again I don't play what most steel players play. Kills some of the shrillness from metal fingerpicks.

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Sierra S8, Polytone Mini-Brute IV, Gibson GA30RVT, Teese RMC2 Wah, pyrex and bakelite bars

Giorgio Robino · Post by **Giorgio Robino** » 24 Apr 2005 10:03 am

Hi Paul
I just bought a Guyatone ST-2 "compressor/sustain", with the aim to take out more sustain from my modest Artisan lap steel guitar (I didn't yet tried)

Btw, I'm interested in two aspect:

1. a compressor mainly as "sustainer" right for sustain steel guitar notes

2. a compressor as "limiter" this I hope is useful when playing guitar with e-bow avoinding inctrontrollable volume peaks

Please let me know if you will find a sustain
optimal for steel guitars (that mean with CLEAN without-noise sustain)

all the best
giorgio http://solyaris.altervista.org

Eric West · Post by **Eric West** » 24 Apr 2005 10:18 am

I remember in the late 70s I took lessons from a guy that was toying with an Armstrong Orange Squeezer. It worked REAL good on single note stuff, but the chords kind of got mushy. It was real easy to reach over and turn it on or off.

Probably the most addictive of toys, and the most detrimental to ones' technique.

Haven't used one since.

EJL

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 24 Apr 2005 10:18 am

Paul, I don't use one, and neither do the vast majority of steelers. Tele players use them because they don't have a volume pedal to get a lot of sustain. We have volume pedals, and usually, more powerful amps.

Using a compressor/sustainer will make your volume level more even. This might be good for recording, but for live work, it robs you of dynamics, that most important element that gives the musician the ability to both whisper and scream in the same breath.

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 24 Apr 2005 1:05 pm

I don't like the tick it adds to the attack, and it always feels like my volume pedal is fighting the compressor. The volume pedal is sort of a manually operated compressor anyway if you use it right.

Scott Appleton · Post by **Scott Appleton** » 24 Apr 2005 1:34 pm

You would need a high end compressor to do it the
right way. One of the botique rack units with large
price tags have the kind of controlls to eliminate
pumping and add compression transparently. the cheap stomp boxes just can't do that.

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Mullen S12 Almost Mooney
71 Tele, Regal 45
Sho Bud S10 NP
Line 6 Flextone 3 + JBL D130, Acoustic 100 W all tube, Nash 112

Steve Hinson · Post by **Steve Hinson** » 24 Apr 2005 2:23 pm

Buddy Emmons used to use one and got a wonderful sound with it(think"Different Kind of Flower"or"Coca-Cola Cowboy")...I tried but never could get it happening...operator error,I guess...

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 24 Apr 2005 2:31 pm

I have a Guyatone ST-2. I find it incapable of passing a clean signal. PSG output seems too hot for it and it always overloads a bit. I found it acceptable for an occasional R&R song but it lost its place, even as small as it is, on my pedalboard. I'm looking into whether I can maybe modify it to pad the input but it's basically a tone suck and that's not acceptable.

John Daugherty · Post by **John Daugherty** » 24 Apr 2005 3:03 pm

Remember guys..........It's all in the hands.

And now you know the rest of the story...... It's also in the foot.

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 24 Apr 2005 8:20 pm

Hey Paul... I used to use an MXR Dynacomp. I used it as an effect to obtain the "popping" type sound that tele players were getting from their guitars (ala Roy Nichols). I plugged it straight into the guitar. I didn't use it for any other purpose though.

Are you playing steel now?

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Carter D10 9p/10k, NV400

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 25 Apr 2005 2:38 pm

I have to agree with Scott, stomp-boxes can't really do much to help a steel and generally have everything needed to screw it up.

A high quality rack-mount unit with adjustable threshold, ratio, attack and decay controls can be dialed in to get what you need (pro audio folk would never consider anything less).

Although the possibilities are obvious, I have never used them for sustain on a pedal steel, partly because the difference in level beteween single notes and chords makes for difficulty in finding the correct settings, but a limiter can be very helpful for controlling peaks and generally smoothing out the sound.

I used an Audio Arts 1200 comp/limiter for quite a few years with my rack system, patched after the EQ and before the delay and reverb and it was a big part of getting a smooth and consitent sound. Then, anyway.

When I ditched my rack system for the Randall this winter I spent a couple of days getting used to the new setup. Gotta play a bit more deliberately now. I must have learned something along the way because I doubt if I'll ever go back now....
<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Dave Grafe on 25 April 2005 at 09:41 PM.]</p></FONT>

Paul Honeycutt · Post by **Paul Honeycutt** » 25 Apr 2005 9:33 pm

Thanks, guys!
Hi, Richard. I thought you lurked around here. I'm playing lap steel and getting serious about finding a double eight non-pedal steel for Hawaiian and old country stuff. I think I'd need another lifetime to learn pedal steel. I'm also still trying to figure out how to make a six string electric guitar sound like I want it to.
Shoot me an e-mail off line!

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 25 Apr 2005 9:41 pm

The "tick" and "pumping" can largely be dialed out on a compressor with variable attack, release, threshold and ratio controls. I like to put some compression in before an overdrive or fuzz unit to tame it a bit (and of course blend the distorted signal with some clean signal). There's some good info on the sound resulting from different sequences of compression, EQ and distortion here: http://www.amptone.com/#distvoicing

John McClung · Post by **John McClung** » 25 Apr 2005 11:33 pm

I use and love my Analogman BiCompressor, both a pricey boutique compressor, and the old Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer effect. I don't use either a lot, just once in a while, mostly rockier music, where attack and sustain are needed. Yes it does degrade the clarity of the psg sound a bit, but used judiciously it's another useful trick in my bag.

One note: after lots of experimenting, the compressor belongs AFTER the volume pedal. When before the VP, it gets seriously fuzzy and overdriven by a psg's hot pickups. I run:
Mullen D-12 > Matchbox 7A >(the following in my rack) tuner > ProFex II > rack EQ (this is my secret weapon for tone) > (out of rack now) Tube Screamer > VPedal > compressor > Webb amp

This sequence works great, with lots of great sounds.

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E9 lessons
Mullen D-12/MSA D-12/Sho-Bud Pro 1 S-12/Melobar/Webb/Profex II

Robert Parent · Post by **Robert Parent** » 26 Apr 2005 3:34 am

I used a dbx single channel 1/2 rack unit for many years. I don't remember the model number but it had one slide control on the front panel. A very small amount is all that was needed, worked great in my view.

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 26 Apr 2005 5:53 am

In my rack unit, I have a Lexicon MPX 200. This unit allows you to have compression with any two other effects. I always employ just a tad of compression, real smooooooth.
Erv

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 26 Apr 2005 5:56 am

On my POD XT (before it got stolen) I tried out the compressor once on pedal steel. It has impressive controls like a pro unit. I discovered I could make it do automatically what I was trying to do with my volume pedal - soften the attack then match the string die-off to get even sustain. That kind of scared me, and I never used it again. I want to learn to do that myself with the volume pedal. Maybe if I ever get as good as I'm going to get with the volume pedal (long way from that now), I could add a little compression to smooth things out. But that is very risky for a beginner.

David Spires · Post by **David Spires** » 26 Apr 2005 6:24 am

David,

I do use just a little of the compressor, to even out my volume (kind of like a leveler) - maybe 1db to 4db on the threshold. I guess I don't use it for such an effect on steel, just as something to help in the mix. Now on guitar, I love to over do it on a Tele, and get that smacky kind of attack.

All things equal - I like to play without the compressor, because I like to have more dynamic range, but in a 6-7 piece band - it helps me not get as lost in the mix, and helps prevent me from jumping out too much.

Fun stuff,

David Spires

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Steel Guitarist for Jo Dee Messina: Carter D-10 8&7 / MSA Classic D-10 8&5; Line 6 Pod XT; Jagwire Artist Series Strings; Walker Professional Players' Chair; Peterson VS-II Tuner; Goodrich Matchbro & LDR Pedal; and BJS Bars

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 26 Apr 2005 3:21 pm

I have a few different pedals, but for compression , I find that I reach for my Tech 21 Comptortion pedal ....It can be used as a clean boost, a clean boost with compression, or you can add distortion before the compression .....The higher distortion settings don't even sound good on guitar, but used with the distortion set at about 9:00 it put's a bit of "hair" on the note that brings the "snap" back that a compressor will take away ....Then your compressor gives you the sustain that you want from the compressor ... It KILL'S on 6 string electric,and works great on Pedal Steel .....Jim

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 26 Apr 2005 8:40 pm

Robert,, your compressor is called a DBX 163 "OverEasy" and is a FANTASTIC unit... I've been in very high end studios that use those little half racks... They are GREAT for steel.. I had 3 of them over the years.. Natural sound, no ticking or squeezing... just let the steel sustain FOREVER.. Wish i still had one...

I usually use some compression.. If you are getting ticks,wheezing,squeezing wooshing,you have it WAY too compressed..crank it back a bit!! just a little goes a long way.... bob

Robert Parent · Post by **Robert Parent** » 27 Apr 2005 3:46 am

Bob, That is the one! I was at work and for the life of me could not remember what the model was. It works as you have stated. The best thing is you can pick them up on the used market for next to nothing.

Johan Jansen · Post by **Johan Jansen** » 27 Apr 2005 4:13 am

Yes, I do. A little from my Roland GP 100, and a lot of tubecompression from my Mesa Boogie studio-pre-amp
Johan

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Click on the pic!

Bill Myers · Post by **Bill Myers** » 27 Apr 2005 6:10 am

Paul, I have played with a compressor...the trick is you need to forget about the pedal types for steel guitar. You need a compressor that has at a minimum a threshold and ratio controls. The threshold will give you an adjustable threshold that until you hit the signal level you set the compressor does nothing. The ratio is the control which tells you how much compression you are going to get. A 2:1 ratio means that for every db above the threshold only one is going to be going out. The problem most people run into is that they use too much ratio and turn the compressor into a limiter. This will take all the dynamics out of your playing very quickly. Attack and Release controls are nice things to have too. The control how quickly the compressor acts (attack) and how long it hangs onto the signal(release). There is a company that makes a good compressor called FMR Audio...they make a compressor called an RNC (really nice compressor) it around 170 and it is 1/2 rack space. The DBX and ashley compressors are pretty good too. Stay away from the alesis compressors...they are junk. Hope this helps

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Sho Bud Pro II, Fender Twin and various Fender and G&L Guitars

Webb Kline · Post by **Webb Kline** » 27 Apr 2005 7:19 am

Just a tiny bit on most songs for me; barely noticeable, yet enough to add a little warmth.
Just use the one on my Pod.