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Post by John on Jan 24, 2023 15:08:42 GMT -7
For a while now, I've been using the compressor on my Fishman Spectrum Aura. (sample/image pedal for acoustics with dozens of acoustic sounds to select from) The pedal also has Bass/mid/treble...and like I said, a compressor. I fiddled with the compressor quite a while ago, and set it and forgot it.
But I no longer use the acoustic images because my main gigging acoustic has an LR Baggs Anthem pickup...the best I've ever used. So no need for the samples/images. I've removed the Fishman pedal from the chain....I don't use it anymore. But I thought I would miss the compressor. I've read how important a compressor is for live acoustic. So I went and bought a cheap "Amazon Basics" compressor. (less than $30) Let's face it, Amazon doesn't make their own effects pedals, someone else does. But this unit has three knobs so I figure it will allow me to dial it in more than other pedals. (attack, sustain, volume)
But I received it the day before my last gig, and only had a few minutes to play around with it. I did notice it colors the tone a lot....it seems like the bass goes away. I don't know if that's because of what compressors do, or if the pedal is low quality. (I don't have much experience with compressors.) My intention was to leave it on all the time. My main gigging guitar seems to lack a bit of low end. But turning up the bass on the mixer at the gig was too deep of a bass. Like 'kick drum' frequency rather than low end of guitar. If I tried to turn the bass up on the mixer, I got feedback fast. So I ended up turning off the compressor pretty early on. My tone at the gig was too much upper mids.
So today I set up my live rig in the basement, but I made sure to keep the speaker 'off the floor'...just like at a gig. I previously had the speaker on the floor, and the bass seemed fine. But get to the gig, put the speaker on a pole, and all the bass goes away. So I'm playing away, and I've come to discover, I don't want a compressor. I'd rather turn the guitar up louder, but play softer. The compressor ruins my playing dynamics. Play hard or soft, it's all coming out the same. So all that internet stuff about acoustics having to have compressors....I'm going to ignore it.
And one additional thing: I also am starting to use a 7 band graphic eq. I had it laying around, and I brought it out to compensate for the compressor killing the low end. But this morning I played around with no compressor, and finally dialing in the eq...basically boosting 200-450hz. (And a little 2k boost for brightness) I kept going back and forth....turning the compressor on/off. I actually like it off. If I play soft, it's soft...if I play loud, it's loud. And here's an additional important part: It's not just volume...it's what the guitars sounds like when you play soft or loud. The tone itself is different. And I kept turning the eq on/off...and I'm so pleased with it. I will be leaving it on all the time. I hate playing acoustic at a gig, and having to strum/play really hard, just to hear myself. Turn up, but play softer.
So I'm excited about our next gig (whenever that is) and making the mixer/monitor level rather loud for the guitar, but back off my playing and experiencing the dynamics. If all goes well, I'll probably just give the compressor away here on the forum.
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Post by daddyelmis (Greg) on Jan 25, 2023 4:40:57 GMT -7
Good discovery, and glad that’s working for you. I always use compression for live acoustic guitar, mainly to even out volume among the strings when fingerpicking, but generally to balance it overall. I’ve used a dbx through the mixer channel insert that the guitar is on (with an LR Baggs paracoustic between the guitar and mixer). The compression is set pretty mild so it’s not noticeable but does it’s job. The Paracoustic let’s me adjust the eq for the room and environment really well. I find acoustics can be Jekyll and Hyde in different rooms tone-wise.
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Post by j4gitr (John) on Jan 25, 2023 5:39:43 GMT -7
I toyed around with the Barber Tone Press a parallel compressor that I used prior on electric for a while. It allowed for blending of compressed and natural guitar. In the end i went without it. The juice wasn’t worth the squeeze. It didn’t give me enough benefit. I have a LR Baggs paracoustic that I had tried the compressor with. With the K&K preamp and the LR Baggs with the compressor reverb pedal, tuner, etc etc it became too much and it didn’t seem to add much benefit.
Since I purchased the Grace Design Felix, the only thing I add is a touch of reverb in the loop from my Caitlinbread Talisman plate reverb. The Felix allows me to easily dial out the feedback with the high pass filter and fine tune the mids and highs quickly. No need or desire for a compressor. I primarily finger pick, but even when I’m strumming it’s all my fingers or fingernails in contact with the strings. It’s truly all in the hands. I’m using a K&K Pure mini with K&K mic in the guitar. The Felix has been one of my finest purchases and has brought my acoustic sound and performance to another level.
Sorry for the sidebar on the Felix, I’m just enamored with the product. I used to dread plugging in acoustic, now I look forward to it.
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Post by John on Jan 25, 2023 10:02:00 GMT -7
I always use compression for live acoustic guitar,
The LR Baggs Anthem pickup 'system', has the under saddle ribbon, and an internal microphone. There's a dial to choose how much blend you want. I can't stand the piezo 'quack' of acoustic guitar pickups, but they do provide dynamics. Internal mics can provide better sound, but they lack dynamics. When I first had the pickup installed, I figured I'd start 100% mic, and blend in under-saddle until I found the right mix. But the manual said to do just the opposite. Start 100% under-saddle, then start mixing in the mic...and stop when the quack goes away. They were right. I'm starting to think the mic portion provides a more compressed sound...so that's where I may be getting 'some' compression. We'll see at the next few gigs.
The Aura imager was/is a wonderful tool if you only have the quacky under-saddle. But I have to say, of all the dozens and dozens of sampled/imaged acoustic tones in the pedal, not one of them is better than just the guitar (and pickup) by itself. So for a while, I've been using the pedal for eq and compression...but not using any of the sampled sounds. I'm using the pedal for it's bells and whistles, and not even for the main reason for the pedal to exist.
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Post by daddyelmis (Greg) on Jan 25, 2023 11:00:18 GMT -7
The best acoustic “pickup” I ever used was a small Shure soundhole mic that clipped on. I used that on my Guild F50R in college and it was amazing - captured everything the Guild had, and amazingly didn’t feedback.
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Post by John on Jan 26, 2023 5:20:34 GMT -7
Since I purchased the Grace Design Felix, the only thing I add is a touch of reverb in the loop from my Caitlinbread Talisman plate reverb. The Felix allows me to easily dial out the feedback with the high pass filter and fine tune the mids and highs quickly. No need or desire for a compressor. I primarily finger pick, but even when I’m strumming it’s all my fingers or fingernails in contact with the strings. It’s truly all in the hands. I’m using a K&K Pure mini with K&K mic in the guitar. The Felix has been one of my finest purchases and has brought my acoustic sound and performance to another level.
Yikes....those things are $1000. Do you know how much beer and pizza that is?
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Post by j4gitr (John) on Jan 26, 2023 13:36:38 GMT -7
Since I purchased the Grace Design Felix, the only thing I add is a touch of reverb in the loop from my Caitlinbread Talisman plate reverb. The Felix allows me to easily dial out the feedback with the high pass filter and fine tune the mids and highs quickly. No need or desire for a compressor. I primarily finger pick, but even when I’m strumming it’s all my fingers or fingernails in contact with the strings. It’s truly all in the hands. I’m using a K&K Pure mini with K&K mic in the guitar. The Felix has been one of my finest purchases and has brought my acoustic sound and performance to another level.
Yikes....those things are $1000. Do you know how much beer and pizza that is?
Regular domestic beer or good craft beer? Deep dish or thin crust? LOL. It’s Half the price of a good Z-amp. Based on my satisfaction with the control and improvement in sound, I’d say it was no more expensive than one of my Z’s. YMMV. But for me one of my best purchases.
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Post by John on Jan 28, 2023 15:27:11 GMT -7
Now go figure:
I kept the 7 band graphic in the chain, but hooked up the Fishman Aura Spectrum back up. Again, I'm not using any of the samples/images, and I have the eq set flat. All I'm using is the Fishman's built-in compressor set at 50%. I'm thinking I should barely be able to tell the difference.
And it's awesome!!
As much as the cheap compressor mentioned above changed the tone for the worse, this Fishman also alters the tone....for the BETTER. Even with bass/mid/treble all set noon. (there's an 'indent' in the eq dials indicating where there shouldn't be any change) I don't know why the tone sounds better, but it does. I'm going to keep it and continue to use it. I dipped into the rabbit hole and want to jump out before I fall in. The compressor in the Fishman (only 1 knob) is so good, I should quit while I'm ahead. Set at 50%, it still allows for dynamic playing.
As I said, the guitar/pickup combination lacks a bit of bass for my tastes, so the 7 band compensates for that. (just boosting two bass bands) That gets me back to normal, and if I need to adjust eq at a gig, I'll have the Fishman's bass/mid/treble AT MY FEET...which are dialed in for guitar. I don't want to try to mess with a mini 7 band on the fly.
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