Compression Pedal Tips and Tricks for Guitar.

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What’s new at Zystrix? Read on… April 27, 2026 Compression Pedals, Tips and Tricks, What Pedal Do I Need? In the last episode we looked at guitar EQ Pedal Tips and Tricks and the best affordable EQ pedals to do the job (click here for a refresher). This time we’re looking at what compressors do, the top compression pedal tips and tricks, and the affordable pedals for the job. And we’ll also listen to the another solo piano tune from Dangerous Neighbors called Tinker Bell’s Funeral. So sit back and relax. Welcome to Zystrix, the heartbeat of the universe. Where creativity and free-thinking have more value than conformity. Background Artwork The colorful artwork that surrounds the edges of this website is invisible to many cell phone users. It’s included here (with others) for your enjoyment. Multiple copies are tiled together for a cohesive and seamless background seen all around this page. Enjoy. Introduction to Compressor Pedals Audio compression is a leveling amplifier that helps bring down the loud signals and helps bring up the quiet signals. This makes signals more manageable in dynamic range, especially when recording or mixing/mastering. Tube amplifiers are similar to a compressor because of the signal going through a series of tubes, and with more distortion causing more compression. In the late 1970s the very first dedicated guitar compressors were being sold as pedals. Roland was probably the earliest pedal, which was quickly followed by MXR who sold the Dyna-Comp. Later came the gray colored Ross compressor, which was inspired by the MXR circuit design. Compressor Types There are three basic types of compressors used in the recording studio. There are others, but this is the bread and butter… Optical Compression Examples include the LA2A, LA3A, and Joe Meek, This compression style tends to be a little slower allowing transients to get through for a more natural sound. If over- used it can sound splatty and squashed. Excellent for bass, vocals, and snare drum. It’s also good on guitars. FET or field effect transistor Popular examples of this compressor style include the UA 1176, Wesaudio Ng78, Origin Effects Cali76, and the Drawmer 1973. This compressor features a colored sound similar to a warm tube richness. It can have a fast attack and fast release time if needed. This type is excellent on raging guitar. VCA or voltage controlled amplifier Some excellent examples include the SSL and the Neve 33609. This compressor features a transparent sound, and it’s great for the mix bus and for final mastering. Understanding Compressor Controls Some compressors have only two control knobs whereas others have 4 or more. But here’s a general rundown of what the knobs do. This info can be applied to any compressor from a simple guitar pedal to this army green Molot studio version seen here by Vladislav Goncharov. And surprisingly, the Molot is an excellent free download. Anyway, here are some common (and not so common) compressor controls and what they do… Attack – This is the fast or slow point that compression begins. A fast attack means that no peaks get through un-compressed. A slow attack means that some peaks and transients get through before compression begins. A fast attack with a slow release gives low to no dynamics and a long note sustain. A slower attack means that some of the spikes in the signal can get through. Release = A slow release time favors long legato notes, whereas a quick release time tends to sound more natural. Threshold – This is the point when the compression begins. Some companies call it sensitivity, or sustain, or compression. As the threshold is turned up it takes a greater signal to trigger the compressor to start. Ratio -- A low ratio with a high threshold means that no compression occurs. The ratio can range from 1:1, 1:2, 1:4, 1:8, 1:10 up to 1: infinity which is basically limiting or a brick wall where no signal goes louder than wherever the level is set. Knee Radius -- Knee determines how quickly compression is applied once the signal level goes beyond the threshold. A soft knee compression has a slower and smoother transition into compression, and, of course, a hard knee is more aggressive. Level = The output amount or volume. Compression can make a signal less loud from making the transients more even. The level control makes up for this volume loss caused by the compression. Blend – This control isn’t offered very often. Some guitar compressors feature a blend or parallel compression for mixing in the original signal with the compressed signal. This is nice for adding a natural sound back into the compressed signal, and it goes great with chicken picken’, finger picking, and related guitar techniques. This compression method is also excellent for mixing drums in the studio. Simply use a stereo track and over-compress the drums so they sound huge. Now slowly bleed this compressed signal by ear into the original stereo drum track until the kit sounds big and fat but still retains stick hits and articulation. Excellent. RMS/Peak – This is another control that’s not found very often. This sets the average sound level going into the compressor independent of the sudden loudness within the mix. This is especially helpful for an overall level (like a movie sound track) that’s going to be processed yet further for peaks and transients. Guitar Compressor Pedal Tips and Tricks There are many clever ways to use a compressor from boost to sustain to taming signals and beyond. So let’s look at some compression pedal tip and tricks... Sustain – This trick is probably the most obvious. Set the compressor release time for longer and set the attack time from none to some by ear for a natural sounding long hold on a note. Boost – This method has more of a full body than a boost pedal. Set the output to higher than unity with the ratio off and you have a basic clean boost. Turn up the volume for the amount of boost needed. Turn up the effect and the amp gets a chubby. Equal Guitar Output – Use the compressor as a light limiter so all the guitars used at a gig seem to have the same volume. This eliminates having to re-set the pedal-board and amp controls for each guitar. Chicken Pickin’ – In this scenario the compressor is used more as a limiter and the low volumes are brought up and the loud volumes are brought down. A variation on this method can also be used for fingerpicking to make the notes ring out at the same volume. Fatten Single Coils – Single coil pickups tend to have a thinner sound and a lower output than dual-coil types. Use a compressor to boost the output and add body and creaminess to the signal. Tame Frequencies -- Compressors tend to make high frequencies more tolerable and the lower frequencies more round and pleasant. Try using a compressor in place of an EQ pedal to even out problem EQ spikes. Sloppiness and Schlock – Maybe your licks aren’t quite as smooth as they could because your finger or pick attack and/or release is not quite perfect. A compressor makes your performance sound more even. And you might even fool someone into thinking your performance was perfect. Amp-In-A-Box Tubes – This is my favorite way to use a compressor. This trick makes an amp-in-a-box sound more like tubes because of the sag it imparts. Do not run the compressor after the amp- in-a-box, always run it before. That is, unless you run a noise gate before the compressor. Back in the day I used a Fender Dual Showman without a master volume and when it was turned up to ear splitting volumes it had a sag that was nice. Hmm, no wonder the cabinet had a hearing damage warning plate. Anyway, with a compressor it’s possible to make even an amp-in-a-box sound like it’s begging for mercy just like my old Dual Showman. My favorite pedal for this trick is the old MXR Dyna-Comp followed by the Ross Compressor or the Lekato clone of the Ross. Like I said, the reason for this is because the MXR has compression imperfections that sound more believable like straining tubes. I also have a Keeley and it does a great job of studio quality surgical compression, but it’s too perfect to do this trick believably. And when a compressor is used in the effects loop of a solid state amp it’s even better because of the sag it can impart. And if your output section is tube it can also be used in the effects loop to overdrive the tubes along with the sag effect. Nice. Double Compression -- Run two different compressors, one after the other, with any spike or transient being caught by one or the other pedal. Your sound will become big and smooth and sustain for a long time. Think Pink Floyd Another Brick in the Wall. Compressed Modulation – Use a compressor after a modulation pedal and it brings out the modulation. A chorus or flange pedal effect becomes larger and more pronounced. Increased Space – Use a compressor after your favorite reverb or delay pedal to change the feel of the room or delay and bring the ambiance or repeats more forward. Yo, de lay yee ay yee hoo, ooo, ooooo. 12-String Chime – Use a compressor for more chime in a 12-string guitar. Compression tends to bring forward the softer double-string resonance. Try it with a twelve string electric guitar and the sound becomes The Byrds on steroids… “To everything, turn, turn, turn. There is a season, turn, turn, turn.” Keep it Clean (or not) – Set your amp for a great clean tone and then set your compressor so the dynamics never overdrive the amp front-end. Viola! Instant permanent clean amp sound. Or if you prefer your amp at the edge of breakup set the amp sound there and then use your compressor to keep the guitar output volume at that point or input volume. Two Volumes the Same -- If you have two pedals that, if set to the desired settings they are different in output, a compressor makes them both the same volume. I don’t like this idea so much after distortion or amp-in-a-box pedals because it brings up the noise floor in high-gain settings and makes the obnoxious even more obvious. If a compressor must be used after a distortion or amp-in-a-box make sure a noise gate is used before the compressor to retain the silence in between chugs or gallops. Bass Guitar -- Compression is wonderful on bass, especially something like an LA2A optical type compressor. Use it on bass guitar to get the bass recorded to a track without killing the take with input distortion. It also adds a nice pleasant fatness. Compressor Pedals to Consider There are many choices to consider in compressor pedals. Some sound very natural, and some don’t need to. When shopping for a compressor look for options like an off/on switch and at least a control for both volume and sensitivity. If the pedal has more than that it’s a bonus, or at least some people think so. And as you may already know, the gear mentioned here may not be the most popular or enviable, but it’s always the most bang for the buck. IOppWin Compressor Yup, this is the same pedal brand that was mentioned in the last issue for affordable 5-band EQ pedals. And how do they sell an optical compressor for $20 USA with free shipping? I have no idea. But if you need a compressor for your spare pedal-board, or maybe as a backup, or simply because it’s priced right, go online and check out Walmart or Amazon. Amazing. MXR Dyna Comp This pedal has been a standard for a long time and it’s still one of my favorites. What I like about it is the compression artifacts. It has a nice squash. Is it perfect? No. But that’s what I like. There are clones of this pedal like the Caline Gale Force or the Joyo Dyna Compressor for about $25 to $38 USA and free shipping at Amazon, Reverb, and Ebay, but I’ve never tried them to know how close they are. Ross Compressor Here’s another excellent retro compressor although finding and buying the original (try Reverb) is going to cost at least $350 USA and you probably won’t get free shipping. But they do sound cool. The circuit is a knock-off of the MXR Dyna-Comp. However, there’s an affordable alternative that gets a very similar sound by Lekato called the R Comp. I own one and they sound great although it doesn’t quite have the splat the MXR has. If your original Ross pedal gets stolen you’re going to cry, but if your Lekato R Comp gets stolen you simply buy another one. They’re a little hard to find right now, but I got mine on Amazon for about $32 USA and free shipping. A bargain. Diamond Compressor This is another great retro compressor pedal that would be my third choice for an aggressive sound. It’s smooth and pleasant sounding and holds a note a long time. But they are a little hard to find and expensive when found. The cheapest used one I could find was $280 USA. However, for a price alternative with a very similar sound check out the Caline Pressure Tank for about $35 USA and free shipping on Amazon, Walmart, and Ebay. Boss CS-3 Compression Sustainer This compression style is more polite and less aggressive than the previous models, and it has also been around a long time. It offers a popular transparent control which may be something you prefer. I’ve seen them new for $80 USA and free shipping at Ebay, used ones are even less, and up to $122 USA and free shipping at many big box stores. An affordable alternative is the Behriinger CS400 which is a clone of the Boss and to my ear does the job equally well for about $28 to $38 USA and free shipping at Ebay, Amazon, and many big box music stores (or less used). Keeley Compressor This original version is getting harder to find and offers a super transparent almost surgical type of control for guitar signals. The newer version has a switch for single coils and humbuckers, it’s called the Keeley Compressor Plus, and can be found new for about $150 and free shipping at many big box music stores. An excellent clone of this pedal is made by DemonFX called the CK Compressor. They can be found for about $55 to $65 USA and free shipping from Starlight Distribution in Canada and also Ebay. I don’t use mine very often because it’s too perfect. Honorable Mention Compressor Pedals These pedals don’t fall into the affordable catagory but they are excellent none-the-less. If money is no object I suggest giving these compressors a listen. The TC Electronic may be your choice if you are looking for quality at a good price. The Cali76 and the Wampler Ego76 both concentrate on getting the popular FET style compression. And the original 5-knob blue and white Wampler Ego is popular for chicken picken’. Guitar Compressor Conclusion Wow, that’s a lot to remember when it comes to compressors. We covered a lot of compressor material. So why use a compressor? You may want to bring out some realistic sag in an amp-in-a-box pedal, or ride the edge of amp breakup, or play singing legato leads, or control the EQ peaks in your guitar signal. A compression pedal is a great way to get there. Where the pedal is placed in the signal chain also makes a lot of sonic difference. Explore the options. Memorize the control functions to better utilize them and reduce the noise floor. Use your ear for your best sonic signature and where the pedal does the most good for your rig and the sound you have in mind. And all this compressor knowledge carries over to recording, mixing, and especially mastering your own projects. I hope this guitar compression issue has given you food for thought and consideration, helped you discover a new way to improve and run your rig, and maybe given you a new approach in your continued adventures of guitar tone chasing. Tinker Bell’s Funeral – solo piano by Dangerous Neighbors Tinker Bell has died, but even the best of us have a final day. Click here for the MP3 version of Tinker Bell’s Funeral, or watch the video. Enjoy. Don’t touch that dial… Stay tuned next time… In the next issue we’re going to cover must have tips and tricks for beginning guitarists. And the second free full-length piano album is coming out. Maybe I’ll see you then. 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