Compressor Pedals

Compressor pedals are the perfect tool to even out your playing, giving a studio sheen to every performance.

The difference between your loudest notes and your quietest notes is known as your ‘dynamics’. A really wide dynamic range can sound a bit sloppy and haphazard. Compressors are used to smooth out your playing; giving it a much more polished, consistent feel.

Compressor pedals work by reducing the volume of your loudest notes and increasing the volume of your quietest notes. Most players aim to use compressors subtly. But some, particularly country players, will use it as a pronounced ‘squashed’ effect, where every note they play is compressed so that they are all the same volume.

Compressors are large studio units which are used on everything from vocals to drums. Compressor pedals, then, can be a bit confusing because they still use a lot of studio language like ‘Attack’, ‘Release’ and ‘Ratio’.

‘Attack’ is the first part of the note where you actually strike the string. The attack control adjusts how quickly the compressor starts working. The quicker it starts the more pronounced the compression effect.

‘Release’ is the end of the note, often called ‘Sustain’ for this reason. If you crank this control, you’ll be able to hold notes much longer.

‘Ratio’ is the difference between the loudest and quietest volume. A low ratio like 2:1 is very subtle whereas a high ratio like 32:1 is quite extreme.

If you are using a lot of overdrive and distortion, your sound is already compressed and you probably don’t need a dedicated compressor pedal. But for anyone using clean amps, compressor pedals are very useful. For this reason, they are a must have among funk, country and pop players who need a bit of polish for their clean tone.

What makes compressor pedals different?