Guitar Compression was :Re: ...refle

[Rick Walker <looppool@cruzio.com>]

Andy wrote advice about the use of compressors on guitar:
"Here's mine: Never use them. In ensemble playing, and also in live 
looping the most
important thing about the sound is how loud is it.
If the different elements in the mix aren't at levels
which make the music gel together then overall it sounds *bad*."

I would concur with one very notable exception...............

if you use open tunings on a guitar or bass,  a very cool 'effect'  is 
to heavily
compress so that all of the barre harmonics on the instrument are more 
of the
same volume including those delicious ones on the 9th fret
and at the spots up high on the neck where many audible harmonics are 
clustered
together but not nearly as loud as the typical loud barre harmonics.

This gives you a much larger melodic pallet and , of course,  these things
sound amazing when they are recorded and replayed backwards and at double
or half speed (or, in the new LP2 -  quadruple or quarter speed)

I know that my brother has really highly tauted the Keeley compressor which
has a small footprint,  is built like a tank and a little pricier but 
much better
than the typical Boss, Dod, Digitech and other popular cheap stomp box 
compressors.

I believe they are around $200  ( I don't have one but want one).

Rick Walker
"I'm not a guitarist but I play one on TV"