Man, my wallet hurts. (Pedal Content)

[László]

What sorts of things would you have questions on with these pedals?

My first question would be, what do the pedals behave like in the attack phase?

Optical? VCA? FET? For example, FET compressors are a bit 'grabbier' than VCA, and VCA are faster and 'grabbier' than LA-2A tube Optical. I suppose optical could be divided into tube or solid state types, too. They're all going to sound and feel a little different.

Since each type has its own characteristics that of course in the studio we choose FOR those characteristics, it'd be worth knowing. And hearing!

F'rinstance, I usually like an LA-2A for guitar solos. I love the smoothness of the attack and release, and the transparency. If there's a pedal compressor that does that, it'd be of interest. If it sounds like an FET compressor, such as an 1176, or aggressive like an LA-3A (even though it's optical), I'd probably avoid it. Too grabby. Etc. So those are things I'd want to know. It's why I don't own a Cali 76.

Second question is how the various ratios sound (if they're even marked on the pedal). How natural, how transparent, how squashed, etc. Is it warm and rich sounding or harsher? Sound examples would of course help any video discussion of this.

Third would be how smoothly the notes are released. Does it sound natural, or sudden? How well do the controls work? How easy is it to dial in a moderate setting vs a more squashed one?

If the pedal is noisier than a different pedal, that'd be worth knowing (I realize that a lot depends on the noise floor in your gear, so that may be difficult to determine).

Of course, it's worth knowing how tricky a pedal is to set up and use. If the pedal has a blend control, I'd like to hear how well that works.

It'd be worth demonstrating more extreme settings, pumping, rhythmic things, etc.

That's about all I can think of regarding specific pedals. An overall discussion of how compressors work, what they can and can't do, etc. would be helpful for people who aren't used to using compression. That'd make the video interesting for people who aren't so much into studio gear and would like some background.

It's great to read stuff, but there's nothing that tells the story better than a good video exploration of the characteristics of a piece of gear.

 

[JasonE]

My first question would be, what do the pedals behave like in the attack phase?

Optical? VCA? FET? For example, FET compressors are a bit 'grabbier' than VCA, and VCA are faster and 'grabbier' than LA-2A tube Optical. I suppose optical could be divided into tube or solid state types, too. They're all going to sound and feel a little different.

Since each type has its own characteristics that of course in the studio we choose FOR those characteristics, it'd be worth knowing. And hearing!

F'rinstance, I usually like an LA-2A for guitar solos. I love the smoothness of the attack and release, and the transparency. If there's a pedal compressor that does that, it'd be of interest. If it sounds like an FET compressor, such as an 1176, or aggressive like an LA-3A (even though it's optical), I'd probably avoid it. Too grabby. Etc. So those are things I'd want to know. It's why I don't own a Cali 76.

Second question is how the various ratios sound (if they're even marked on the pedal). How natural, how transparent, how squashed, etc. Is it warm and rich sounding or harsher? Sound examples would of course help any video discussion of this.

Third would be how smoothly the notes are released. Does it sound natural, or sudden? How well do the controls work? How easy is it to dial in a moderate setting vs a more squashed one?

If the pedal is noisier than a different pedal, that'd be worth knowing (I realize that a lot depends on the noise floor in your gear, so that may be difficult to determine).

Of course, it's worth knowing how tricky a pedal is to set up and use. If the pedal has a blend control, I'd like to hear how well that works.

It'd be worth demonstrating more extreme settings, pumping, rhythmic things, etc.

That's about all I can think of regarding specific pedals. An overall discussion of how compressors work, what they can and can't do, etc. would be helpful for people who aren't used to using compression. That'd make the video interesting for people who aren't so much into studio gear and would like some background.

It's great to read stuff, but there's nothing that tells the story better than a good video exploration of the characteristics of a piece of gear.

All great points and those things are the direction I was planning on coming from. I am going to have to play with my cameras and sound equipment to see how good of a video I can make. It will need to be of good audio quality so you can really hear things.

I am finding that a lot of people's negative opinions of compressor pedals is due to not really knowing how to use them. I was pretty easily able to get sounds I liked out of all three of the new pedals and that also helped me discover something about each of the ones I already had, one good thing and one negative. A compressor that I thought was an upgrade to one that I already had turned out to be the exact opposite once I discovered something. The original documentation on my old pedal actually told you to run it in a way that most people would hate and didn't really tell you what the controls on it are actually doing. Now that I have discovered that, my opinion of which one is better is exactly opposite of what it was. I honestly feel kind of stupid for not experimenting more with the pedal until now but I also feel I was misled by documentation to think in a specific direction.

 

[László]

I honestly feel kind of stupid for not experimenting more with the pedal until now but I also feel I was misled by documentation to think in a specific direction.

Never feel that way! You are as far from stupid as a human being can be!

Of course you did what the manual said, it makes complete sense. I’d have done that I’m sure.

 

[JasonE]

Never feel that way! You are as far from stupid as a human being can be!

Of course you did what the manual said, it makes complete sense. I’d have done that I’m sure.

It isn't a straight forward thing and the documentation specifically gave directions on how to use it that IMHO is bad advice. If they had given more details on how the circuit worked and related to the user in standard terms used by bigger compressors it would have been more thought provoking and I may have picked up on it. They also renamed some of the controls on the pedals in later versions but still gave the same instructions. It was all a bit confusing. Now that I know what I know, it makes more sense when I look at it. I have been using compressors long enough and have more of an understanding of them than anyone I have discussed mixing with in person that I just feel like I should have figured it out. I will get over that and be happy that I have it figured out. I plan on sharing the information and who knows, the price of an old compressor pedal model may go up once people know... I am not Josh at JHS but you never know.

I forgot to mention that the threads on TGP also proved to me that the Cali76 has a similar design and even though it is mentioned in the manual, many people have struggled with the concept and how to use it. I see the Cali76 being described as a compressor that takes a good bit of tweaking to get it to sound like you want it to but when you get it you will see it is one of the best on the market. It took me about 5 minutes to get it sounding good and I was glad I bought it pretty much right away. It has a very nice sound and feel to it.

 

[László]

I forgot to mention that the threads on TGP also proved to me that the Cali76 has a similar design and even though it is mentioned in the manual, many people have struggled with the concept and how to use it. I see the Cali76 being described as a compressor that takes a good bit of tweaking to get it to sound like you want it to but when you get it you will see it is one of the best on the market. It took me about 5 minutes to get it sounding good and I was glad I bought it pretty much right away. It has a very nice sound and feel to it.

People love the 1176. It’s my son’s favorite vocal compressor and he’s used one on every vocal track on every record he produced or mixed (3 went gold).

I find it useful on drums; same with the LA 3A. I’ve used it for that purpose on ad music for 32 years. Sometimes it’s good for taming bass, too. I like it for things that need firm control.

It’s good for that.

As I understand it, the 1176 is the inspiration for the Cali76.

Just not the way I want to shape my sound for other instruments. I don’t use them for guitar or vocal. Never have.

I like the LA2A, the old focusrite Red 3, the Manley, etc., for melodic instruments and vocals. Just the way I roll.

It’s not my thing to tell anyone else to use, or not use, a piece of gear. I can only explain why I make the choices I make.

Oh, and express my unwanted, strongly held opinions!!

What works for an individual is great, whether I like it or not.

 

[Nealius4Realius]

Pedals...

That's why I decided this year to go digital lol. I know it's not the same but the tech has gotten a lot better in the past decade and it'll just simplify my life tremendously to not have to worry about the latest pedal. Though I probably will still try keeping up with it who am I kidding. But for now, it just Neural DSP plugins and getting a Quad Cortex soon. I give up on the pedal war lol.

 

[JasonE]

That's why I decided this year to go digital lol. I know it's not the same but the tech has gotten a lot better in the past decade and it'll just simplify my life tremendously to not have to worry about the latest pedal. Though I probably will still try keeping up with it who am I kidding. But for now, it just Neural DSP plugins and getting a Quad Cortex soon. I give up on the pedal war lol.

I have a Kemper and an FM9. I will more than likely look in both of those units and make some mention of what types of compressors are in those as well.

 

[JasonE]

People love the 1176. It’s my son’s favorite vocal compressor and he’s used one on every vocal track on every record he produced or mixed (3 went gold).

I find it useful on drums; same with the LA 3A. I’ve used it for that purpose on ad music for 32 years. Sometimes it’s good for taming bass, too. I like it for things that need firm control.

It’s good for that.

As I understand it, the 1176 is the inspiration for the Cali76.

Just not the way I want to shape my sound for other instruments. I don’t use them for guitar or vocal. Never have.

I like the LA2A, the old focusrite Red 3, the Manley, etc., for melodic instruments and vocals. Just the way I roll.

It’s not my thing to tell anyone else to use, or not use, a piece of gear. I can only explain why I make the choices I make.

Oh, and express my unwanted, strongly held opinions!!

What works for an individual is great, whether I like it or not.

I only use compression on clean or really lightly broken tones. The more OD you have the more compressed you already are and adding more may not sound good at all. I know I am being captain obvious with this but some folks don't know this or think it through. I think that is part of why people get it wrong when trying to use one of these pedals.

 

[László]

I only use compression on clean or really lightly broken tones. The more OD you have the more compressed you already are and adding more may not sound good at all. I know I am being captain obvious with this but some folks don't know this or think it through. I think that is part of why people get it wrong when trying to use one of these pedals.

I'm in complete agreement!

 

[Bogner]

Then I got on a compressor binge. So I now have more compressor pedals incoming. Here are the ones that got added to the collection.
Origin Effects Cali76
Keeley Compressor Pro
Source Audio Atlas

DryBell Module 4?

 

[JasonE]

DryBell Module 4

Hadn't seen that one before. Unless the controls do something a little different than how they are labeled, it may not do what I was looking for. I am not sure what the preamp knob does on it. It may be like the input knob on the Cali76. If it is, it could possibly do what I was looking for.



I don't know that I reported back on this thread. The Atlas is the one that got the spot on my board. I had the feeling that was going to happen as long as it didn't have any latency in it and it sounded good. It is really a good piece of gear. I bought an adaptor for the cable it comes with and I can plug it into my phone and make adjustments with the app they provide. The real feature that made it get the spot on the board is that I have 6 presets available to me on the fly that only take a few seconds to switch. It has every feature you could ever ask for in a compressor, including a noise gate.

 

[bodia]

DryBell Module 4?

Hadn't seen that one before. Unless the controls do something a little different than how they are labeled, it may not do what I was looking for. I am not sure what the preamp knob does on it. It may be like the input knob on the Cali76. If it is, it could possibly do what I was looking for.



I don't know that I reported back on this thread. The Atlas is the one that got the spot on my board. I had the feeling that was going to happen as long as it didn't have any latency in it and it sounded good. It is really a good piece of gear. I bought an adaptor for the cable it comes with and I can plug it into my phone and make adjustments with the app they provide. The real feature that made it get the spot on the board is that I have 6 presets available to me on the fly that only take a few seconds to switch. It has every feature you could ever ask for in a compressor, including a noise gate.

Man, I really like the DryBell stuff. Pete Thorn's demo of the Unit 67 sold me on it. FANTASTIC pedal. Not sure if it's what you're after, but it's a worthy pedal for any board.

 

[JasonE]

Man, I really like the DryBell stuff. Pete Thorn's demo of the Unit 67 sold me on it. FANTASTIC pedal. Not sure if it's what you're after, but it's a worthy pedal for any board.

I had never heard of DryBell until someone mentioned one of their pedals in another thread about OD pedals. I now have that one, The Engine, on my pedal board. Every video I found of it sounded really good. The pedal is a great OD and foundation pedal.

 

[bodia]

I had never heard of DryBell until someone mentioned one of their pedals in another thread about OD pedals. I now have that one, The Engine, on my pedal board. Every video I found of it sounded really good. The pedal is a great OD and foundation pedal.

The Vibe Machine 2 was the first that I had heard of them. Enjoyed that pedal, too.