Speaking of compressors....

[smoguzbenjamin]

....Which is the best one?

I want some really looooooooooong sustain, and nice fat compressed sounds for blasting into my metalzone... And not too difficult, I'm not an expert yet

Who can tell me what to build other than an orange squeezer?

[zener]

Tonepad has 4 compressor, along with the OS are MXR Dyna, Ross and DOD 280. I build the Ross. Both of us may be looking for the loooooooong sustain. The Ross doesn't seem to give the sustain we're looking for (Otherwise, there was something wrong with my build).

There's also a Supa Sustain in GGG.

Zener

[Ansil]

have you tried the hollis compressor.

[petemoore]

Sounds great when drivien hard by a Fuzz...high end is very smooth grit.
 Just guitar gates, I don't know whats up with that.

[smoguzbenjamin]

Where's the schemmo for that, Ansil?

[Ansil]

Where's the schemmo for that, Ansil?

http://www.hollis.co.uk/john/circuits.html


it is acting a little funny when itry to check it today though. might be my server

[Marcos - Munky]

In AMZ there is the Q&D Comp2, using the SSM2166. I built it, this thing really make my sound better. And helped with the sustain too.

[Mark Hammer]

They are pretty much ALL capable of looooonnnngggg sustain with a mod here or there and the right input signal.

Compressors most often function by having a preset amount of boost that gets instantly turned down by the initial attack of the picked note, and then gradually increased as the input dies down.  If the input signal is hotter, the gain of the pedal will be dropped and faded back in over alonger period of time, creating the impression of more compression and sustain.  If the input signal is weak, max gain will be faded back in over a shorter interval.

Somewhat independent of input signal level, the envelope follower circuitry can also vary with respect to how quickly it recovers from that initial suppression/compression of the peaks.  In some cases, rackmount compressors in particular, you can often find continuously variable attack and decay times.  In other instances, variable recovery time can be easily added to an existing circuit.  In other cases, changing a single capacitor can extend the recovery time and yield something that sounds like longer sustain.  In the standard envelope-follower circuit used in the Dynacomp and Ross Compressors as well as the BOSS CS-2, there is a 150k resistor that sets the recovery time.  BOSS made that resistor a pot, where MXR and Ross left its value fixed.  You can easily replace the fixed resistor with a pot for variable recovery time, although the MXR/Ross design is already preset for longest recovery time so that may not be the sort of mod you want.

On simpler designs like the Orange Sqeezer, there is a single capacitor that determines the recovery time.  It is the 4.7uf cap to ground following the diode.  Increase the value of that cap to 10uf or even 22uf and the apparent duration of a note will increase.

The down side to increasing how long it takes for the gain to recover is that the cap has to be completely discharged in order to be able to respond to the next peak of the input.  Many folks like to preserve just the first little bit of the attack but squish down everything else that follows it.  If the decay/recovery time is set too long the circuit cannot do this.  If one adds the variable recovery mod to the MXR/Ross compressor, you'll find that it becomes possible to have the initial attack be more noticeable.  The compression amount is still the same but the initial peaks can sneak through because the circuit "wakes up" more quickly.

It would be irresponsible of me not to mention that one of the ways that compressors also serve to increase sustain is via the way that guitar bodies absorbing the speaker energy can ring a little longer.  The circuit simply keeps that feedback loop happening a little longer.  Play any guitar compressor into a mixer board or any other arrangement that doesn't have screaming speakers at the other end and you won't notice as much sustain.

[smoguzbenjamin]

Mark,

if I boosted my signal before the OS, wouldn't that give me better sustain, or did I mis-read your post? :?

By the way Ansil, I couldn't find the server either... :roll: