How to Use a Compressor on a Guitar
- 1). Insert a compressor into the signal chain of your guitar. If you are recording or mixing a guitar, you'll likely want to route the recorded guitar signal from an amplifier through a hardware or software compressor. If you are using a compressor while playing guitar, you'll likely want to insert a compressor into the signal chain before it is amplified.
- 2). Adjust the threshold of the compressor so that the compressor turns on during the louder guitar riffs. Once the volume level of the guitar passes the threshold, the compressor will turn on. The lower you set the threshold, the more of a compressed sound you will achieve. The higher you set the threshold, the less of the sound will be compressed.
- 3). Choose a compression ratio based on how much you want to compress the guitar signal. A lower compression ratio will result in more natural-sounding results. A higher compression ratio will result in more compressed-sounding results. For instance, a low compression ratio of 2:1 will allow the volume of the guitar to increase 1 decibel for every 2 decibels the signal goes above the threshold and deliver more transparent results. A high compression ratio of 8:1 will allow the volume of the guitar to increase 1 decibel for every 8 decibels the signal goes above the threshold and deliver more aggressively compressed results.
- 4). Adjust the attack and release controls on the compressor based on the guitar signal you are compressing. A fast attack time will allow the compressor to turn on quickly and compress the signal. This is ideal for compressing a guitar part with a lot of transients or peaks. On the other hand, a slow attack time will allow the transients to pass through before the compressor turns on. Similarly, a fast release time will allow the compressor to turn off quickly once the signal has fallen below the threshold. A slow release time will delay how quickly the compressor turns off.
- 5). Set the output gain to make up for any volume lost through compression. If the compressor is reducing the loudest sections of guitar playing by 5 decibels, you'll want to add 5 decibels back into the signal with the output gain. This will make the entire guitar signal seem louder without actually increasing the peak volume level.
