Compressor/Taming those highs

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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Compressor/Taming those highs

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SamDBL Joined: Sep 19, 2016 Posts: 225 Tampa	Posted on Sep 27 2016 09:38 AM So I'm pretty new to the surf style of playing, if you can't tell from my deluge of posts. Right now I'm playing through one of a few vintage fender amps. I have a host of Reverend guitars to that I use. And a minimal pedal board with tuner, compressor, fulldrive 2 (used sparingly), and analog delay for slapback. I am not used to playing so hard on such a clean tone. I eq the treble fairly high, as that seems to be what the genre dictates. But I notice when I play hard stuff on the high strings (miserlou, rumble 'solo') it's ear piercingly loud and shrill. Is it just a finesse that comes after more playing in this style? Or should I crank up the compressor (I have it set really low)? I'm used to playing with more compression/distortion. And certain parts in these songs demand that I go full bore on the top two strings. How does one do that with a bright, trebly tone and not make everyone in the room deaf? — Guitarist for Black Valley Moon & Down By Law Top
GregEL Joined: Mar 16, 2016 Posts: 217 Highland CA	Posted on Sep 27 2016 10:31 AM Good question. I think the answer lies in how you set your EQ. Experiment a lot. I've been working lately on taming the highs and been having the most success by turning down the treble on the guitar, amp or both. I'd leave compression out of the equation to start. Pickup selection matters too. Might wanna pick up a tremolo pedal also. It's cool on a lot of surf songs. It's what you hear, not what the genre dictates. Good luck! Last edited: Sep 27, 2016 10:35:24 Top
SamDBL Joined: Sep 19, 2016 Posts: 225 Tampa	Posted on Sep 27 2016 11:02 AM Yeah, I'm a bit torn on trying to cop sounds in a purist manner. Or just play what sounds good, as long as the essence is there. I have tremolo on my amps (twin, super, and pro reverb) w/pedal that I use a lot. — Guitarist for Black Valley Moon & Down By Law Top
el_camello Joined: Jul 04, 2010 Posts: 369 Ottawa	Posted on Sep 27 2016 11:10 AM Are you always playing alone? I found that in a full band context I found a lot of the tone problems, including highs, I was having disappeared. Painful high end was one of my biggest problems but tweaking gear and practicing has made it better to the point that when playing with a band I am not bothered by the highend. I usually play further from the bridge when on the high strings. I do tend to shy away from the bridge pickup when playing hard on the high strings. — -Pierre The Obsidians! (Ottawa surf) The Obsidians debut EP Top
SamDBL Joined: Sep 19, 2016 Posts: 225 Tampa	Posted on Sep 27 2016 11:21 AM At the moment we are playing as a three piece. Hope to add another guitar soon. And I can see that improving this problem quite a bit. — Guitarist for Black Valley Moon & Down By Law Top
Ariel Joined: Aug 29, 2009 Posts: 1555 Israel	Posted on Sep 27 2016 11:45 AM Disclaimer - I'm a junk player but a great observer. So there. SamDBL wrote: ... But I notice when I play hard stuff on the high strings (miserlou, rumble 'solo') it's ear piercingly loud and shrill. Ye_es! Play it even harder, it will create a kind of natural compression. Same for big strings, to help in that regard. A real spring reverb gives you an overall sweeter treble response that's easier to control, and some added warmth. Is it just a finesse that comes after more playing in this style? Sure (too). And getting used to that spectrum... There are countless ways to work with/against this 'shrill'. Controlling it and taming it with your technique gives remarkable dynamics and excitement. The best artists of the genre make full use of that. Actually, that's one of the main characteristics of that sound that appeal to me - so dangerous, on the edge of physical harm. That's why, if you turn your compressor completely off, that nice masking layer won't lie to you, at least for practice it's what you should avoid. Same for drives, etc. Introduce them later, if at all. How does one do that with a bright, trebly tone and not make everyone in the room deaf? According to reports, they did and they do (make everyone in the room deaf). Great topic for discussion, Sam. Last edited: Sep 27, 2016 12:02:07 Top
SixStringSurfer Joined: Sep 23, 2014 Posts: 1344 Memphis, TN	Posted on Sep 27 2016 12:21 PM I am not familiar with Reverend guitars, but I know on my Strat and Jag changing the pick ups and putting on heavy gauge DR Pure Nickel strings mellowed out the highs a lot. Like others have said, playing in a band will make a big difference as well. Good luck! — MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale. Top
DannySnyder Joined: Mar 02, 2006 Posts: 11010 Berkeley, CA	Posted on Sep 27 2016 12:25 PM Lots of little variables that can affect your tone e.g. pickups, pickup height, pots/caps, where you are actually picking the string, types of string, using onboard reverb vs. before the amp (most pedals/tanks have a tone control). Many of my peers have added one of the newer class of echo preamp simulators that seem to fatten up the tone, I use an Epi-pre and an Atomic Brain, many like the EP booster. Using that allows you to boost the gain in the pedal with very little distortion instead of cranking the amp. Good luck, the journey to find your tone is 1/2 the fun. — Danny Snyder Latest project - Now That's What I Call SURF _ "With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo I'm back playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta Last edited: Sep 27, 2016 12:26:23 Top
Badger Joined: Nov 16, 2013 Posts: 4536 Wisconsin	Posted on Sep 27 2016 01:07 PM el_camello wrote: Are you always playing alone? I found that in a full band context I found a lot of the tone problems, including highs, I was having disappeared. ^ This. Absolutely this circumstance for me. When I started recording along with a professionally or (at least) well mixed surf backing track I found that I was reeeeally glad those highs were there in the first place. Comfortable small-room ambience-like tone on a guitar will make it disappear in a band context faster than the US Marshals can squirrel away someone into the witness protection program. — Wes SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices. Top
psychonaut Joined: Dec 08, 2007 Posts: 1294	Posted on Sep 27 2016 02:31 PM Compressors are evil. Sometimes a necessary evil, but they should be avoided if possible. A compressor isn't really a good solution for what you describe. Turn down the treble and play harder. Stuff like Miserlou requires a very aggressive attack. Dick Dales sound isnt trebelly or shrill, but his attack is very aggressive. Just muscle through it! Compressors are for reducing peaks not taming treble. A compressor, especially a stomp box can squash all the life out of your playing very easily. They are very easy to abuse and can screw up your sound quickly. Tube amps compress naturally anyway more so the louder you play, so a compressor is not really necessary in a live situation imho. Recording is a completely different scenario though and stuff like bass or singers with bad technique do usually require compression. — https://www.facebook.com/coffindagger http://coffindaggers.com/ http://thecoffindaggers.bandcamp.com Top
shake_n_stomp Joined: Jan 09, 2014 Posts: 600 Vancouver BC	Posted on Sep 27 2016 02:58 PM I find that using a reverb unit creates a bit of a high-end sheen particularly with the "6-6-6" knob settings. On my 35w 2x10" Vibrolux, I turn off the bright switch. I use an EP Booster to goose the front end of the amp largely because I possibly cannot set the volume in the venues I play to the point where that natural compression is significant. Compressors - good ones like my Empress - can be set to a very mild degree that does not colour the tone. Compressors will not "EQ out" certain frequencies, per se, but the limiter part of the circuit can attenuate overall output - so it is possible for those highs to be reduced. Mild compression from a box may be nice if natural amp compression is out of reach at low volumes. Dialing-off a bit of tone on the pickups with the guitar's tone knobs can reduce any shrill and still let the mids push through. For my Strats, I wire the bridge pickup to the second tone knob for that reason. Jags and JMs have master tone/volume knobs (in the "Lead" circuit). I have used flatwound strings over the past few months and I love how the high freq "rock" brashness is reduced and the rich woody midrange shines through. YMMV, IMHO, YOLO, etc. — Lorne The Surf Shakers: https://www.facebook.com/TheSurfShakers Vancouver BC Canada Top

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