software

I see this all the time, but I don't understand it relative to a pup. I now what it is relative to my DBX, but what, exactly, do you mean when you say a pickup sounds quot;compressedquot;?

I know this may be hard to put in words, but try.

Thanks;
Artie

I MAY BE WRONG....but I think that term refers to when a pickup does not sense changes in picking attack/style/severity well. It makes all notes sound relatively similar in tone/volume. A non-compressed sounding pickup sounds different when you pick the strings with varying levels of intensity, while a compressed sounding pickup makes all notes sound similar...I think....

You know what a compressor does, right? Imagine a pickup doing the same thing - albeit subtly. That's my take on it at least.

A focused sound with high output that's always on quot;10quot;. Like, the Invader. I think the Distortion has a bit of this characteristic too. Not as sensitive to pick attack. This is all just my interpretation of the term, of course.

That's the kind of compression that makes it much easier to play a hot pickup like a JB or a Custom than a low-output one like a Seth or an '59 for instance. Low-output pickups are quite unforgiving.

I think of it as like a boxy, 'stuck in one spot' kind of sound, all smushed into one big pile of ****.

Using insane amounts of gain also makes pickups sound compressed.

Pretty good descriptions so far. I'm getting a good idea of what you mean.

Artie


Originally Posted by D-EJ915Using insane amounts of gain also makes pickups sound compressed.

Using insane amounts of gain makes ANYTHING sound compressed.


Originally Posted by ratherdashingUsing insane amounts of gain makes ANYTHING sound compressed.
It also makes it hard to distinguish notes...and instruments...

Here's Chris Kinman's definition:

from : localhost/www.kinman.com/html/toneWorks...sary/sonic.htm

IMO when people talks about a compressed pickups they talk about the effect it makes in the amps preamp. The reasons low output pickups are more subtle it is because the overall output it is lower and doesn't affect the dinamic range of the amps input. If the output of the pickups it is higher then saturates the preamp earlier and, beause of that, tends to sound more flat and compressed.

I think this effect it is the same as when people taks about the sustain of a pickup.

I never read of anyone talking about a low output pickup as compressed but we read everyday people describing high output pickups as quot;compressed with lots of sustainquot;.


Originally Posted by BreoganIMO when people talks about a compressed pickups they talk about the effect it makes in the amps preamp. The reasons low output pickups are more subtle it is because the overall output it is lower and doesn't affect the dinamic range of the amps input. If the output of the pickups it is higher then saturates the preamp earlier and, beause of that, tends to sound more flat and compressed.

I think this effect it is the same as when people taks about the sustain of a pickup.

I never read of anyone talking about a low output pickup as compressed but we read everyday people describing high output pickups as quot;compressed with lots of sustainquot;.

Thats a great explanation, and it makes sense. Even from a quot;techquot; point of view.

Thanks;
Artie

THe ibanez V8 is one i didnt like. It seem to just muddy all the notes together. I think if you play lightly with a soft attack then it may sound ok but i tried everything even put it in a different guitar and it was still to much. The V7 isnt so bad. It gets just dirty enough.

It took making that pickup video i made to make me realize what i like about a pickup, now i have a good idea what im looking for. What i use to think sounded good now doesnt seem all that great now. Now i know what to look for.

I agree with what others have said, and will just add a real world experience. Been playing Les Pauls for a long time and always enjoyed higher output pickups for their added sustain and compression. My JB and other higher output pickups make it easy to rip solos out at the speed of light... with the BIG trade off being a loss in clarity, note seperation, and an overall reduction of the sound spectrum. It's easier to hide behing a JB than a 59B.

Still love a JB, but now prefer lower output pickups such as a '59, or Burstbucker.


Originally Posted by LesPaulRulesStill love a JB, but now prefer lower output pickups such as a '59, or Burstbucker.

This gets more interesting. I didn't think of my 59's as being low output.

Sometimes I wonder if us bedroom-wanker's, with modeler's puts us in some sort of guitar parallel universe.

Artie

Parallel universe, definitly. Modelers, to me, always seem to have a slightly compressed tone to them. On the other hand, I've been able to dial in better tones from my modeler than I have from my Marshall (yes, my Line6 is more Marshall than my Marshall).

Call me crazy, Artie, but I honostly believe that pickup choice matters less with a modeling amp. I can still tell teh differences between guitars on a modeler, but the difference is not nearly as pronounced as it is on the 50 watter.


Originally Posted by MikeSCall me crazy, Artie, but I honostly believe that pickup choice matters less with a modeling amp. I can still tell teh differences between guitars on a modeler, but the difference is not nearly as pronounced as it is on the 50 watter.

This could be a whole new thread by itself.

I can only comment on half of that because I've never owned a quot;realquot; guitar amp. But at the same time, I've always thought that I might hear more difference in guitars and pups, not so much because of the modeler per se, but because of my set up. I'm guessing that by going through an SS amp and old Yamaha studio monitors, (complete with midrange and tweeters), that I might hear more definition than with a guitar amp that might typically have a pair of 12's.

I really, really need to get a Bassman.

Artie

I have a DiMarzio ToneZOne that is what I would call fairly quot;compressed.quot; But - since I'm playing through a fairly pristine solid state amp, I feel it give me just an extra tubey edge that sounds really good....

And for the record-massive gain, which equals clipping, is actually a form of quot;limiting.quot; You can push the sound up if it falls below a minimum, or pull it down if it goes above a certain level. Both have their uses. The push up is what gives notes their sustain with a compressor. Depending on the unit, an effects box may do one, the other or both! when the gain is pegged, the amp clips, which means anything going in is pretty much shoved up to the ceiling, in glorious explosion of fuzz! At that point nothing gets louder- just hairier.