Compression

Compression effects pedals are a staple on every serious guitarist’s pedal board. The pedal compresses an audio signal’s dynamic range to flatten the overall sound. The effect stabilizes the volume, softens harsh notes and attacks, and amplifies a softer sustain so high and low notes aren’t as dramatic. At LAWK STAR Guitars, you’ll find a selection of guitar and bass compression pedals by companies such as: D’Angelico, Earthquaker Devices, MXR, Pigtronix, T-Rex Pedals, Tech 21 and Walrus Audio.

How Guitar Players Use Compression Pedals

• Clean up sounds in the event of uneven playing
• Reduce dynamic ranges so loud sounds are softer and soft sounds are louder
• Extend a note’s sustain
• To avoid signal outputs that are too high
• Increase attacks so they sound more dynamic and staccato at the best
• Accentuate or dampen string plucking

Compression Pedal Controls

Compression pedals come with a variety of adjustable settings. As you shop for one, consider the sound you want to produce and the genre of music you intend to play to choose a pedal with the right controls.

Popular compression pedal controls include:

• Ratio: Control the output volume
• Threshold: The signal volume that makes the pedal produce the effect
• Attack time: The amount of time the signal is over the threshold before applying the compression effect
• Release: The amount of time you compress the signal
• Knee: How quickly the pedal applies full compression to the signal
• Gain: The amount of gain to apply to a signal before compressing it

When skillfully used, a compression pedal can help improve your overall performance, especially if the audience can’t tell that you’re using one. LAWK STAR has a variety of guitar and bass compression pedals that will help you enhance and rein in your sound.