Acoustic guitar Compression

[irmcdermott]

Hey everyone,

I had someone ask me today if I could build them a compressor that would be good on both their acoustic and electric guitars. I have never been a fan of compression pedals and acoustics, but do any of you use them? If so, what types of pedals do you like on them. Thanks!

[aziltz]

I'm designing an acoustic guitar compressor based on a much-modified version of the Orange Squeezer.  I'll be sharing the design when I'm done and making boards as well.

I've found that the key to getting a nice, studio-esque compression sound for acoustic when plugging in is to have a feed-forward design, much like so-called studio limiters (as opposed to the traditional design of the orange squeezer, which is feedback controlled).

I've also found that by limiting the bass that drives the compression element, a nicer, less squashy tone can be achieved.

so, nothing to offer you right now, but I am working on a design.


Also you might want to check out the compulator and bajaman's opto limitier derivative over at freestompboxes.org  They are more similiar to a feed-forward, limiting kind of compression.

[irmcdermott]

Thanks for the info! I've looked at bajaman's design a while back. I'll revisit it. Looking forward to seeing your design when it's finished!