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Topic: Ernie, Buddy Compressor??? |
Larry Behm
From:
Mt Angel, Or 97362
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Posted 8 May 2018 10:14 am |
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Ernie what do you know about his use of a compressor when he played live? Seems to me to smooth out the string attack AND keep the sustain alive.
_________________
'70 D10 Black fatback Emmons PP, Hilton VP, BJS bars, Boss GE-7 for Dobro effect, Zoom MS50G, Stereo Steel amp, Telonics 15” speaker.
Phone: 971-219-8533 |
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Douglas Schuch
From:
Valencia, Philippines
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Posted 8 May 2018 3:22 pm
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I'd be interested in replies to this as well. I've been playing around with compressors some lately, but seems to me they can also exaggerate string noise from the bar sliding along the strings. That makes sense as a compressor, I think, increase volume of lower volume sounds, and decreases the louder volume sounds. Have others had this problem, and how did you deal with it?
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Bringing steel guitar to the bukid of Negros Oriental! |
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Dennis Detweiler
From:
Solon, Iowa, US
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Posted 9 May 2018 8:54 am
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Not sure, but I doubt he used a compressor unless to control his effects outside of clean sound.
_________________
1976 Birdseye U-12 MSA with Telonics 427 pickup, 1975 Birdseye U-12 MSA with Telonics X-12 pickup, Revelation preamp, Carbon Copy Delay and Hall Of Fame Reverb, Crown XLS 1002, 2- 15" Eminence Wheelhouse speakers, ShoBud Pedal, Effects Pedals. 1949 Epiphone D-8. |
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George Redmon
From:
Muskegon & Detroit Michigan.
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Posted 9 May 2018 9:17 pm
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Oh Buddy Emmons used compression on several songs he recorded. And not just for a gate, or boost. I enjoy using compression to lightly squeeze the sound of both steel and 6 string guitar. Some who don't completely understand how to use a compressor, and it's capabilities might ask what would you need more sustain on a steel guitar for? Again, that's not the entire purpose of a good compressor. Compression is so much more then sustain, or a gate.
I'm not 100% sure what buddy was using on the song Spanish Harlem, but it is some form of compression. This is a great example of just one.... of the uses of a compressor pedal. Buddy Emmons owned, more effect pedals, and even designed a few effect pedals, then most metal head rockers out there jumping up and down on stages around the world today.
Spanish Harlem
https://youtu.be/pNvBXAVVidY
I am currently waiting for the release of the Ohmless Yara v2 Optical Light Source Compressor to be shipped from Germany.
https://ohmlesspedals.com/products/yara-v2 |
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Dennis Detweiler
From:
Solon, Iowa, US
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Posted 9 May 2018 10:04 pm
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Sounds like chorus, maybe along with compression?
I use compression to control other effects in my toy box, usually when using distortion and/or envelope. Compression seems to keep the attack a little more level with certain stomp boxes.
I use a TC Electronic M350 for delay and reverb. Sometimes I substitute mild compression instead of delay on certain fast tunes.
I let the engineer add compression in the studio.
_________________
1976 Birdseye U-12 MSA with Telonics 427 pickup, 1975 Birdseye U-12 MSA with Telonics X-12 pickup, Revelation preamp, Carbon Copy Delay and Hall Of Fame Reverb, Crown XLS 1002, 2- 15" Eminence Wheelhouse speakers, ShoBud Pedal, Effects Pedals. 1949 Epiphone D-8. |
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George Redmon
From:
Muskegon & Detroit Michigan.
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Posted 9 May 2018 10:39 pm
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| Sounds like a great setup Dennis. Yeah there's something buddy has with the compression not sure if it's chours though. But that signal is squashed tight enough to make orange juice. Like you, i enjoy adding just a tad to different things to keep it interesting. Glad to meet another steel player who isn't afraid to experiment with what this wonderful instrument is really capable of. Play on...... |
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Bobby Boggs
From:
Upstate SC.
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Posted 10 May 2018 9:01 pm
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Yes Buddy used a compressor on a lot of mid to late 70's recordings. But never saw him use one live. That doesn't mean he didn't at some time. When I heard this cut. I had to go out and buy MXR Dynacomp.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbZHIoaapmE
Steel solo near the end. |
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George Redmon
From:
Muskegon & Detroit Michigan.
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Posted 11 May 2018 12:20 am
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| Thanks for posting this great compilation Bobby. Every time i hear this song i always pay such close attention to Buddy, and Pig Robbins. I am so thankful that Buddy, Jeff Newman, Julian Tharpe, Curly, Robert Randolph and a few others were not, and are not afraid to think outside whats normally the strict guidelines, choosen by the masses to be acceptable for this instrument. |
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Henry Brooks
From:
Los Gatos, California, USA
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Posted 11 May 2018 10:39 am
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If you have or can find Buddy's Live in Denver CD there is a Q/A part on it where he talks through his effects setup. The first effect was a modified, to reduce distortion, MXR compressor. This was in 1982.
Henry |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 11 May 2018 10:54 am
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| Bobby Boggs wrote: |
| When I heard this cut. I had to go out and buy MXR Dynacomp. |
Thanks for posting, Bobby. "All In The Name Of Love" may not have been Hartford's best album, but it contains the best version of "Gentle On My Mind" ever recorded, in my opinion. (Although Leonard Nimoy's version comes close.) The up-tempo treatment fits the song perfectly, and every solo is superb -- especially the one on the end. |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 11 May 2018 3:58 pm
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| Quote: |
| Seems to me to smooth out the string attack AND keep the sustain alive. |
From rigs I saw in the past (and interviews/personal conversations) very few pros - or amateurs - used compressors with steel live.
In the studio it's different story - but the "compressors" (and/or "limiters" are completely different units, with extensive types of adjustability, FAR less noise than "stompbox" or even live-use rackmount compressors - and prices that reflect the differences. One of the most popular in the 70's was a studio unit made by Manley - and it cost roughly $5,000 in mid=70's dollars. Others used tube compression units that were hard-wired into places like RCA Studios.
It's also very difficult to clearly discuss compression used on live recordings - it's virtually never added through a stompbox or rack unit, but is instead part of the mixing and then mastering process (which almost always involves some overall compression).
Major recordings simply don't involve "compressors" that you find at Guitar Center. Or any "music store".
It's like comparing apples and a hamburger.
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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Georg Sørtun
From:
Mandal, Agder, Norway
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Posted 11 May 2018 4:13 pm
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| Jim Sliff wrote: |
| It's like comparing apples and a hamburger. |
Yeah, nothing beats real, organic, apples  |
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Jack Stanton
From:
Somewhere in the swamps of Jersey
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Posted 11 May 2018 4:42 pm
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Saw Buddy live a couple of times in the early 80's where he has a Dynacomp in his toy chest. The sensitivity was barely cracked and the output was more or less unity gain.
I always thought he had one on for the Ray Price & Cherokee Cowboys- Reunited album, but on this cut he had that sucker dimed..
https://youtu.be/HKD_o4gbcSE |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 12 May 2018 2:34 pm
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I can remember, years ago, of seeing a pic with Buddy having an Orange Squeezer plugged into his guitar. I sometime use a Joe Meek VC-3. Not often though.
_________________
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps |
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Ernie Renn
From:
Brainerd, Minnesota USA
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Posted 13 May 2018 12:41 am
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Years ago, (in the early-mid 70's) Buddy did use an Orange Squeezer on occasion. (I've looked for an original to try, but they're expensive. I have found re-issues that from what I've heard don't replicate the sound.)
Most of the time he used an MXR Dyna Comp. (I still have and use a couple of them. Still trying to find an affordable one without the power light. Like another thread mentions the prices are crazy high. Vintage, I guess...)
BTW: Set at noon and noon.
A lot of the sound you're hearing is him picking that hard. It's surprising how hard he picked most of the time. (It's no wonder his hand and wrist bothered him for a while.) It's the way he picked and blocked.
I asked him how he got his great tone. He said, "Hell, I don't know. I just pick..."
_________________
My best,
Ernie
www.BuddyEmmons.com |
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