How David Gilmour Uses Stacked Compression

If I could only have one pedal, it would be the Boss CS-3. I love a standard Strat, and it is the biggest game changer in my gear in over 40 years.

I heard Lowell George stacked compression too, I tried it,liked it,continue to use two compression pedals,sounds good.

Essentially, using multiple compressors in series, each set moderately grants all of the benefits of compression while avoiding the sonic anomalies that occur when using a single compressor at high settings.
I use a Cali 76 Deluxe and and an Xotic SP in series (one into the other), both at moderate settings. This way I get as much compression as I wan without it sounding a if I'm using a compressor. This method also permits sharp attack along with the compression if you want it.
Using compressors in series that utilize different methods of compression (the Cali 76 is a classic FET-style, and the Xotic SP is a Ross-style) increases the complexity of the sound in a very satisfying way.
Roger McGuinn pioneered this technique. It works nicely for him, it does for me, too, and it will for anyone who tries it.

WOW!

Thank you!

Could've said all of this in about 5min 8)

Awesome demo, compression and sustain really helps with nuances, especially DG bends and trailing notes.

It sounds good, but I prefer having complete control over the dynamic

было интересно...спасибо!🙂

The On and Off soundlevel/volume is so different? Not the best way to compare sound.. :-)

Best cheap compressor I've tried is the Ampeg Opto Comp. I actually bought several, use it for both bass and guitar. I never hear anyone talk about it. Optical compressors are definitely my favourite. I have a Dynacomp but I find it noisy for recording.

compression + dirt = magic

Too much talk.

Hey Michael ! Love the work you’re doing here ! I’m new to the pedal game and was wondering if you had to choose 1, which pedal would be best to emulate that classic Gilmour tone ? Thanks

It doesn’t sound like Gilmour, not even close. Could have been a lot better with the same budget actually

I really like that a lot of your gear can be easily found and are widely available to the general public.

Bonjour avec le mxr dyna o. Peut equaliser dans l aigu et cela doit rendre plus aigus au final ??

He is alsoan anti semite

Whoops, missed a bend completely. That would be difficult on a Strat.

Thank you.

Thank you this is a really interesting and useful and thought-provoking video never thought about stacked compression and regardless of what people say about it coming through a little iPad speaker. The whole point is to inspire you to get a couple of compressors and start experimenting for yourself ✊ so thank you. I’m about to go and do that now 👍

I swear by my Pignose Optical Compressor. And I've never needed to swear at it!
🎉

You don’t need compression…. It’s all in your hands

in my opinion, mxr is the winner

I run a keely two knob and a cs-3

Zero chance Gilmour stacks a CS-2 with another compressor because it already has an mind melting level of sustain available. All you’re doing it making your chain noisier.

Sweet.. love a good compression pedal.

That's the closest i've heard anyone come to the Brick n the Wall tone, which, IMHO, is the greatest guitar tone of all time.

Hey Michael, thank You for this video!, can You tell us what pickups do You have in Your strat? Sounds really nice :)

Dude, you have great content, however too much talk!

Stacking compression instead of using distortion pedals.

Get rid of compression for good! It takes the soul out of music, so what‘s the point?

Good tidings, Master Banfield. Wilt thou be kind enough to inform me as to the title of the first tune you used to test thine magic boxes? I recognize it not. Thank you my lord.

You're doing a great job!

super super interesting, and very well explained. Thanks.

Very informative video! Thanx alot!
BTW, chorus pedal after gain pedal?

As a guitarist this is way overboard. If you lay your hand on the bridge and strum lightly instead of strumming from the shoulder or elbow, you have more control with your hands in sensitivity and control dynamics better and do less work to achieve it. Let your hands do the work. If you bend notes with your wrist and fingers instead of picking the neck up several inches in the air every time you relax and work much less and you don't get tired as fast instead of looking like you're trying to swim in the air like you do. Your fender tube sound is great and your playing is nice but compressing is better for bass, drums and vocals. Throw the big muff in the garbage and use a tube preamp for distortion. 90% of your playing is in your hands, relax.

Saying compressors make quiet sounds louder and louder sounds quieter is a classic simplistic error. But you're a guitar player and ,I assume, not a sound engineer. It's a little more complicated , but it may help someone very untechnical get a very basic grasp

The red one sounds early 70s, Obscured by Clouds, Zabriskie Point, Meddle

Omg! Less talking more playing. Wtf dude? I did not select the video to watch you talk.

Excellent vid, thank you!
However, one KEY aspect when listening to comps in a clean sound settings is that the comp'd sound should be at the same level (sound pressure levels). Why is that? Because our ears are primed to Loud = "Better", in turn because, Fletcher-Munson (cue "loudness" controls on vintage hifi amplifier units).
So - when AB'ing the clean vs. comp sounds one should always match the volume of the two signals to get the best picture of what is happening and if the comp settings are correct in terms of squish / pump, fattening, release, etc

When you had the CS-3 on with the Cali, the attacks vary enough for a tight delay effect. That’s why it’s so fat. It’s the same effect as having 2 amps running. You really made that CS-3 shine. I didn’t know they could sound so good. I have a CS-2 and it’s my favorite compressor, especially for leads and heavy rock overdrive. It makes the guitar thump. I have an xotic compressor for cleaner and subtle compression. I’m going to try stacking them now!

Reverb seems to be a wonderful companion with compression, as it seems to smooth things out even more and provide a soft sonic space for notes to trail into the distance.

Great video!

You know why it's similar? Because it's the exact same thing, just with cursive writing. It sounds no different. And anyone that falls for this time honored tradition is a clown, a fool, a child, or all 3. And no pedal will make you sound like anything else but you with a pedal. The reason Gilmour sounds the way he does is his hands, not his equipment. And here, you English think you're so much smarter than everybody else. Tsk, tsk.

Great class

soung great

David Gilmour's compressors were no doubt better balanced in terms of Fourier series: these newer ones only carry one fourth or one third of the whole spectrum. I wonder: his compressors probably carried up to the 10th harmonic. So they probably went into some ultrasound modulation too, up to 40 kHz. This is what I miss from the times of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and others.